Thank You LGBTQ Commission Interns!

The Washington State LGBTQ Commission is proud to partner with the Experiential Learning program at the University of Puget Sound, to provide undergraduate students an opportunity to learn how to advance the public policy work to strengthen our LGBTQ community. Each year, the Commission welcomes a group of interns that engage in different projects. This year, the Commission welcomed interns Hong Ta, Abby Loboda, and Elias Thiemann, who worked in several projects. This group of interns engaged in several important projects with the Commission.

During their time with us, Abby, Elias, and Hong reached out to dozens of community organizations to help update the Commission’s directory of service agencies (which you can check out here.) They also researched the state laws that protect our community and identified gaps that need to be addressed. This work will help inform the legislative priorities for the Commission for the 2023 Legislative Session. In addition, in a partnership with the Washington State Department of Archeology and Historic Preservation (DAHP), the interns researched, identified, photographed, and mapped several locations of historic significance for the LGBTQ community in the Seattle/King County area. With this information, the DAHP will be creating an interactive map of the area highlighting historically important spaces for the community as part of a larger project to map places that have historic significance for communities that have been historically marginalized.

Here are some reflections from Abby, Hong, and Elias on their experience working with the Commission:

From Abby Loboda

My time with the WA State LGBTQ Commission has been wonderful! It was an experience where I have seen the most personal growth, especially professionally. I have improved my research skills enormously which I didn't expect to become such a staple of my summer internship, but I am so glad that it did. Not only did I spend my time on the Commission's Outreach Project which involved researching and connecting organizations that provide resources and opportunities to LGBTQ individuals, but I was also given the opportunity to work with the State's Department of Archeology and Historical Preservation on the Seattle LGBTQ Historic & Cultural Sites Project. Furthermore, I am extremely honored to have met Governor Jay Inslee, Valentino Vecchietti (creator of the intersex-inclusive progress rainbow flag) and a number of other great individuals working within and with the state government. These numerous opportunities have truly made my summer, and being able to work with J. Manny Santiago, Tracey Carlos and the other two interns, Hong Ta and Elias Thiemann has been such a privilege. Thank you to everyone!

From Hong Ta

This summer, I was able to meet many amazing folks through this internship, such as staff, my fellow interns, WA government workers and activists in the Seattle LGBTQ community. One of my favorite projects was working on researching historical LGBTQ sites and taking their photographs in Seattle. In addition, attending the Pride flag raising ceremony and the Trans and Non-Binary Youth Roundtable with Governor Inslee in Olympia were really unique experiences as a part of the internship!

From Elias Thiemann

I had an incredible experience interning with the Washington State LGBTQ Commission. The work I did was challenging and engaging. I was able to take on many exciting projects, from researching the legislation that protects the LGBTQ+ community in Washington and beyond, to diving deep into Seattle’s gay history. These projects helped me strengthen my research and writing skills and gave me the opportunity to learn more about Washington state’s vibrant queer community – both in the past and the present. This internship allowed me to meet and work with many of the wonderful activists advocating for LGBTQ+ Washingtonians. I learned more about the inner workings of state government. I am incredibly thankful to Tracey Carlos and Manny Santiago for all of their support this summer, and I will cherish this experience for years to come.

The Washington State Department of Health (DOH) is excited to announce the formation of a Community Advisory Committee to support and oversee the development of an Environmental Justice Community Participation Fund Grant program. The aim of this program is to award a $400,000 pass-through grant to a statewide community-based environmental justice organization for the creation of an Environmental Justice Community Participation Fund. This Fund will be used to allocate smaller funds to other community-based organizations around Washington State to support meaningful participation and engagement with the Environmental Justice Council and state agencies around the Healthy Environment for All (HEAL) Act. 

DOH recognizes that community leadership is a core principle of environmental justice and is central to the intention and spirit of the HEAL Act. As such, DOH is seeking Community Advisory Committee members to co-develop the process for awarding funding, reviewing applications, and selecting a final awardee. 

