This past October 28^th, Entre Hermanos, the leading Latino/a/x LGBTQ organization in Seattle, presented their annual Latino Leader of the Year award to WA State LGBTQ Commission executive director J. Manny Santiago. The award is presented to a Latino/a/x community leader in the state that has worked to advance Entre Hermanos’ mission to “promote the health and well-being of the Latino Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, and questioning community in a culturally appropriate environment through disease prevention, education, support services, advocacy and community building.” The award was presented at Entre Hermanos’ annual “Día de los Muertos Gala”, which this year celebrated the 30^th anniversary of the organization.

The award was presented by Matt González, president of the Board of Directors, on behalf of the board and staff of the organization. The recognition highlighted Manny’s past and present work from advocating for marriage equality in the state, to advancing protections for LGBTQ Latina/o/x folk in Washington, and mentoring emerging BIPOC LGBTQ community leaders, among other policy and community involvement.

Of this recognition, Manny writes: “I do the work because I am passionate about it. I don’t do it to get recognition or to collect accolades. When I first moved to Washington, I was immediately recruited by a national organization to share the Latino, religious experience to advance marriage equality. As a survivor of conversion therapy and religious abuse, I also lent my voice to help ban the practice in our state. Although not technically an immigrant, I know my privilege as a US born citizen from a US colony can be used to advance rights and protections for immigrants, especially for those most marginalized such as LGBTQ, women, children, and disabled folk who come to this country.

I do the work because I love my communities and I want to see mi gente thrive. That’s why I enjoy seeing my people — queer people, disabled people, Latin people, immigrant people, people living in poverty — thrive, be empowered, and find joy. And I don’t do this alone, I stand on the shoulders of countless mentors, grassroots leaders, and a host of people who are doing the work everyday and whose names are not mentioned. This is not my work, but the work of our comunidad.”

Entre Hermanos provides culturally appropriate services in HIV education and prevention, immigration support, and community building for the Latinx/a/o LGBTQ communities around King County and the state. To learn more about their work, visit their webpage here.

The Washington State LGBTQ Commission will host its September public meeting on Friday, November 17^th from 10:00 am – 5:00 pm. This meeting will take place at Whatcom Community College in the Syre Student Center, Rooms 107 and 108, located at 237 W. Kellogg Rd., Bellingham, WA 98226.  This will be an in-person public meeting with no live broadcast. The public can attend in person and public comments will be received both in person at the meeting or in writing prior to the meeting. If you want to submit public comments, please direct them to Sawyer Tuttle, Executive Assistant for the Commission at sawyer.tuttle@lgbtq.wa.gov.

Last week, the Washington State LGBTQ Commission announced the launch of a new page on our website, the Washington State LGBTQ History Timeline. You can view the timeline here. This timeline explores some of the most important events that have happened in our state’s queer history. As a commission, we want to acknowledge that this timeline is far from complete and is heavily focused on events from the western side of the state. We are committed to serving LGBTQ people across the entire state and wish to include more history on LGBTQ communities beyond the I-5 corridor. If you are aware of any events that should be included on this timeline, from anywhere in the state, please use the form located at the bottom of this page. We are eager to work with LGBTQ communities across the state to establish a comprehensive collection of Washington’s long and vivid LGBTQ past!

The Washington State Department of Commerce in collaboration with ArtsWA recently announced COVID Impacts Recovery Grants. These small, one-time grants to Washington businesses in the arts, heritage, and science sectors will provide funding for recovery from pandemic economic impacts. For-profit and non-profit businesses are eligible – grant funding is limited to $5,000 per application. Applications are accepted until 5 PM, November 1, 2023.

The Washington State Department of Commerce is initiating a Request for Application (RFA) process to fund $500,000 in fiscal year 2024 for the physical security of nonprofit and religious nonprofit institutions. Grant recipients must have reasons to believe they have been subject to security threats and demonstrate a need for enhanced security. Grant funding must be used and limited to purchasing security hardware and equipment to enhance the security of the buildings and grounds of such organizations.

