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Let us welcome Danny to the DC Center. Danny will be working with the community and Coalition to create events that engage, support, and empower the local Latinx LGBTQ+ Community. They are excited to work here and hopes to continue to make the lives of LGBTQ people easier. You can meet Danny weeknights at the DC Center.

Meet the new Health and Wellness intern, Jose. This autumn, Jose will be working with the health working group and take on various duties around and for the D.C Center. He has already spoken for the DC Center in front of the the D.C council on a bill, helped hosted events and volunteered at the Reel Affirmations film festival. He hopes to continue to make the lives of LGBTQ folks a little bit easier.

Birthdate, Astro Sign.

July 3rd, 1997. Cancer

Where are you originally from?

I was born and raised in New York City. By the time I was 18 I felt I needed a change in , pace. I decided to go to college in Plattsburgh, NY (30 mins from Canada) and the rest is history in the making.

Why did you start working at the DC Center?

I started working at the DC Center, because I felt the need to give back to my community. I was fortunate have supportive people in my life, and I want to be able to give support to those who need it.

What has been your favorite part about working at the DC Center?

It’s never a dull day at the Center. My coworkers keep things lively and are very supportive.

What is your music anthem?

Happier by Marshmello & Bastille

What is your favorite part about the LGBTQ+ community?

The ability of the LGBTQ community to progress forward. We have faced so much adversity in the past, yet we still create a positive and safe atmosphere with one another.

What is your favorite spot in DC and what do you do there?

The Lincoln Memorial, because at night it just gives a cool ambiance.

What is your favorite queer movie?

I am stuck between the films ‘Those People’ and ‘Love Simon’.

What color would you paint the White House, given the chance?

Hot Pink. It not only makes a bold statement, but how many buildings have you seen in Hot Pink?

Who do you look up to in the queer community?

Tituss Burgess

A new report released from MAP and CenterLink shows the critical role LGBT community centers play in the lives of LGBT people and their families, serving more than 40,000 people each week and providing targeted referrals to nearly 5,500 people. For many people across the U.S., these community centers are often the only local source of targeted social, educational, and health services.

The 2018 LGBT Community Center Survey Report: Assessing the Capacity and Programs of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Community Centers surveys 128 centers located in 40 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico, and provides a snapshot of the centers that provide vital services, programs, and advocacy for LGBT people.

Key findings from the report include:

• Participating LGBT centers serve 40,550 people in a typical week and refer nearly 5,550 individuals each week to other agencies for services and assistance.
• The 113 centers that reported 2017 revenue data have combined revenue of $226.7 million. Small centers projected an 18% increase in expense budgets from 2017 to 2018, while large centers projected a 5% increase from 2017 to 2018.
• Nearly half (47%) of all participating centers reported obtaining at least one government grant (local, state, or federal) of over $10,000 in 2017.
• Participating centers employ nearly 2,000 paid staff and engage with more than 14,000 volunteers for nearly half a million volunteer hours annually.
• Half of LGBT community centers remain thinly staffed: 25% have no paid staff and rely solely on volunteers, and 32% have between one and five paid staff. As expected, small centers with budgets of less than $150,000 are much more likely to have few or no paid staff; 56% of small centers have no paid staff, while three-quarters (76%) of centers with budgets over $150,000 have six or more paid staff.
• More than three-quarters of centers (78%) that engage in policy-related activities work to advance policy at the local level, 67% at the state level, and 31% at the national level.

Given the critical role of LGBT community centers in areas of the country with few other resources for LGBT people, and the large gulf between large centers and small centers, the report finds that small centers, in particular, are in critical need of additional financial support. The report concludes with the recommendation that investing in these centers is a targeted and focused way to increase the infrastructure of the LGBT movement and the support for LGBT people living across the country.

Every two years, MAP, along with CenterLink issues this biennial survey of LGBT community centers across the United States with the goal of helping LGBT organizations and their allies and supporters understand the strengths and weaknesses of the movement, current levels of activity and funding in priority areas, and where resources are needed most.

• READ THE REPORT and view the infographics.

On July 14th, 2018, more than 60 researchers, students, community members, and health care workers gathered for “Improving the Health of the LGBTQ+ Community: Advocating for Ourselves Together” workshop  held at the Metropolitan Community Church.  We gathered to discuss wellness and cancer care needs in the LGBTQ+ community and inclusion in health research. The LGBTQ+ Research Community Advisory Board, sponsored by the George Washington University (GW) Cancer Center, planned and hosted the event. Download the meeting report here and feel free to share widely with your personal and professional networks:

Improving the Health of the LGBTQ Community: Event Report

Highlights from the day included a game show ice breaker for participants to learn some basic LGBTQ+ health and research facts; a panel discussion with five researchers; and small group discussions for participants to share their experiences with and suggestions for improving research. Attendees voted on research topics that had been collected over the past year in smaller community conversations as well as new ideas raised during the event. The four top research priorities were identified based on the vote counts and included:

