April 17, 2023 Newsletter

Connect with the Commission

WA State LGBTQ Commission Adopts Strategic Plan for FY2024-FY2025 .

During the last public meeting of the WA State LGBTQ Commission held in Spokane County, the Commissioners adopted the Strategic Plan for Fiscal Years 2024 and 2025. As the WA State LGBTQ Commission enters its fourth year, it was the right time for the Commissioners to engage in this work. During the first years of the agency, the staff and Commissioners focused their attention on establishing the office, nurture relationships, and learning about the different ways in which the Commission can accomplish its mission and vision. During a public meeting held over two days in January in Thurston County, the WA State LGBTQ Commission was led in a visioning session by Erick Seelbach (she/her) from The Liminal Mirror, an LGBTQ-owned consulting business based in Pierce County. An Ad-Hoc Strategic Planning Committee, composed of Commissioners Marsha Botzer (she/her), Nick Franco (they/them), and Matt Landers (he/him), had the task of distilling the ideas and suggestions offered by the Commissioners and present a draft for adoption. The Executive Committee and staff provided feedback and suggestions to the Ad-Hoc Committee before the final draft was presented to the full Commission. At the public meeting held in Spokane County on March 17th, 2023, the Commissioners discussed the proposed draft. After offering some minor suggestions and refining some ideas, the Strategic Plan was adopted in a unanimous vote. The Executive Committee and staff are now tasked with identifying the tools and ways in which each strategic priority will be implemented. The WA State LGBTQ Commission Strategic Plan focuses on five priority areas: intersectional connections, stewardship, LGBTQ elders, support for basic needs, and track and counter hate. These priority areas focus on both internal and external work, offering a more comprehensive perspective to the work of the agency. The full Strategic Plan, along with strategies and outcomes for each priority, can be found on the Commission’s website here.

2SLGBTQIA+ Pride Season Events – We Want to Hear from You!

Pride season is just around the corner! The WA State LGBTQ Commission wants to keep an updated calendar of Pride events throughout the state. We have created this form which you can use to let us know about any event your agency or community group is planning for this year. Feel free to share this link with agencies around your area who are planning events to celebrate and honor our community. The LGBTQ Commission reserves the right to publish the information of the event, and here are some guidelines we will follow in making our decision on what events will be published: Events that go against the mission, vision, and values of the LGBTQ Commission will not be publish on the calendar. Only community events will be accepted for publication. No commercial events at bars, clubs, restaurants, or paid venues will be accepted for publication. (It’s OK if a community event has an entrance fee.) Political, partisan, and religious events will not be accepted for publication. Acceptance for publication of an event on the Commission’s calendar does not constitute endorsement, support, or sponsorship of such event on the part of the Commission, its staff, Commissioners, or affiliated agencies. Commission staff and LGBTQ Commissioners would be delighted to share with our community at Pride events throughout the season. If you want to extend an invitation to the staff or Commissioners to attend your event in an official capacity, please submit your invitation through the Commission’s “Contact Us” page here.

Opportunities for the Community

“Teaching While Queer”

Queer Educators: A Call for Submissions

Twenty years ago, I decided to become a teacher. I was motivated by two main factors; first was my genuine love for working with kids, and second, I passionately wanted to create a safe space for queer youth in our public schools, something I never experienced in my own youth.  While attending a graduate teaching program, with a stated focus on social justice, I learned about a host of problems in the public school system, including systemic underfunding, the racist school-to-prison pipeline and white supremacist curricula. Unfortunately, the challenges I would face as a queer educator were never addressed by my teacher certification program, and they were never addressed in any of the dozens of district-provided professional development offerings I have attended.

