A. Speaker panels are educational interventions in which volunteer gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and supportive heterosexual allied people share their personal stories and respond to questions and comments from an audience. Often these panels are used in a classroom setting to provide personal experience in addition to course material. Panels usually consist of 2 - 4 people that identity as gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, or a heterosexual ally.
Panelists can be students, faculty, staff, or people in the local community.
Coordination of a panel program can come from a student organization or university office. Coordination usually consists of recruiting new panelists, training, advertising, signing up panelists for panel dates, and evaluation. Some universities such as the University of Michigan offer academic credit for panelists. Advertising of the program should go to residence halls, student organizations, as well as academic departments that include GLBT issues in course material. As your panel program gains a reputation as a worthwhile educational intervention then many professors will plan a panel into their course syllabi every semester.