There will be an applicant’s conference at 11 a.m. on Nov. 2^nd, 2023.

Responses to the RFA are due by 5 p.m. PST, Dec. 19^th, 2023.

Please click this link to learn more

November 7^th, 2023

8:30 AM – 3:00 PM

Venue TBD, South Seattle Metro Area

King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office and Anti-Defamation League’s Pacific Northwest Office are presenting the 2023 Public Safety Summit on Hate Crimes. KCPAO invites law enforcement and community partners to share ideas and feedback so we may provide an improved response to individuals and communities impacted by hate crimes. Coffee and lunch will be provided. Kindly RSVP to sarah.cranfill@kingcounty.gov.

We’ve been watching the leaves change color and recovering from our first colds of the school season, and that means it is finally time – the Pride Foundation 2024 scholarship application is now open.

The Pride Foundation’s scholarships fund LGBTQ+ students who are leaders – in their own lives, in their families, in their home communities, in their field of study, in their workplace, or in our movements for justice. The Pride Foundation’s program provides resources to students who need to most, regardless of school, major, or GPA.

Since awarding their first scholarship in 1992, Pride Foundation has awarded over $8.5 million to 2,452 students in Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington. Through the incredible generosity of our community, Pride Foundation has more than 60 scholarship funds – but students only need to complete one application.

Applications are due Friday, January 5, 2024, and any LGBTQ+ student who is a resident of Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, or Washington state is eligible to apply. You can find out more details about the basic requirements, process, and application here.

Help us make sure every student in our region knows about the opportunity for support – please help spread the word to students in your networks – or apply yourself!

Calling all queer poem writers of Washington State and adjacent tribal lands!

As part of my term as the Washington State Poet Laureate, I’m putting together an anthology of poems from queer writers of all stripes across the state. I want to hear from people trying out poetry for the first time, as well as regular writers and widely published poets. I want to include work by folks across spectrums of sexual orientation, gender, and sexuality in general (ace/aro family, I’m looking at you—send me work!), and from across the full breadth of our state.

Poems can be on any topic. This anthology takes the stance that all art made by queer artists is queer art, whether it draws explicit attention to an identity or not. Send me your love poems, the poem you wrote on the bus or in the park, poems where you wrestle with yourself, poems where you love existing, poems that take a metaphor and run with it, tribute poems, grief poems, ecstatic poems, sleepy poems, poems that barely know what they are or what they’re becoming, I want it all. Traditional and experimental work are both welcomed.

The final anthology will be published online and made available as a free resource. I’ll organize poems in a tagged and searchable format (like a database), making sure the tags are correct to the poem and its author. There is no payment available but chosen writers will appear in a publicized, widely available anthology and may get opportunities for readings and events following the anthology’s launch.

I hope to hear from you soon! And please pass this call around!

Best,

Arianne True

Submissions are due Friday, December 15^th, 2023. Click here for more info and to submit.

MultiCare Health Systems invite bisexual women of color in Washington state to consider joining their THRIVE Community Steering Committee.

Joining the THRIVE Community Steering Committee involves:

• Committing to a two-year term that includes participating in eight meetings per year. 
• Co-creating approaches to improve bisexual Women of Color’s representation in maternal health research, so no one gets left behind.
• Contributing to the development of an anti-racist, bisexual-affirming maternal health toolkit for maternal health providers and birth workers.

To make meeting attendance easiest for a wide group of people, MultiCare Health Systems will hold all meetings virtually. Our team can help identify community spaces with free computers and WIFI access as needed. Members will be provided $75 as compensation after every meeting attended.

Those interested in becoming THRIVE Community Steering Committee members and/or learning more can reach out to Deana Williams, the study lead, at deana.williams@multicare.org or complete the intake form at https://redcap.link/JoinThrive.

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.