Dr. Jon Paul

Dr. Higgins is a speaker, writer, and social justice defender who believes in speaking truth to power. With an impressive list of credentials, their work has been included on web platforms including OUT, SYFY, Huffington Post, The Root, Blavity, The Daily Dot, Shadow & Act, Slate, On Being and more. 

Dr. Higgins is committed to using their voice to highlight and bring focus to the issues that affect both the Black and LGBTQ community. In September of 2016 they launched a YouTube channel where they post weekly videos about race and identity issues and began sharing pieces of their a mini-documentary highlighting stories related to their life as a queer Black non-binary person growing up in the inner city of San Bernardino. Their mini-documentary also covers their journey to receiving their doctoral degree. 

They have spoken at mulitple universities including Williams and Mary, James Madison University, Oneontha State, Northeastern, Louisville State University and University of Oregon, just to name a few. They recently served as ACPA’s closing speaker for the 2018 national conference and continue to be lecture at universities nationally. 

Dr. Higgins continues to lecture all over the country on topics related to intersectionality, race, gender and sexuality and has gained attention from media outlets including Attn: and Vox. In April of 2017, they gave their first TEDx talk on how to unlearn fear and develop personal power, leading to an op-ed piece on Splinter.com. 

They have consulted with large sized universities, including Purdue University, to restructure their Safe Zone program and continue to work with local organizations to educate other on the needs of queer, trans people of color. They work closely with Campus Pride as the Curriculum Instruction Coordinator and serves locally on the Inland Regional Equality Network. 

Dr. Higgins was born in Los Angeles, California and graduated from California State University, San Bernardino with a Bachelors of Arts in Communication Studies and a minor in Women’s Studies. They also holds a Masters of Arts in Management from the University of Redlands and were inducted into the Whitehead Leadership Society. In the past, they have also served in several presitgeous writing fellowships including Lambda Literary, Maynard and The Poynter Institute. 

Dr. Higgins completed their Educational Doctorate of Leadership in Justice from the University of Redlands where they wrote their dissertation on the first year experiences of queer men of color in higher education. 

You can connect with them on all social media by using the handle, @DoctorJonPaul.