2026 GCCIS Empowerment & Allyship Week - Day 4 Part 2 | Guest Speaker: Tamara Leigh from Blaque/Out Magazine Sponsored by University Advisory Committee on Gender Related Experiences

We are pleased to welcome Tamara Leigh, founder of the monthly Black & Brown Queer culture publication Blaque/Out Magazine and Roc Candy Media. Tamara is a distinguished leader in the Greater Rochester region and beyond. She previously served as the Editor of Empty Closet Magazine, the longest continuously published LGBTQ+ publication in the United States. This event is sponsored by the University Advisory Committee on Gender Related Experiences. 

Read her Bio: 
Advocate, Activist, and Educator, Tamara Leigh has dedicated her life to championing for the BIPOC, QTPOC, LGBTQIA+ and Trans Communities. Starting her career in Public Relations, Leigh went on to become the Director of Operations and Public Relations for a New York LGBTQIA+ Resource Center and Organization and the Editor of Empty Closet Magazine (the longest continuously published LGBTQ+ publication in the nation). In 2020, Leigh launched Blaque/OUT Equity & Inclusivity Architects and Blaque/OUT Magazine to further educate around Intersectionality and create space for Black and Brown Queer Voices. (www.blaqueout.com) Tamara is the Founder of Tampa Bay Black Lesbians, a 501c3 in Central Florida that provides resources and creates safe spaces for Black Queer women in Tampa Bay. She has spoken and provided educational services around the topics of Implicit Bias, Queer and Trans Rights and the Intersectionality of QTPOC at rallies, in Board Rooms, and for classes and companies nationwide. Tamara consults with individual organizations and companies to improve their diversity, equity practices, and capacity as well as on a myriad of projects and curriculum creation for universities, municipalities and orgs nationwide to ensure that diversity, equity and accessibility is centered in their work. She developed the first Juneteenth event during Pride month for a specifically Queer audience in St. Petersburg, FL and went on to assist in creating a second Queer Juneteenth event in Orlando. Through Blaque/OUT, Tamara created the Trans Remembrance Archive and Information Index that uses geospatial technology to track and map violence against members of the Trans, GNC and NB communities (https://www.blaqueout.com/traii) . Entering its 6th year, Blaque/OUT Magazine now boasts readers and writers from around the world, providing a platform for Black & Brown, Queer and Trans stories, news, politics, celebrities and change makers. Leigh was named St. Pete Pride Grand Marshall in 2023 and one of Watermark’s Most Remarkable people in 2024. In 2025, she was named the 1st NAACP St. Petersburg Branch #5130 LGBTQ Committee Chair.

Of her most important accomplishments, she lists being Mom to two incredible, accomplished and compassionate sons, Zaire and Zayden.

Goals of the GCCIS Empowerment Allyship Week 
1) Connect those who are marginalized to resources and community
2) Help those who are not marginalized become better supporters and allies! 

View all GCCIS Enrollment resources here. 


**Should you need sign language interpretation services, please complete the request here.

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Co-hosted with: Student Government

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