Keynote Speaker

Dr. Laurel Westbrook

Laurel Westbrook is a Professor of Sociology at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Their research focuses on gender, sexuality, race, violence, and social movements. They are the author of Unlivable Lives: Violence and Identity in Transgender Activism (University of California Press), and co-editor of Introducing the New Sexuality Studies: Original Essays (Routledge). Their scholarship has also been published in Social Problems, Gender & Society, and Sexualities, among other journals, and has been recognized with multiple awards from the American Sociological Association and the Society for the Study of Social Problems. They are co-founder and former co-chair of Sociologists for Trans Justice.

The keynote will be Thursday, March 26 at 4 PM. It will also serve at the 2026 Lucy Somerville Howorth Lecture.