About Jabari

Jabari Lyles (they/them) is an unapologetically Black, fat, queer, trans and nonbinary educator, community organizer, public administrator and consultant with over 15 years of experience leading initiatives which emphasize their passion for people, education and justice. A native of Maryland, Jabari has been active in LGBTQ organizing in across the state throughout their entire career. Aside from a long history with several flagship LGBTQ organizations in Baltimore and beyond, Jabari is most proud of their experience as a proud, Black and openly queer classroom teacher at public and independent schools in Baltimore City.

Jabari was born in Baltimore City and raised in Baltimore County, Maryland. Their family, who were mostly educators and human service providers, encouraged them from an early age to nurture their love of learning and to be proud of any job well done. It was in high school that Jabari became involved with the local chapter of GLSEN, the country’s leading organization championing LGBTQ issues in K-12 schools. At 15, Jabari began assisting with producing the annual Youth Summit, a free conference-style event for LGBTQ youth and allies from the Greater Baltimore area. At 19, Jabari became the lead facilitator for the Safe Schools for All—Baltimore program, offering assemblies, guest lectures and workshops to elementary, middle and high school students on anti-bullying and LGBTQ inclusion, as well as professional development training to teachers and administrators on creating safer and more affirming schools for LGBTQ youth. For the next decade, Jabari would dedicate their career to helping shape Baltimore’s schools, nonprofits, government and businesses, into safe, inclusive places for all of the many identities found within the LGBTQ community.

Prior to launching into a career as a full-time consultant, Jabari was the first-ever Senior Advisor and Director of LGBTQ Affairs for the Office of the Mayor in Baltimore City, a newly created position in local government, where they supported Baltimore’s three previous Mayoral administrations on the needs and interests of the LGBTQ community, while working to grow the community’s capacity and visibility. During their time in the Mayor’s Office, Jabari was instrumental in developing crucial new policies, including the city-wide Gender Neutral Restroom Act, the sex-based discrimination and transgender student rights policy in Baltimore City Public Schools and the legislation to amend the City charter to create Baltimore’s first Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs. Jabari is the former Chief Operating Officer and Senior Strategist at Baltimore Safe Haven, a nonprofit organization providing health and housing services for transgender people living in survival mode in Baltimore City. Currently, Jabari works with communities across the country providing consultation, technical assistance and guest speaking on gender, identity, leadership and inclusion in education. Jabari is retained by the Gender & Family Project at the Ackerman Institute for the Family as a Training & Capacity Building Associate, where they provide gender inclusion training for educators and service providers in New York City, including the New York City Department of Education. In October 2021, Governor Larry Hogan appointed Jabari to a four-year term on Maryland’s first-ever statewide Commission on LGBTQ Affairs, a 15-member body who will assist the state government with shaping public policy and furthering the capacity of state agencies to fully serve and represent LGBTQ Marylanders. Jabari currently serves as chairperson of the Commission’s youth and education committee.

Jabari has worked with and led local and statewide LGBTQ organizations, including becoming the first-ever executive director of GLSEN Maryland, the youngest-ever President and Executive Director of The Pride Center of Maryland, and co-chairperson of the education workgroup for Youth Equality Alliance, a policy coalition working towards positive outcomes for LGBTQ youth in Maryland convened by FreeState Justice. They are the former chairperson and executive producer of Baltimore Pride, a former elementary and middle school teacher in Baltimore City and the first-ever LGBTQ Studies teacher in the Upper School at Friends School of Baltimore. They are a seasoned diversity trainer and group facilitator, and has participated on several workgroups, boards and coalitions working towards gender, racial and sexual justice for Black people, transgender people and LGBTQ youth. Jabari has delivered guest lectures and guest speaking on LGBTQ inclusion and public service for Harvard University, Johns Hopkins University, Towson University, McDaniel College and the Maryland Institute College of Art. Their contributions have appeared in local and national publications, including the Baltimore Sun, Washington Blade, Baltimore Magazine, The New York Times, WYPR, Okayplayer and Youth Today. Their 2017 TEDx Talk, entitled Black Self/White World: Lessons on Internalized Racism gained over 250,000 views and has been featured in racial justice education and university syllabi across the globe.

Jabari is a 2018 Baltimore Homecoming Hero, the only two-time recipient of the Mark Scurti Award for Outstanding Contributions to the LGBTQ Community by OUTLaw at the University of Baltimore School of Law, a 2020 Business Equality Pride Magazine LGBTQ Leader Under 40, and was recently named Emerging Leader of the Year by the Maryland LGBT Chamber of Commerce. Jabari attended The Community College of Baltimore County, The University of Maryland—Baltimore County (UMBC) and Morgan State University. They have completed significant university coursework in mathematics, physical science, teacher education and gender studies, as well as a graduate certificate program in Supporting System-Involved LGBTQ Youth from Georgetown University. They currently reside in Southeast Baltimore City, where they enjoy trying out new recipes, entertaining for family and friends, dancing to loud music, the beach, and Beyoncé.