Meet Our Staff
Crystal Nieves ’08, M’23 (She/Her)
Director of LGBTQ+ Life & the QRC
Crystal is a double alum of Trinity College receiving her B.A. in Public Policy and Law and Human Rights Studies ’08 and her M.A. in Public Policy ’23.
She is excited to return to the Trinity community to serve as the Director of LGBTQ+ Life providing leadership to the Queer Resource Center and serving as a strong advocate for LGBTQ+ equity, access, and inclusion.
Crystal has over a decade year professional experience serving in leadership roles for higher education LGBTQ+ student support services, programming, and policy development. She returns to Trinity after four years serving as the Assistant Director of the historic Stonewall Center at UMASS Amherst. Prior to her work at the Stonewall Center, Crystal served as the inaugural half-time coordinator of the Trinity Queer Resource Center (QRC) under the Office of Multicultural Affairs. Over those nine years Crystal was able to bring a student-led proposal for the QRC to life providing renewed institutional support for LGBTQ+ students and opportunities for staff, faculty, and student education on matters of LGBTQ+ inclusion. During six of the nine years at Trinity, Crystal worked concurrently as the half-time coordinator of the LGBT Center at Central Connecticut State University (CCSU) under their office of Student Activities and Leadership Development where she expanded the center’s programs and presence as a resource on campus and directed intentional and emergent Trans inclusion policies for CCSU.
Crystal is a proud first gen, Latina, queer, gender non-conforming, woman who hopes to be resource for many students on campus. She is a longtime member of the National Consortium for LGBTQ+ Higher Education Resource Professionals, is a Safe Zone Member trainer, and is certified in Mental Health First Aid.
In addition to general LGBTQ+ community support and education, some of her unique interest areas include a focus on intersectional programming, community building opportunities for Queer and Trans Students of Color, improving connections and collaborations with campus partners and cultural centers, and initiatives around intersectionality and intentional allyship.
Kim O’Brien (She/Her)
WGRAC/ QRC Training and Education Coordinator
Kim serves as the Training and Program Coordinator working in the Women and Gender Resource Action Center as well as the Queer Resource Center. Kim joined the Trinity Community in 2022 and is excited to begin her work with Trinity students. As the Training and Program Coordinator, Kim will work with student organizations in both the WGRAC and QRC to provide leadership training, advising, and guidance. Her role also facilitates the delivery of educational programs around topics such as gender identity and expression, safe and consensual sex, serving traditionally underrepresented communities, and opportunities for all Trinity students to have a place to feel safe and welcomed.
Meet our 2022 – 2023 QRC student staff!
Coming soon!
