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Amanda Hill
Safe Schools Texas Team Coordinator
Amanda received her undergraduate diploma from the University of Maryland in 2003 with a degree in Marketing and Women’s Studies. She joined Texas Civil Rights Project as the Director of Community Outreach and Development in April 2007. Since then, she has raised multi-millions in donations from foundations and individuals for the Texas Civil Rights Project.
In addition, in 2008 she created TCRP’s Safe Schools Texas, an educational project aimed at preventing harassment and discrimination of LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer) students in school.
In her free time she enjoys pit bull rescue and spending time with her dogs, Rory, Clementine, and June.
Megan Bontempo
Safe Schools Texas Facilitator
Megan Bontempo is an Austin native most recently hailing from the Pacific Northwest where she earned her BA in Philosophical Aesthetics at The Evergreen State College. Her academic studies focused primarily on identity and expression within the arts. Throughout school she worked as an advocate for sexual health and women’s rights through Planned Parenthood and her college’s Women’s Resource Center. After returning home she began volunteering with TCRP’s Safe Schools Texas before becoming the program’s facilitator in May of 2012. Megan is “delighted to be a part of the community here at TCRP and looks forward to continuing [her] dedication to education, empowerment, and equality through this wonderful program!”
Jennifer Chance
Safe Schools Texas Volunteer
Jennifer Chance is a native Southerner with roots in Mississippi, Tennessee, and Texas. She came out in high school, despite being raised in a Southern Baptist home, rejected by her parents for being gay, and being sent to “ex-gay therapy.” She’s happy to be a volunteer with Safe Schools and began in 2012. Chance studied computer science in college and now manages the business school’s Web Team at a local, prominent university. She lives on a small farm outside Austin, where she raises animals, and enjoys spending time with her friends.
Megan Kilgore
Safe Schools Texas Volunteer
Megan grew up in Austin, Texas and attended The University of North Texas at Denton (UNT) where she studied English Literature and Spanish. Growing up, Megan was always interested in community service and civil rights. Her extracurricular activities at UNT helped to solidify these interests; she worked with at risk youth and participated in peer education programs designed to prevent harassment and violence on campus.
After graduating, she moved back to Austin and started looking for volunteer opportunities as a productive and fulfilling way to fill the hours she no longer spent studying. The TCRP Safe Schools Program was a perfect fit.
Megan is currently attending graduate school at Texas State. She hopes to carry her knowledge and sense of social responsibility that she cultivated while volunteering with Safe Schools with her as she continues her education and begins her career.
Taylor McCaslin
Safe Schools Texas Volunteer
A student at The University of Texas at Austin, Taylor is studying Stage Management in the Department of Theatre & Dance. He joined Safe Schools to share his story of growing up gay in a community that didn’t accept him. He hopes his story can help other LGBTQ youth be proud of who they are, and to spread the message of acceptance, compassion and understanding. Living by his motto, “just be you,” Taylor hopes to eventually create a theatre company for LGBTQ youth as a safe place to explore and express one’s identity. www.taylormccaslin.com/standup
Jeff Goodwin
Safe Schools Texas Volunteer
Jeffrey Harold Goodwin grew up in Stephenville, a small dairy town in central Texas. At 18, he came out of the closet, moved to Austin, and began attending University of Texas. While pursuing his degree, he started volunteering for Safe Schools as a guest speaker. He has volunteered since 2010 and has begun expanding his role in Safe Schools to include video, media, and web projects, in addition to his continued role as a guest speaker. Jeff recently received a degree in Radio, Television and Film at UT with a concentration in Women’s and Gender Studies, and is currently pursuing his career.