On the surface, our educational institutions may appear to be more and more welcoming, perhaps even safe. But this could not be further from the truth. Over my years of teaching in public schools, I have found there to be a number of unique challenges faced by queer educators; challenges that are often hidden from view, including:

• Targeted harassment by students, families, administration, the right wing, social media, and other teachers
• Heteronormative work environments that traumatize and oppress queer staff
• The classroom closet teachers are often forced to live in, which provides no actual protection, and the long-term trauma this inflicts
• Zero support for the emotional toll and career risks carried by queer teachers who attempt to support their queer students
• The effects of tokenization of queer folks in the school environment, the emotional labor and work load we are often asked to carry, as we are requested (and often expected) to participate in any and all equity initiatives
• School-based equity teams often place queer teachers in the spotlight, causing homophobic and transphobic backlash within our communities that forces queer educators to leave their jobs

The truth is, queer educators exist in a precarious space in our school communities; one that leaves us dangerously open to attack. The discourse around our specific conditions is extremely limited, while the few LGBTQ stories that are highlighted fail to represent the complexity of the obstacles we face. The stories shown most often uplift successes predicated on surface reforms, such as diversity and inclusion initiatives, rainbow stickers and Pride posters. Sadly, these reforms have obscured the fact that no structural protections have actually been instituted for queer teachers. Together we can challenge this oppressive narrative, by uplifting the authentic and diverse experiences of queer educators across the country; stories that often intersect with other marginalized identities, including race, class, gender and disability.  This is a call to action, to highlight the need for systemic changes and radical rethinking, to bravely share the many ways we encounter systemic oppression in our school communities and to open up a space for discourse that will help to dismantle those systems and continue the work of envisioning a future of queer liberation.

This is a call for personal essays, poetry, and interviews, intended for a broad audience, of up to five thousand words.  Submission deadline: August 1^st, 2023. Please email me directly: toddbohannon@hotmail.com

In Solidarity,

Todd Bohannon they/them

Virtual LGBTBE Certification Workshop – Sponsored by GSBA

GSBA President and CEO, Ilona Lohrey has put together the perfect pathway to explain supplier diversity and certification for your LGBTQ+ owned and operated small business in this two part workshop series!

You can register for the virtual workshops by visiting GSBA’s website here.

Funding Opportunities – Services for People Living With HIV

The Washington State Department of Health OID has released two RFAs for services and activities beginning January 1, 2024. Find the full RFAs and application materials here. Applications are due June 5, 2023, by 5:00 pm PST. Ryan White RFA ($21 million available per year):  Focused on client services and service delivery to people living with HIV in Washington.  Syndemic RFA ($6 million available per year):  Focused on client services and "syndemic" service delivery of overlapping prevention efforts (e.g., infectious disease testing, linkage and navigation services, syringe service programs) for:  HIV Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) Hepatitis C Infectious disease and other health consequences for people who use drugs Submit Questions by April 18th If you are considering applying, please take the time to read the entire application and begin compiling your questions. There is a short turnaround time for the question and answer period. If you have questions about the application, you can ask them through April 18, 2023 at 5:00 pm PST via email.

Save the Date for Say It Out Loud Conference!

Join us for the 22^nd annual Say It Out Loud Conference back in person on May 22, 2023!

The theme this year is "Let's Get Reel": Getting real about our communities, what data tells us, needs and inequities and how we're addressing them, use of evidence-based care, history and evolution of genderqueer, projects, and research of our youth coalitions. Not shying away from topics but elevating them to promote change.

LOCATION:

Davenport Grand

333 W Spokane Falls Boulevard

Spokane, WA 99201

REGISTRATION:

Stay Tuned! Opening mid-February $75

SPONSORSHIP:

Interested in sponsoring the 2023 SIOL Conference? CLICK HERE to learn more and contact us at contactus@sayingitoutloud.org

www.sayingitoutloud.org

Save the Date: Two-Spirit Gathering in Spokane Falls

Image: Stylized sun, feather and water on yellow backgroup with QR Code, Spectrum Center logo, Spokane Pride logo Text: FREE Open to the public JUNE 9TH 2023. First date of Spokane Pride 1pm-8pm PST Riverfront Park @ The Lilac Bowl 507 N Howard St Spokane, WA 99201 QR Code link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc2aCJDLLcb8jhqX9RXUhpVcroKFWnItOLCe2UzyoSXfUQHyQ/viewform

Legislative Session Updates

The LGBTQ Commission identifies legislative priorities annually and works with our Legislative Advisors and other legislators to advance bills that expand the rights of the community. 

