“The ultimate goal of inclusion work is to understand that our similarities are interdependently woven into the fabric of our differences. ”
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”.
