In the same week that a transgender woman became the first major party nominee for governor, a transgender girl was threatened with harassment and physical harm by parents in her school district. On a Facebook group for parents, several adults wrote violent and degrading messages about the student, who used the girls’ bathroom. “When children

Today, First Lady Melania Trump visited Nashville, Tennessee as the first stop of her “Be Best” campaign that focuses on children’s wellbeing and the threat of bullying. Since the campaign’s unveiling in May, the Tyler Clementi Foundation has welcomed a broader public discussion on the pervasiveness of bullying and encouraged the First Lady to encourage

Chapter 9 Rebounding with Purpose Many have turned their shaming into something we can all celebrate. Each one of these survivors is making a difference in lives today and teaching others from their experiences. Some have changed laws nationwide; others are cultivating kindness on campus. Let’s take a look at these exceptional stories of triumph.

Sixteen-year-old Sameer Jha is a founding member of the Tyler Clementi Youth Ambassador program. He is proud to support TCF’s mission to prevent bullying by bringing initiatives like #Day1 to his middle and high school, providing input on toolkits, and promoting TCF’s efforts on social media. Driven by his personal experiences with being bullied in

Trisha Prabhu is the 18-year-old social-entrepreneur, change agent, global anti-bullying advocate, and Founder & CEO of ReThink – a social enterprise that’s working to stop cyberbullying before the damage is done. Trisha is a proud Board Member of the Tyler Clementi Foundation. Spurred to action by the death of a 12-year old girl that committed

The Tyler Clementi Foundation commends ABC Entertainment for moving quickly to cancel the Rosanne Show following highly-publicized incidences of cyber-bullying by its star Rosanne Barr. In a statement, Jason Cianciotto, executive director of the Tyler Clementi Foundation challenged the network and others within the entertainment industry to join the movement to end bullying: “Cyber-bullying has no

Jared Orlov Jared is a 14-year-old social activist in New York City.  His goal is to become a kindergarten teacher and model behaviors that help kids develop and nurture kindness, in which he believes profoundly.  That requires working to end prejudice, bias and bigotry to make the world more just. His interest in the Tyler

VALERIE SCARLETT Valerie Scarlett is a social rights activist from Buffalo, Wyoming. They’ve worked for the Matthew Shepard Foundation as a Youth Columnist, and they’re currently training with Crisis Text Line to be a Crisis Counselor. Most recently, Val was featured on MicMedia’s video promoting the importance of GLSEN’s Day of Silence. Valerie is passionate about

CHARLOTTE SIMPSON Charlotte Simpson is a senior at Ridgewood High School and a leader of her school’s Gay-Straight-Alliance. She led a movement to hang the pride flag in front of the school for pride month, making Ridgewood High School the first high school in the county to do so. She also led her club in

Shane Shananaquet Shane Shananaquet is a 16 year old Native American, transgender, gay male, living in a rural area of Southern Michigan. Shane lives in a single parent, low income home is a high school junior. His intersectioning identities aside, he is a regular teenager; he enjoys music, hanging out with his friends, choir, and