What Alison Batey accomplished for LGBTQ+ inclusion

During her brief, unexpected career stint in the Boy Scouts of America, Alison Batey quietly made some major contributions to LGBTQ+ inclusion in the organization.

Why it matters: Batey never worked at the national office in Dallas, but in her council role in Boston, she formed a thriving affinity group for LGBTQ+ scouters across the country.

• She also helped developed national training materials, including the Citizenship in Society merit badge.

Go deeper: In my podcast conversation with Batey, we talked about her many LGBTQ+ inclusion projects, the barriers she faced bringing some of them to life, and the impact she hopes to continue having as a Scouting volunteer.

• Batey grew up as a girl scout, steeped in the world of camping and outdoor activities. In 2017, while working as a teacher and leading a class trip to the New England Base Camp, she was recruited to be its summer camp director—beginning her career as a professional scouter.
• She started the LGBTQ+ Scouts and Allies group on Facebook alongside two others—one for women, one for scouts with disabilities—but the LGBTQ+ group took off quickly, becoming the largest and most active.
• The success of the group opened a lot of doors for Batey. She went on to help camp directors all over the country support scouts with disabilities, and contributed to a national inclusion toolkit.
• Batey has now left her professional Scouting role and returned to her roots as a teacher, where she can focus on her passion of working directly with kids. But she plans to stay involved as a BSA volunteer.

If you haven’t yet, you can listen to my full conversation with Batey at the link below.

Programming note: There will be no newsletter next week, due to the Thanksgiving holiday.