1. Solutions for social isolation, especially for transgender women and LGBTQ+ elders
2. Increase provision of culturally responsive care for LGBTQ+ patients
3. Needs of most stigmatized and least understood subpopulations within LGBTQ+ community
4. Ensure universal health care access and coverage for basic health services and transgender transition-related services

Mandi Pratt-Chapman committed to leading work in the area of increasing provision of culturally responsive care for LGBTQ+ patients. Dr. Dana Hines committed to leading efforts in community participatory research to identify and address the needs of the most stigmatized and least understood subpopulations within the LGBTQ+ community. For more information or to get involved in these research areas, please email Mandi Pratt-Chapman at mandi@gwu.edu or Dr. Dana Hines at dana_hines2@gwu.edu. Individuals interested in serving on the LGBTQ+ Community Advisory Board should reach out to the GW Cancer Center at cancercenter@gwu.edu.

The DC Center for the LGBT Community seeks interns year-round.  Interns provide support for different programs and areas of interest at The DC Center, like Health and Wellness, Advocacy, Center Arts and Development. Interns also gain valuable office experience providing administrative support in the day-to-day tasks at our organization.

Internships are currently unpaid with no stipends and require a minimum commitment of 20 hours per week. Academic internships are strongly preferred.

Development Internship:

This position primarily oversees the procurement and management of professional partners of the DC Center for the LGBT Community. This position also includes assisting with grant writing, fundraising events, and development of the DC Center’s programs. The Intern will work to research and cultivate supporters, manage the organization’s donor databases, track and evaluate fundraising efforts, and organize events. The ideal candidate will have experience with donor relations, sponsorship, and grant writing. This is an excellent opportunity for a highly organized and motivated individual to develop skills in nonprofit development work.

Social Media/Advocacy Internship:

This position creates and manages all social media platforms including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube for the DC Center for the LGBT Community and its programs. This position bringing awareness to local policy and advocacy issues, including work with our Youth Working Group and the DC Anti-Violence Project. The ideal candidate should have a strong level of experience with social media, a demonstrated writing ability, organizational skills, the ability to work both as part of a team and on their own, and creativity to spare. This is an excellent opportunity for marketing students.

Arts Internship

This position assists the Director of Arts and Cultural Programs with artistic events and programming at The DC Center including the OutWrite LGBT Book Fair,  Reel Affirmations: Washington DC’s International LGBTQ Film Festival and monthly film series, The DC Queer Theatre Festival, Ignition: The Spoken Series, and  Center Arts Gallery   Responsibilities may include, but are not limited to:

• Research and assist in creating LGBTQ-oriented art events in the DMV (DC, Maryland, Virginia) area
• Maintaining social media platforms (Twitter, Facebook, Google Groups) for the Center Arts program with engaging arts content
• Promoting DC Center arts events across social media platforms
• Regularly creating engaging and creative posts for The DC Center website
• Interacting with filmmakers, authors, and local artists
• Curating up to 4 quarterly art gallery installations at The DC Center

The ideal candidate will have skills that include: Strong communication, organizational, and writing skills; proficient understanding of social media platforms (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc.);This is an excellent opportunity for students in arts management.

Graphic Design Internship:

This position involves graphic design primarily for websites and social media with quick turnaround times. The intern will create various print projects including, but not limited to the creation of ads, programs, flyers, and other marketing and development materials. The ideal candidate is fast-paced, deadline oriented, and has knowledge of graphic design. This is an excellent opportunity for fine arts or graphic design students

Health and Wellness Internships

The Health intern works with health and wellness initiatives at the DC Center including the HIV Working Group.  This intern will also support the peer facilitated support groups at the DC Center.   This may include assisting with orientation and training of new facilitators, assessing the needs of facilitators, and helping form new support groups if requested by the community.

Interested applicants can contact intern@thedccenter.org with a detailed cover letter and resume.  Please include the proposed dates for the internship, the internship position (or positions) you are interested in, and any academic requirements the DC Center should be aware of.

Chris Rothermel will be leaving our team in June.  Chris came on board in August 2017 as our Office Administrator.  Chris quickly brought structure and order to a lot of the day to day administrative and financial operations here at the DC Center and his attention to detail is greatly appreciated.  Chris recruited volunteers, led the quarterly volunteer orientation, and trained all front desk volunteers and staff. While I was on Sabbatical, Chris was promoted to Operations Manager of the DC Center and managed the staff and DC Center programs seamlessly by working closely with Kimberley Bush, our interim Executive Director.

During his time with us Chris was involved in many aspects of our work in the DC Center, including grant writing.  Chris wrote a grant proposal to the City Fund which resulted in $52,000 in support from the City Fund.  In the past, the City Fund has not funded LGBTQ-led organizations, and as far as we know, this is the only grant where they have done so.

Chris is a Certified Nonprofit Professional who holds a Masters in Non-Profit Administration and many years of experience working in nonprofit management.  While we are sad to see him go, we all wish him best of luck in his future endeavors and look forward to seeing where his career takes him.