Dori Kavanagh is 27 years old.  She grew up in New Jersey with her lesbian mother and her mother's partner at the time.  She was very closeted about her family because of homophobia and heterosexism that existed in the school and in the community.  Her mother chose not to be public about their family either, mostly due to imminent safety reasons.  Feeling that she had no allies, Dori didn't come out about her family until she was 100 miles away at college.  It was then that she realized it wasn't her family that kept her from coming out but the institutionalized homophobia and heterosexism they faced on an every day basis.  Dori was made to feel like she was the only one in the world with a queer parent, and until recently she discovered she was one of merely 4-14 million.

In 2005, Dori Googled "kids with gay parents" hoping to find out if there was any organization that offered support and community in the NYC area.  To her amazement, there was COLAGE (Children of Lesbians and Gays Everywhere), the national organization dedicated to what she was looking for.  She immediately contacted the NYC chapter and in the blink of an eye she became Chapter Coordinator and started running activity-based groups for kids 9+ who have one or more LGBTQ parent.

During the summer of 2006, Dori volunteered with COLAGE at Family Week in Provincetown, MA only to discover a new family of adult "Queer Spawn".  She had community and an identity she had always wanted, and has since made it her life's work to create awareness of this community in schools by educating and implementing change in the culture and curriculum. Dori currently lives in Brooklyn, NY and works full time within the child welfare system.

Education:

Muhlenberg College, BA 2003

Hunter College School of Social Work, MSW 2007