Education:

2003 - BS in Philosophy, Univ. of Washington
2012 - Masters in Social Work, Portland State Univ.

Licenses:

1996 - USSF ‘E’ Coaching License
1998 - USSF ‘D’ Coaching License
2003 - USSF ‘C’ Coaching License

recent Professional Experience:

2013 - Present: Founding Executive Director at Portland Community FC
2016 - 2022: Adjunct Professor, Portland State Univ., School of Social Work
2017 - Present: Founder/CEO at Quantum Gender
2012 - 2013: Case Worker at Dept. of Human Services
2008 - 2010: Program Director, YMCA
2005 - 2007: Head Coach/Director of Development Level Program, Eastside United Football Club (now Eastside Timbers)

volunteer work:

2017 - 2023: LGBTQ Advocacy Leadership Team Member at United Soccer Coaches

2021 - 2023: Equity Action Committee at MLS Next

kaig lightner, msw
Founder/CEO

I’ve been speaking publicly since 2006 about my experience as a queer, trans person with the goal of educating others and elevating the importance of inclusion for LGBTQ+ communities. I believe in using my experience of living through oppression and discrimination, based purely on not fitting into gender norms, to educate others on the harmful impact that the two gendered system has on all aspects of our society.

My experience of working with underserved communities as a social worker since 2005 combined with 25 years as a licensed soccer coach has given me the unique combination of understanding the complexity of systematic oppression and how it impacts minority communities, including youth sports. It was these overlapping professional experiences that led me to found Portland Community Football Club in 2013, a nonprofit competitive soccer club for low-income, immigrant and refugee youth ages 5-18.

Through my extensive experience as a high level coach and graduate level social work professor, I have honed the skill of breaking down complex ideas into smaller, tangible pieces of information. I use this skill, combined with emotional intelligence, and trauma-informed knowledge to help cisgender people understand not just how to be inclusive of all genders, but to also deeply reflect on how they came to understand their own gender identity.

As a white person I also focus on anti-racist work through the lens of speaking openly about my white privilege and the ways I now experience cisgender and heterosexual privilege as well. To gain a better understanding of my approach to this work please watch my YouTube series “Intoxicating Privilege”.

The mission

Quantum Gender redefines the way that your company or sports organization thinks about gender. I transform the culture into one that embraces people of all gender identities and expressions. But this goes beyond just checking the diversity box of inclusion for LGBTQ+ employees or coaches. I go deeper into the issues of sexism, privilege, and patriarchy.

My extensive experience as a licensed soccer coach for nearly 30 years, Founding Executive Director of Portland Community Football Club and lived experience as a transgender person has made me uniquely qualified to address the toughest issues around gender inclusivity, homophobia, and transphobia in the sports industry.

Everyone has a gender identity. Quantum Gender is here to make sure your organization or business excels at being inclusive of all genders.

What I offer

Nothing I provide is off-the-shelf, cookie-cutter solutions. I recognize that every company and organization has a unique culture and way of doing business. So I take the time to get to know your priorities and needs and offer customized services based on those needs. Below you will find examples of the topics of which I can educate your employees, board members, staff, coaches and stakeholders.

Trainings & Workshops

contact me to discuss more details about workshop details and how i can best serve your needs.

• LGBTQ+ Inclusivity 101 - 301 Series

• Understanding Gender Identity

• Implicit Bias and Intersectionality

• Building Empathy

• Homophobia and Sexism

I was born in Denver, Colorado in 1980. From a young age I didn't quite fit the gender binary. 

redmond, Wa

I moved, with my family, to Redmond, WA in 1987.  I grew up in a quiet suburb, but from the first day of 2nd grade to the final day of High School I was teased, bullied and questioned about my gender identity nearly everyday. "Are you a boy or a girl?" was a common daily question. In those days there was very little positive language or media representation of transgender or gender non-conforming people. I felt that I was completely alone in this experience of "not quite fitting in".

What did give me a sense of belonging was being a member of the athletic world. Starting at the age of 8, I began playing softball and then quickly started basketball, soccer and eventually volleyball. The team atmosphere, connecting with others and the ability to simply run off my anxiety and anger was just what I needed. I also discovered the unbelievable rewards of coaching at the age of 15. I found coaching and working with kids to be my true calling.  

seattle, wa

September, 1999 I stepped onto the vast expanse of the University of Washington campus to discover that I had absolutely no idea what I wanted to dedicate the next four years of learning towards. But after taking a Philosophy 101 course I, once again, had that feeling of belonging. So for the next 4 years I studied the unanswerable questions of the universe, our society and slowly began to question one of the most prevalent quandaries of modern time - why does the gender binary exist and who does it serve?

During this time of exploration of self and society I also began to identify as gay. I came out to my parents at the age of 21. This was a monumental step in my journey towards ultimately identifying as a transgender person. It was also during this time that I discovered a brand new sport - rowing. 

I took a risk and decided to walk onto the #1 rowing team in the country - also as the shortest person on the team. After 3 months of grueling workouts I clawed my way up to the top novice boat where I shared the privilege of rowing with nationally ranked athletes from both the US and Italy. I had the opportunity to row in the PAC-10 Championship and experience some of the most exhilarating and exhausting athletic competitions of my life. But my gender identity was still being questioned constantly during this time. I was rowing on the women's team but consistently assumed to be on the men's team (and assumed to be the coxswain - the shortest member of the crew!).  I started to recognize that something drastic was going to have to change and soon. 

portland, or

May 1, 2005 I moved to Portland, Oregon, not knowing a soul in the city.  I had landed an exciting coaching position and soon after also began working in the field of social work via several after school programs. I was also ready to begin a new life using the name Kaig and using male pronouns. By 2007 I began taking testosterone to achieve the much needed masculine traits I had been dreaming about since a teenager. In 2008 I traveled to Baltimore, MD with my parents to have surgery to remove my breasts. It was not long after returning from this surgery that I began to share my personal experiences of transitioning and growing up as a gender non-conforming youth through workshops, trainings and public speaking engagements. I discovered, yet again, another place I belonged - up on stage! 

I have shared this story with hundreds of people over the past decade in addition to helping many understand the complexities and challenges.  But on May 1, 2017 I decided to take a bold step and come out to a group of kids I coach at Portland Community Football Club.

Within days of this video being posted to the club's Facebook page it was making headlines in the HuffPost, NBC.com and making it's way around the world. The video received over 100,000 views in less than a month on YouTube. You can read more of these articles on my Coming Out page.

I never intended for this video to circle the globe, but as soon as the media attention began flowing in I saw it as an opportunity to be a spokesperson for the visibility of transgender people. It also further motivated me to launch Quantum Gender Consulting. 

Press coverage

The New York Times - May 2023

“Everybody is welcome here”

“Lightner quickly saw that the abundant sports opportunities in the city’s wealthier communities barely existed for the kids he was now working with. He had always felt like an outsider and now saw that the players he coached — the children of working-class immigrants in one of America’s whitest cities — thought of themselves in much the same way. Considering how he could best help, Lightner focused on what had kept him going through all those years of adolescent anguish.

Soccer had been my main way of finding healing and connection, and I wanted that for these kids, too,” he said.”

The Washington Post - December 2023

“The industry is still being affected by billions of dollars in private equity, and that has caused many big organizations to grow and smaller clubs to shrink. PCFC is the model that can change the industry.”

The Guardian - May 2024

“During her first soccer game she couldn’t even really run normally because she was squealing and skipping with joy down the field. It’s the happiest I’ve ever seen her.”