Lee Iskander (they/them) is an educator and education researcher who recently completed their PhD in Curriculum Studies at the University of British Columbia. They situate their research at the intersection of queer and trans studies, curriculum studies, and teacher education. Lee's work has been published in various academic journals, including the Journal of LGBT Youth, Teaching Education, Teachers College Record, Educational Researcher, and Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education.

​

Lee's research primarily concerns the experiences of trans and gender-nonconforming educators. Their master's research was a qualitative study with 16 non-binary teachers in Canada and the United States. It explored how these teachers think about the relationship between their gender and teaching. For their doctoral research, Lee initiated a critical participatory action research project with trans and gender-nonconforming preservice teachers attending various Canadian teacher education programs. That research resulted in a co-created visual resource, which is available here.

​

Lee's interest in gender and sexuality in schools arose from their experience as a youth activist. As a high school student, Lee attempted to start a gay-straight alliance (now commonly called a gender and sexuality alliance) at their publicly-funded Ontario Catholic school. When this request was denied, they organized youth from across the province to pressure the government to mandate that queer and trans student groups be allowed in all Ontario schools. This collective effort culminated in the passage of the Accepting Schools Act in 2012, which amended the Education Act to assert that all publicly-funded schools must allow justice-focused school clubs like gay-straight alliances whenever students request them. In recognition of their efforts, Lee was named Honoured Dyke in the 2011 Toronto Dyke March, youth grand marshal of the 2011 Toronto Pride Parade, and Inspired Media Youth of the Year.  Also in 2011, they received the Bridges to Hope and Freedom award from Toronto's Metropolitan Community Church. The group they organized, "Catholic Students for GSAs," was awarded the John Damien Award for Outstanding Activism in 2011.

​

Lee earned a Bachelor of Arts (honours) at York University, where they majored in history and minored in English. Concurrently with that degree, they completed a Bachelor of Education in the intermediate/secondary stream. They received certification from the Ontario College of Teachers in 2017.

​

In addition to their scholarly work, Lee maintains a studio practice as an oil painter. They have received recognition for their artwork from the PleinAir Salon, an online international competition, and won second place in the Open category at the 2024 Grand Prix of Art Steveson, competing against 94 artists in their division. In 2024, they were an exhibiting artist in Vancouver's East Side Culture Crawl.

​

Lee is a queer and trans settler of Irish and Egyptian ancestry. They live on the unceded traditional territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh nations.