The Community Advisory Committee members are expected to participate in the following activities and responsibilities: 

Attend two orientation sessions (Tuesday, September 6^th from 6-7:30pm and Tuesday, September 20^th from 6-7:30pm). If you are unable to attend the orientation sessions, you can meet one-on-one with DOH staff instead. 

AND 

participate in ONE of the following small-groups: 

• Small-group 1: Review and edit the Request for Applications for the Environmental Justice Community Participation Grant [October] 
• Small-group 2: Develop criteria and weighting system for evaluating grant applications [October] 
• Small-group 3: Review proposals and select a grantee [November - December]  

Community Advisory Committee members who participate as a sub-group member will receive a VISA gift card in the amount of $1000 for their time. The estimated time commitment for a Community Advisory Committee member is approximately 20 hours total between September and December 2022.  

Those who meet the following criteria are encouraged to apply: 

• Those who have deep relationships within communities experiencing disproportionate impact of environmental pollution (including but not limited to communities in areas of high environmental pollutant exposure, unhoused communities, low-income communities, communities of color, communities on Tribal land, immigrant and refugee communities, and/or communities with a high rate of limited English proficiency); and 
• Understanding of environmental justice issues faced by communities in Washington state; and 
• Demonstrated experience and commitment to equitable and anti-racist community engagement  

Employees or representatives of organizations considering applying for the grant to develop and manage the Environmental Justice Community Participation Fund, or who may wish to access sub-grants from the Environmental Justice Community Participation Fund, are not eligible to participate as Community Advisory Committee members. 

If interested, please apply here (English) (Español) or by completing the attached form and sending it to Leah Wood at leah.wood@doh.wa.gov. 

Applications are due Sunday, August 21^st at 9pm. 

There will be an optional drop-in session for questions on Tuesday, August 16th from 6-7pm over Zoom (register here).

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ANUNCIO Y SOLICITUD PARA PARTICIPAR EN EL COMITÉ DE ASESORAMIENTO COMUNITARIO 

El Departamento de Salud del Estado de Washington (DOH, por su sigla en inglés) se complace en anunciar la formación de un Comité de Asesoramiento Comunitario que asistirá y supervisará el desarrollo de un programa de subvenciones para un fondo de participación comunitaria para la justicia ambiental. El objetivo de este programa es otorgar una subvención de transferencia de $400,000 a una organización comunitaria de justicia ambiental a nivel del estado para la creación de un fondo de participación comunitaria para la justicia ambiental. Este fondo se utilizará para asignar menores cantidades de fondos a otras organizaciones comunitarias del estado de Washington con la finalidad de promover la participación y el compromiso con el Consejo de Justicia Ambiental y las agencias del estado en virtud de la Ley de Medioambiente Saludable para Todos (HEAL, por su sigla en inglés). 

El DOH reconoce que el liderazgo comunitario es un principio central de la justicia ambiental y resulta fundamental para el espíritu y la finalidad de la HEAL. Por lo tanto, el DOH busca a miembros para el Comité de Asesoramiento Comunitario a fin de que desarrollen conjuntamente el proceso de otorgamiento de fondos, revisión de solicitudes y selección del adjudicatario definitivo. 

Se espera que los miembros del Comité de Asesoramiento Comunitario participen en las siguientes actividades y tengan las siguientes responsabilidades: 

Asistir a dos sesiones de orientación (martes, 6 de septiembre de 6:00 a 7:30 p. m. y martes, 20 de septiembre de 6:00 a 7:30 p. m.). En caso de que no puedan asistir a las sesiones de orientación, podrán tener una reunión individual con el personal del DOH. 