The current bills being monitored for 2023 that made it through the cutoffs:

Legislative Priority:

• SB 5114- Supporting adults with lived experience of sex trafficking. Companion bill
• HB 1151 - Mandating coverage for fertility services.
• SB 5204 - Mandating coverage for fertility services. Companion Bill

Affecting the community:

The Commission is tracking the following legislation that indirectly impacts the LGBTQ+ community:

• HB 1028- Supporting crime victims and witnesses by promoting victim-centered, trauma-informed responses in the legal system.
• HB 1155 - Addressing the collection, sharing, and selling of consumer health data.
• HB 1207- Preventing and responding to harassment, intimidation, bullying, and discrimination in schools.
• HB 1469 – Concerning access to reproductive health care services and gender-affirming
• HB 1474- Creating the covenant homeownership account and program to address the history of housing discrimination due to racially restrictive real estate covenants in 
• HB 1541- Establishing the nothing about us without us act.
• SB 5028- Revising the process for individuals to request name changes. - Signed by the Governor
• SB 5142 - Creating an account for the pharmaceutical rebate revenue generated by the purchase of medications for people living with HIV who are enrolled in the early intervention program. - Signed by the Governor
• SB 5186 - Requiring antidiscrimination clauses in public contracting
• SB 5242 - Prohibiting cost sharing for abortion.
• SB 5355 - Mandating instruction on sex trafficking prevention and identification for students in grades seven through 12
• SB 5453 - Concerning female genital mutilation - Delivered to the Governor
• SB 5462 - Promoting inclusive learning standards and instructional materials in public schools
• SB 5599 - Supporting youth and young adults seeking protected health care services.

The LGBTQ and ally community in Washington has several ways to be involved in advocating for issues that are important to us. Here are some tools you can use:

Washington State LGBTQ Legislative Caucus 

Contact Your Legislator

• Find Your Legislator: Enter your address to find your current legislative and congressional district.
• Legislative Hotline: 1-800-562-6000 (TTY for Hearing Impaired 1-800-635-9993). Callers to the Hotline can leave a brief message for their district legislators, Governor or Lt. Governor on issues of concern or on questions they may have about bills or laws. For non-English speaking callers, the Hotline offers interpreter services for many languages.
• E-mail: Click a legislator’s name to go to the e-mail form for that legislator
• Visiting the Legislature: Information about directions, parking, Capitol Campus activities and events, and tours.

Bill Information

• Bill Information: Find out the latest information on a piece of legislation.
• Legislative Process: Learn how a bill becomes a law.
• How to Testify in Committee: Your opportunity to testify comes at the committee hearings. If you cannot appear before a committee, contact your legislator making your position on a bill known.
• TVW: Washington’s public affairs network, providing gavel-to-gavel coverage of Washington State Legislature sessions and coverage of the Washington State Supreme Court and public affairs events.

Interested in serving on Commissions and Boards?

Monthly Upcoming Appointment Opportunities

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.

Jobs Opportunities for LGBTQ Washingtonians

Check out the list of job opportunities for the community on our Careers Opportunities page by visiting this link.

We are excited to share job postings sent to the LGBTQ Commission. There are three requirements to be included on our page:

• The job needs to be able to be done in Washington State (virtual works)
• The business must have an inclusivity and/or equal opportunity statement
• The job posting must include a salary range.

 Please send any job opportunity to share with the community to our Program Manager, Tracey Carlos (she/her) to tracey.carlos@lgbtq.wa.gov

Have something you want to share in our newsletter?  Please send any submissions to Tracey Carlos, Program Manager, at tracey.carlos@lgbtq.wa.gov  

Deadline for all submissions is Thursdays by 12:00 PM Pacific Time.

Published Monday mornings.