Ian M. Whalen, Ph.D.

Ian M. Whalen, Ph.D. currently as the Operations & Advocacy Manager at One Colorado, the state’s leading organization for LGBTQ+ equality. He earned his Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Colorado Boulder in 2024, following an M.A. in Sociology (2017) and a B.A. in History (2015) from the University of Mississippi.

His research broadly examines how queer subjectivities are formed within social environments structured by repression, silence, and institutional power. His master’s thesis, “Discreet Only: An Exploration of Discreet Practices in a Mississippi Town,” analyzed how openly gay and bisexual men construct identity and negotiate visibility through Grindr in the rural South. His doctoral dissertation, “Governing Silence: Contextualizing the Emergence of Queer Subjectivity in the Rural South,” extends this work, theorizing “governing silence” as a set of institutional mechanisms—rooted in family, church, and state—that simultaneously constrain and enable queer life. Drawing on oral histories, archival research, and queer theoretical frameworks, he critiques metronormativity and reframes silence as a paradoxical site of selfhood, belonging, and resistance.

In 2024, Ian also served as Metro Organizer for the Freedom to Marry Colorado campaign for Amendment J, which successfully removed the state’s constitutional ban on same-sex marriage. This experience reinforced his commitment to community-driven advocacy and demonstrated how listening, relationship-building, and collective empowerment can transform both institutions and everyday lives.

Building on this work Ian started working at  One Colorado in June 2025, where he oversees the organization’s operational systems and statewide advocacy strategy. His work bridges administrative leadership and movement organizing building the LGBTQ+ community's capacity for civic engagement, emphasizing coalition-building and community partnerships as tools for sustainable policy change.

Alongside his advocacy work, Ian teaches online courses for the University of Colorado Boulder’s Continuing Education program, ranging from Introduction to Sex, Gender, and Society to advanced seminars in Classical Theory and Sociology of Religion.