I hold degrees in Biology, Public Health, and Sociology from New York University, Brooklyn College, and the CUNY Graduate Center, where I also completed a doctoral certificate in Women's Studies and a concentration in LGBTQ studies. Currently, I am an adjunct lecturer in the Women, Gender, and Sexuality program at St. Mary’s College of Maryland and an Associate Disruptor for Race Reflections UK, where I develop trainings around workplace equity for LGBTQ people and facilitate workshops for clients wishing to create anti-racist environments.

In my first book, Everyday Violence: The Public Harassment of Women and LGBTQ People (Rutgers University Press, 2021), I analyzed catcalling and LGBTQ-directed aggression on the streets of New York City. My current book project looks at reproductive journeys of transgender and nonbinary people as we navigate a hostile healthcare system and society. My other publications include the article “Straight Gods, White Devils: Exploring Paths to Non-Religion in the Lives of Black LGBTQ People" in Secularism and Nonreligion and a chapter on being a raging lesbian scholar in Negotiating the Emotional Challenges of Doing Deeply Personal Research edited by Alexandra C.H. Nowakowski and J.E. Sumerau.

As a lesbian, agender parent of four kids and a mentor to young LGBTQ people, I work hard to make space for difference and address parental abandonment, toxic public spaces, and institutional failure to protect marginalized people. Some of the organizations I want everyone to support are FIERCE, Callen-Lorde, and No Disrespect. Contact and hire me at simonekolysh@gmail.com.