MassLive recently asked readers to identify people who are leaders from the LGBTQ+ community throughout the state, working to make a difference in their own area of interest, be it politics, education, business or the arts.
Profiles of these leaders will be published through the rest of February. These are people our readers have identified as inspirational, who may be doing good acts for their communities. They are being recognized for their accomplishments, leadership and commitment to inspire change.
Christa Rose is an LGBTQ+ advocate, whose goals are to create identity-affirming counterspaces and empower those experiencing intersecting forms of marginalization and oppression. (Jackie Ricciardi photo)Courtesy of Christa Rose
Age: 23
Community: Boston
Her story: Christa Rose is a neuroscience researcher, equity and inclusion consultant, and creator of spaces that disrupt “dominant deficit-based narratives.”
She is a Boston University alumna and holds a bachelor’s in neurobiology and a master’s in biology.
Rose is passionate about supporting marginalized communities, creating accessible solutions for addressing mental health challenges, and LGBTQ+ advocacy and activism.
While attending BU, Rose said she struggled to find spaces where more than one of her identities was affirmed, being one of few low-income, first-generation students.
She said also she found herself among few Latinx students in LGBTQ+ spaces outside of the classroom.
Never feeling completely affirmed in all of her identities, Rose “quickly realized,” she was not the only student who felt this way and was “empowered to co-create affirming spaces with other LGBTQ+ students—particularly those with intersecting marginalized identities.”
Rose said she recognized her “feelings of exclusion and lack of support” were not personal shortcomings but “a result of significant gaps in institutional support provided to LGBTQ+ students.”
Her mission became advocating for additional support and the removal of systemic barriers that prevent LGBTQ+ students from being fully included and supported in all facets of their life at BU, she said.
Some initiatives Rose has launched to support marginalized communities at BU include the addition of an LGBTQIA+ BU Student Task Force, which inspired the creation of BU’s LGBTQIA+ Student Resource Center in 2023.
Rose said her work with the Task Force has led to an increase in universal-gender bathrooms on campus as well as additional insurance coverage for gender-affirming healthcare services.
To honor Rose’s “legacy of student advocacy and celebrates individuals who exemplify the values of social justice,” BU’s Women, Gender, & Sexuality Studies Program created a Community Impact Award.
In her position as a co-executive director of Rose & Berg Consulting, Rose collaborates with higher education administrators aiming to improve their institutional climate, resources, and policies to better support Indigenous, Black, Latinx, LGBTQ+, disabled, first-generation and low-income people.
She is also the communications director for Indigenous Peoples Day Newton, an Indigenous-led group of volunteers dedicated to uplifting the voices of Indigenous peoples in the Northeast.
Rose has been recognized for her advocacy work in publications such as MassLive, Bostonia, BU Today, WGBH, Boston.com and Boston Spirit Magazine.
In her words: “Embrace the notion that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to activism; rather, it is about finding the methods that resonate with your strengths, values, and abilities as well as the needs of the community you are advocating alongside. Be open to exploring unconventional avenues and leverage your unique skills and experiences to effect meaningful change.”
We’re always open to hearing about more inspiring people. If you’d like to suggest someone else who should be recognized, please fill out this form.
