Kevin Jennings

Kevin Brett Jennings (born May 8, 1963) is an American educator, author, and administrator. He was the assistant deputy secretary for the Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools at the U.S. Department of Education from July 6, 2009 to June 2011.

Jennings holds degrees from Harvard University, Columbia University's Teachers College, and the Stern School of Business at New York University. He became a teacher and was named one of fifty "Terrific Teachers Making a Difference" by the Edward Calesa Foundation; he also came out as gay to his students. He was the youngest of five children to Chester Henry, an itinerant Southern Baptist preacher, and Alice Verna (Johnson) Jennings. He was constantly taunted and bullied. He returned years later to obtain additional degrees. He earned a master's degree in interdisciplinary studies in education at Columbia University's Teachers College in 1994, and an MBA from New York University's Stern School of Business in 1999. Most of his students accepted him when he revealed his sexual identity after years of keeping it secret. By 1999, Jennings had earned his MBA, and GLSEN was headquartered in the Chelsea, Manhattan neighborhood of New York City and had a staff of 18 and budget of $2.5 million. NEA Republican Educators Caucus chairwoman Diane Lenning protested the award because—by her reading of a story in Jennings' book One Teacher in 10—she thought he broke Massachusetts law in 1988 by not reporting a sixteen-year-old gay high school student's relationship with an older man. Three days later, the caucus ousted Lenning as chairwoman over her stance against gays, and later that month The Washington Times published a letter from Jennings saying the accusations were hurtful, inaccurate and potentially libelous. CNN subsequently confirmed that the student was above the age of consent in Massachusetts and not sexually active. The incident resurfaced in 2009 as part of a social conservatives' campaign against Jennings' appointment to head the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools,

In 2008, Jennings, a life-long ice hockey enthusiast, spoke out against the practice of homophobic chants from fans at New York Rangers home games, and stopped his practice of regularly attending their games for about a month. Jennings and the director of the Gay Hockey Association met with officials of the Rangers and Madison Square Garden but failed to get much action from them. Jennings was a founding member of the advisory board for You Can Play, a campaign dedicated to fighting homophobia in sports.

Jennings stepped down as head of GLSEN as of August 2008. By then, GLSEN had two regional offices and a staff of 40, and there were gay-straight alliances in over 3,700 schools registered to GLSEN. starting July 6, 2009 as the third director of the office, which was established in 2002 during the George W. Bush administration pursuant to the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act part of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001.

Social conservatives campaigned against Jennings' appointment because they alleged he condoned child molestation based on the 2004 incident over a teen's story he related in his book One teacher in 10 : LGBT educators share their stories. The allegations were proven to be false when it was shown the student was above the age of consent and no sex had occurred. 53 Republican members of the House of Representatives signed a letter to the Obama administration that called for Jennings' dismissal. Education Secretary Duncan, the White House, the NEA, and the National Association of Secondary School Principals have supported Jennings' appointment, with Duncan saying Jennings was "uniquely qualified for his job." His office has awarded safety grants worth millions of dollars. In August 2010 his office hosted the first-ever National Bullying Summit, which he and his Research and Policy Coordinator for Bullying Prevention Initiatives, Deborah Temkin, organized. In September 2010 Jennings became one of the notable members of the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention (NAASP), a public–private partnership designed to advance and update the 2001 National Strategy for Suicide Prevention and an outgrowth of the Suicide Prevention Resource Center. The NAASP will initially focus on three high-risk populations: LGBT youth; American Indians/Alaska Natives; and military/veterans.

On May 19, 2011, the Boston-based nonprofit organization Be the Change, based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, announced that Jennings would be resigning his position with the Obama administration and on July 25 he would become president and chief executive officer of the organization. Jennings was praised for his perseverance and effectiveness in the face of early criticism.

Current work Lambda Legal's board of directors announced it has named Kevin Jennings as the organization's new CEO, following a five-year stint as executive director of the Arcus Foundation, a philanthropic foundation advancing social justice and conservation issues, which he joined after leading Be the Change for a year and helping launch its Opportunity Nation campaign. From 2008 to 2013, Jennings served as board chair for the Tectonic Theater Project, creators of The Laramie Project. Jennings also served on the board of the Harvard Alumni Association from 2008 to 2014, becoming only its second openly gay elected director in 2008. He founded First Generation Harvard Alumni, an alumni association of graduates who were the first in their families to attend college which offers mentorship and other support and advocacy services for current first-generation students at Harvard. From 2009 to 2015, Jennings served on the board of Union Theological Seminary, where he chaired the Development Committee and served on the executive committee. Since 2015, he has been the founding board chair for the Ubunye Challenge, which uses extreme athletic events to raise funds to build schools in southern Africa.

Honors and awards Jennings received the Distinguished Service to American Education Award of the National Association of Secondary School Principals in 2007. He also received the Diversity Leadership Award of the National Association of Independent Schools in 2008. In 2010 Jennings was elected by his classmates to be Chief Marshal of the 2010 Harvard Commencement. Jennings also was honored by another of his alma maters, Columbia University's Teachers College, with its Distinguished Alumni Award in 2012. Maintaining his family's historic ties to Appalachia, Jennings served from 2004 to 2009 as national fundraising chair for the Appalachian Community Fund, which honored him with its Appalachian Hero Award in 2012.

Written works



Personal life Jennings is a lifelong, avid ice hockey fan. He has played in the New York City Gay Hockey Association. In 2005, he suffered a near-fatal heart attack after a game, but he recovered and returned to the ice in 2007.