As my summer internship at Pride Foundation comes to an end, I’ve had some time to reflect on what I have accomplished over the last three months. I wanted to put together a list of some of the things I’ve learned during my time here, before I head back to Whitman College in the fall:
Let’s face it: we have some work to do in philanthropy. Despite deeply held commitments to building vibrant and healthy communities for all residents, many philanthropic organizations have long struggled to truly embrace equity, diversity, and inclusiveness within their own workplaces. One telling example can be seen in how few people of color hold high-level
If there’s one word that best describes Pride Foundation Fellow Dianne Piggott today, it’s “authentic.” That’s certainly not the word the Boise transgender woman would have picked for herself until just a few years ago when she decided it was time to “pick up where I left off” and continue her gender transition process. In
When Pride Foundation scholar Carmel Aronson was in first grade, she dropped her lunchbox during Passover—spilling her matzah and charoset onto the floor. The smell and appearance of her food was strange to her young classmates, whose lunches looked drastically different. Reflecting back on that moment, Carmel said, “My difference was so obvious that nobody
When you think of the challenges confronting members of the LGBTQ community, obtaining a driver card is probably not the first thing that comes to mind. But if you ask Luz—a Latina, lesbian, and first generation college graduate—she would tell you that this issue is crucial to her and 80,000 other immigrant families that live,
Each year volunteers scour the applications of future LGBTQ leaders to find the next class of Pride Foundation Scholars. The scholarship review is a community driven process made possible by the time and energy contributed by volunteers across the Pacific Northwest. In return, volunteers are offered the opportunity to gain insight around emerging community leaders.
“We always joke that the only Pride Parade in Lewistown is our family walking down the street,” says Pride Foundation scholar Michelle Knerr in regards to the LGBTQ presence in her rural Montana hometown. As someone who spent the majority of her childhood on a ranch where her closest neighbor was a mile and a
Talking with Brandin Smith, it is clear that he is a thoughtful, patient, and very driven young leader who knows where he wants to go in life. This intuition about his future first came when he was a young child and his Aunt was diagnosed with lupus. Brandin was always close to his Aunt—who was
Last Thursday, the Public Employees Benefits Board (PEBB) voted unanimously to support transgender inclusive healthcare for public employees in Washington State. This decision is the culmination of months of hard work and dedication from the Coalition for Inclusive Healthcare—of which Pride Foundation is a member—and we applaud PEBB for their leadership on this critical issue.
When I arrived on a bright Saturday morning to set up Pride Foundation’s table before the Oregon Queer Youth Summit (OQYS) began, I was surprised that a sea of brightly-dressed youth were already milling about, drinking coffee, eating bagels, and eagerly chatting and laughing. Most of us have a hard time being anywhere at 8am