Y 

Participar en UNO de los siguientes grupos reducidos: 

• Grupo reducido 1: Revisar y editar las solicitudes de subvención de participación comunitaria para la justicia ambiental [octubre] 
• Grupo reducido 2: Desarrollar un sistema de criterios y ponderación para evaluar las solicitudes de subvención [octubre] 
• Grupo reducido 3: Revisar las propuestas y seleccionar un adjudicatario [noviembre y diciembre]  

Los miembros del Comité de Asesoramiento Comunitario que participen en algún subgrupo recibirán una tarjeta de regalo de VISA por $1000 a cambio de su tiempo. Se calcula que la cantidad de tiempo que deberán dedicar los miembros del Comité de Asesoramiento Comunitario es de, aproximadamente, 20 horas en total, entre septiembre y diciembre de 2022.  

Se recomienda que envíen una solicitud quienes cumplan con los siguientes criterios: 

• tener relaciones sólidas dentro de las comunidades que sufren consecuencias desproporcionadas de la contaminación ambiental (incluidas, entre otras, comunidades ubicadas en zonas de alta exposición a contaminantes ambientales, comunidades sin vivienda, comunidades de bajos ingresos, comunidades de color, comunidades en tierras tribales, comunidades de inmigrantes y refugiados, o comunidades con una proporción elevada de personas con conocimientos limitados de inglés); y 
• comprender los problemas relacionados con la justicia ambiental que enfrentan las comunidades en el estado de Washington; y 
• haber demostrado experiencia y compromiso con la participación comunitaria a favor de la equidad y en contra del racismo.  

Los empleados o representantes de organizaciones que piensen en solicitar la subvención para desarrollar y administrar el fondo de participación comunitaria para la justicia ambiental o que deseen acceder a subvenciones secundarias del fondo de participación comunitaria para la justicia ambiental no cumplen con los requisitos para participar como miembros del Comité de Asesoramiento Comunitario. 

Si le interesa, cargue su solicitud aquí (Español) (English) o complete el formulario adjunto y envíeselo a Leah Wood al correo electrónico leah.wood@doh.wa.gov. 

La fecha límite para presentar las solicitudes es el domingo, 21 de agosto a las 9 p. m. 

Habrá una sesión introductoria optativa donde se contestarán todas sus preguntas el martes, 16 de agosto de 6:00 a 7:00 p. m., que se realizará por Zoom (regístrese aquí). 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Education (Department) proposes to amend the regulations implementing Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (Title IX). The purpose of the proposed regulations is to better align the Title IX regulatory requirements with Title IX's nondiscrimination mandate, and to clarify the scope and application of Title IX and the obligation of all schools, including elementary schools, secondary schools, postsecondary institutions, and other recipients that receive Federal financial assistance from the Department (referred to below as recipients or schools) to provide an educational environment free from discrimination on the basis of sex, including through responding to incidents of sex discrimination. The Department recognizes that schools vary in size, student populations, and administrative structure. The proposed regulations would enable all schools to meet their obligations to comply fully with Title IX while providing them appropriate discretion and flexibility to account for these variations.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before September 12, 2022.

ADDRESSES: Comments must be submitted via the Federal eRulemaking Portal at http://www.regulations.gov.

The Department will not accept comments by fax or by email, or comments submitted after the comment period closes. To ensure that the Department does not receive duplicate copies, please submit your comments only once. Additionally, please include the Docket ID at the top of your comments.

For more information and submit your comments, please visit this website.

Washington is home to vibrant communities and diverse Washingtonians who all have unique talents, skills and experiences. Governor Inslee places a high priority on boards, commissions, and agencies that are reflective of the diverse make-up of Washington and that utilize the impressive talent of Washingtonians. We are always seeking skilled and experienced individuals from a wide variety of backgrounds to participate in boards and commissions ensuring an effective and representative government.

We are excited to share the highlighted Current and Upcoming Gubernatorial Appointment Opportunities.

As someone with deep roots in your respective communities and organizations, we hope that you will share these opportunities.  Anyone interested in being appointed will need to fill out this Application.  Please explore the Boards and Commissions Profiles if you are interested in learning more about the many opportunities to get involved!

Thank you for your assistance in helping Governor Inslee find well-rounded candidates with significant talent and diverse experiences. Please feel free to reach out to Boards and Commissions staff with any questions you might have.  Thank you for your time.