Hoefnagel to coordinate belonging and inclusion in Student Affairs

Ali Hoefnagel has been named Pitt’s new coordinator of belonging and inclusion by the Division of Student Affairs. They also will serve as an advisor to the Rainbow Alliance and LGBTQIA+ students.

“I’m creating the role as I move through it, and I’m excited to be bringing [my] experience to the University,” said Hoefnagel, who for the past decade has focused on facilitating the intersections of queer artmaking and social justice among youth.

Originally from Chicago, Hoefnagel was a 2014 Chicago Artists Month featured artist and named a 30 under 30 award recipient by the Windy Times for contributions to the queer community.

Hoefnagel also was a board member for the Pride Youth Theatre Alliance, a cohort of activists representing queer youth theater programs from across the U.S. and Canada. They taught theater activism classes and workshops with numerous organizations and universities in Illinois, including Lake Forest College, where they earned a bachelor’s degree in theater and women’s and gender studies.

In Pittsburgh, they spent five years as the program director for Dreams of Hopean arts-focused organization for queer and allied youth, and a performer for the 2020 TransPride Pittsburgh Health and Wellness Conference.