About Gleason
Host/Emcee + Keynote Speaker + Storyteller
I have been hosting and emceeing events and shows for the past ten years. Whether open mics, poetry spotlights and features, festivals, or fundraisers, I connect easily with audiences in both corporate and community settings. I engage attendees with both humor and poignancy while highlighting the work and talents of featured performers and speakers. Over the years I have also had the honor of delivering keynote addresses for both education based and LGBTQ focused conferences as well as church and spiritual community events and services. My unique upbringing in a Christian Nationalist evangelical cult as a queer person as well as my experience as a performing poet and co-founder of an arts and education nonprofit not only make me a great storyteller, but an expert in areas that are relevant to current issues and events. I believe in the transformative power of seeking and speaking both inner and outer truths. My journey has been one of self reflection and exploration, of challenging the status quo, and embracing change regardless of the cost.
At nineteen, I came out and left the abusive church that raised me in order to live and love loudly and proudly as my genuine self. The cost was great. I lost everything and everyone that I had known, but I knew the cost of staying and denying my truth would have been greater. Today, I continue to deconstruct, unpack, and heal from religious trauma. It is a nonlinear process of learning and growth that often requires setting new and difficult boundaries. I share my story and the discoveries as I have made on this journey so that others might be inspired and empowered to confront harmful ideologies, expand their horizons, and step into courageous authenticity.
Teaching Artist + Workshop Facilitator/Trainer
I began working in middle and high school classrooms helping young people unlock their poetic and storytelling abilities in 2013. In 2016, I co-founded a successful arts education nonprofit where I was the Director of Education for six years before expanding my skills on the development team. Through that work, I developed award winning curriculum and content and connected with students in ways that made them feel seen, heard, empowered, and celebrated.
This work has extended into the corporate setting as well. I have led education focused workshops at teacher training conferences and poetry workshops in break out sessions at corporate events. I have also facilitated LGBTQ and DEI trainings for an array of companies and organizations with overwhelmingly positive feedback.
Award Winning Poet and Performer
I have been performing my poetry on local and national stages for the last fifteen years. Captivating audiences with vivid imagery, humor, and profound truths, people of all backgrounds are able to connect with my conversational, dynamic delivery. My creative expression is often an exercise in finding “god” in places the church told me god did not exist, reclaiming the holiness at the heart of my queer existence, and feeling pride and divinity where I once felt shame and condemnation.
I share this expression in hopes that others can experience the transformative power of seeking and speaking truth. Whether in 5-10 or 30-45 minute featured sets, my work has been commissioned and highlighted at countless Pride festivals, universities, conferences, and corporate and community events.