Willens is an English as a Second Language teacher to adult students up in Harlem at the Mid-Manhattan Adult Learning Center, one of four centers in the DOE that cater to the needs of adult students, both immigrant and native born. He joined the Proud Educator Network in the fall of 2018 after making the decision to become more involved in the LGBTQIA+ community and has enjoyed the sense of community the group brings as well as the urgency it calls for as more and more teachers become comfortable opening up to their students about their personal lives. He believes that everyone benefits from educators being honest and living their authentic selves. As someone who was initially too shy to show his “real” self to anyone in general, Willens now feels comfortable being his silly, theatrical and empathetic self in the classroom and has seen his adult student respond in kind. He hopes to continue learning and growing more with PEN and having the necessary discussions that can lead to change in the classroom. ing Soon