About
The Innovator
Dr. Van Bailey is a fashion curator and a higher education trailblazer. His speeches, talks, content and workshops relate to LGBTQ+ visibility, fashion as resistance, and intersectionality. He has experience overseeing offices that address implicit bias and was a chief student diversity officer. They served as the inaugural director for two LGBTQ+ student centers at Harvard and University of Miami.
Additionally, Dr. Bailey has been noted for their work in LGBTQ+ equity and visibility by being listed in Out Magazine's Out100, Business Equality Magazine’s 40 under 40 LGBTQ Leaders, the Trans 100 and the National Black Justice Coalition’s100 to Watch LBGTQ/SGL Emerging Leaders. Dr. Bailey holds a BA from Denison University in English and Black Studies, a MA from the Ohio State University in Higher Education and Student Affairs, and a Doctorate in Educational Leadership from California State University - Northridge.
They were awarded the American College Personnel Association’s Petey Peterson Public Service Award in recognition of their advocacy work in higher education. Dr. Bailey was recently featured on iHeartRadio’s Black, Fat, Femme’s podcast and discussed joy, suicide ideation, and community care. They have been featured in Buzzfeed, DapperQ, Out Magazine, ASOS, Hushpuppies, Grapevine TV, NBC, USA Today, NPR, and the Boston Globe. Dr. Bailey is a collective member of bklyn boihood and has been styling and modeling for over 12 years. He is a mental health advocate and is looking to carve out more spaces for queer and trans people of size to thrive.
Dr. Bailey was the Director of Bias Incident Support Services at University of Maryland and the Assistant Dean/Director for the Center for Culture, Equity, and Empowerment for George Mason University. He was the inaugural Director of the LGBTQ Student Center at the University of Miami. He has also served as the inaugural Director of BGLTQ Student Life at Harvard College. In that role, he established a college-wide resource center for LGBTQ+ students. Before Harvard College, he was the Assistant Director for Education at the University of California, San Diego from 2010-2012. Additionally, he worked at California State University, Northridge, for three years, first as Community Director and then as Senior Community Director in Residence Life and Housing. Dr. Bailey was awarded an Ed.D. in Educational Leadership from California State University-Northridge, a MA from Ohio State University in Higher Education and Student Affairs, and a BA in black studies and English from Denison University.
