Andrew Jenkins

Andrew Jenkins is a devout feminist and queer social justice activist hailing from the west coast. He started his activism as a student organizer on campus, where he mobilized young people to fight for sexual and reproductive justice. In 2011, Andrew organized the first convening of LGBT military personnel—post-repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell—as the conference director for OutServe-SLDN. He also served as the Fundraising Committee Chair on the Young People For Alumni Board of Directors, engaging and training the next generation of progressive leaders. Soon after, Andrew joined the URGE: Unite for Reproductive and Gender Equity team, where he brought his unwavering passion for youth leadership development and feminist praxis to his work in the field, engaging, training and mobilizing over 1,000 young activists annually. He then went on to serve as the program director for Future Academy, an after-school academic enrichment program where I developed curriculum and taught classes on public speaking, persuasive writing, current events, and speech and debate. Andrew now serves as the program and communications director for the Western Montana LGBTQ Resource Center, where he is tasked with building the organization from the ground up. I am thoughtfully committed to leveraging and reproductive and gender justice lens in all the work that I do—which to me means lifting up the voices and experiences of those most marginalized by systems of power and oppression and always applying an analysis of race, gender, sexuality, class, and other identity categories into consideration when ever approaching a policy issue or campaign.

When It Comes to Civic Engagement, Young People Know Better Than to Hit It and Quit It on Election Day!

After months of political ads, voter registration drives, presidential debates, and the circus that is an election cycle, we’re finally approaching the big day. And although this is a new year and a new election, some things never seem to change. Erroneous claims of voter apathy. Widespread fear that young people won’t show up to the polls. The ‘knight in shining armor’ complex masqueraded as a legitimate way to engage Millennials. But don’t sweat it.