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What if the future of leadership is being built by people courageous enough to be fully themselves?
In this Pride Month conversation, Jim Fielding sits down with educator, scholar, and queer leadership pioneer John Weinstein, Provost of Bard Academy and Simons Rock at Bard College and founder of the Bard Queer Leadership Project. Together they explore how far the LGBTQ+ community has come, why Pride still matters, and what it takes to prepare the next generation of leaders.
John shares his personal journey navigating education as an openly gay leader, the lessons he learned about authenticity and code-switching, and how creating spaces of belonging can transform lives. The conversation also dives into mentorship, chosen family, intergenerational learning, and the responsibility we all have to preserve LGBTQ+ history while building a better future.
Whether you're part of the LGBTQ+ community or an ally, this conversation is a powerful reminder that progress happens when we honor our history while boldly imagining what's next.
Listen in, celebrate Pride, and discover why the leaders of tomorrow are already showing us what's possible today.
In This Episode:- Why queer leadership brings unique strengths to the table
- The importance of intergenerational mentorship and chosen family
- How authenticity, visibility, and community shape future leaders
Mentioned in This Episode:
- Bard Queer Leadership Project (BQLP) at Simon's Rock
- Bard College All Pride
- No Ego by Jim Fielding
- Leading Queer podcast hosted by John Weinstein and Carlos Stevens
- Skylar Baylor, author and queer leader
- The Laramie Project
- Matthew Shepherd
- Sliding Doors (film)
- The Adjustment Bureau (film)
- Robert Frost, "The Road Not Taken"
- Bard Microcolleges
Timestamps:
00:01 – Welcome and how Jim and John met
03:26 – What Pride Month means in 2026 0
4:16 – Are things really worse for LGBTQ young people now?
08:08 – Out with colleagues, not yet with students
09:28 – The student who thought John was out the whole time
11:15 – What semi-closeted leadership actually looked like
13:58 – Returning to Simon's Rock as a fully out campus leader
20:00 – Code switching: not inauthenticity, wisdom
26:26 – "I'm teaching students to be the kind of leader I have yet to become."
29:26 – How the Bard Queer Leadership Project was born
36:28 – Mixing teenage and adult learners in the same queer leadership room
38:34 – Why intergenerational mentorship is non-negotiable
53:03 – "It took me until my 50s. I want people to get there in their 20s."
56:34 – Reclaiming patriotism as a queer act
01:01:03 – Why there is no silver bullet for fixing education
01:03:17 – Legacy and what comes next for the BQLP
✨Connect with John Weinstein:
Institution: simons-rock.edu
Podcast: Leading Queer
LinkedIn: John B. Weinstein
✨ Follow Jim Fielding & Ask For An Answer:
💼 Instagram: Instagram: https://instagram.com/hijimfielding/
🌐 Podcast: Ask For An Answer
Website: hijimfielding.com
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