New exhibit celebrates ADA
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'Phantom' returns
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Serving the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender communities since 1971
Vol. 45 • No. 34 • August 20-26, 2015
SFAF CEO to lead Phoenix biz group
Berkeley to investigate bias claim by Matthew S. Bajko
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by Seth Hemmelgarn
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eparting San Francisco AIDS Foundation CEO Neil Giuliano will become president and CEO of Greater Phoenix Leadership, it was announced Wednesday. GPL, as it is Rick Gerharter known, is a business leadership organiza- Neil Giuliano tion focused on civic improvement initiatives for Arizona, according to the Phoenix Business Journal, which posted the story August 19. Last week, before his new job was announced, Giuliano, 58, said that he thought the time was right for a new leader at the AIDS foundation. The Journal reported that Giuliano expects to start his new job in November. “I feel very, very good about what we’ve accomplished” at SFAF, and it’s “a different organization than when I arrived. It just feels right,” Giuliano, said Thursday, August 13, the day his departure was announced. SFAF, which has a budget of more than $29 million and about 150 employees, had a staff of 88 and a budget of $19 million when Giuliano, the gay former mayor of Tempe, Arizona, started at the nonprofit in December 2010. During his tenure, the agency, which offers free services to thousands of people, has worked to eliminate HIV transmissions in the city. It’s expanded HIV testing services, linkages to care, and prevention program outreach, among other achievements. Recently, however, SFAF has faced delays in opening its gay and bi men’s health center at 470 Castro Street, and a report from a Yale student who spent last summer observing the foundation said some staff are unhappy with Giuliano and other agency leaders. Still, Giuliano, who said leaving is “1,000 percent my decision,” has garnered praise from many in the community, including Michael Kidd, who chairs the nonprofit’s board. “During his tenure, Neil provided strong direction and leadership for the agency,” Kidd said in an August 13 news release. “He leaves the foundation more focused, effective and secure, and we’re grateful for his years of service.” The board has started the process of appointing a search committee to help find a successor to Giuliano, who said his biggest achievement has been “partnering with the community to shift the model of care from one focused on sickness and disease management to one focused on the health and wellness of the community.” He said he’s confident that San Francisco See page 9 >>
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All hail Rosies
Jane Philomen Cleland
representative from the Guinness Book of World Records was on hand at the Rosie the Riveter/WWII Home Front National Historic Park in Richmond Saturday, August 15, to document what organizers hope is the largest gathering of people dressed as Rosie the Riveter, which represents women who worked in factories and shipyards during World War II. Sue Fritzke, acting superintendent of the park, said that 1,083
people dressed as Rosie were counted in the designated area. She said she’s confident the group broke the previous record of 776 people, even if Guinness disqualifies some participants. There were also several “Original Rosies” at the event. From left, park ranger Karen Fong, original Rosies Mary Torres and Kay Morrison, out park ranger Elizabeth Tucker, and original Rosie Marian Wynn took a moment to enjoy the festivities.
erkeley officials will investigate a city-funded agency that provides services to people with disabilities after a transgender former employee accused it of fostering a “psychologically tortuous” Courtesy Orchid Bakla workplace and violating local laws and contract- Orchid Bakla ing procedures. In emails to Berkeley officials, and documented in a complaint filed in November with the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing, Orchid Bakla accuses Easy Does It Emergency Services staffers of discriminating against her based on her race – she is of Filipino and Caucasian descent – as well as her gender identity after she began transitioning from male to female while employed at the agency. She also claims the agency retaliated against her for pointing out discrepancies in its reports See page 7 >>
Oakland queer space readies for opening by Elliot Owen
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much-anticipated multi-use space in downtown Oakland dedicated to queer people will soon be opening its doors. Qulture Collective, founded by three queer women who also identify as “serial entrepreneurs,” is undergoing a build-out process to support a cafe and work-study area, a retail space stocked with mostly queer-made merchandise, a queer art gallery, and co-working studios for queer artists and makers. Located at 1714 Franklin Street, Qulture Collective is a response to the East Bay queer community’s call for a designated queer space to commune, collaborate, work, and feel safe – one that isn’t night-centric and doesn’t necessitate alcohol consumption. Earlier this month, co-founders Alyah Baker, Terry Sok, and Julia Wolfson launched an Indiegogo fundraising campaign to support the business’s build-out, an expensive and tedious endeavor ultimately resulting in the space’s official opening in September. “Qulture Collective has a cultural/community slant to it,” Wolfson, 32, a self-identified queer lioness, told the Bay Area Reporter. “It poses the question: what does it mean for us to come together and spend time with one another? It’s a way to discover what ‘queer community’ means. Also, when you buy a cup of coffee, you’re supporting the staff and space. When you buy something from the retail space, you’re supporting a queer artist or maker. It’s
Elliot Owen
Qulture Collective co-founders Julia Wolfson, left, Alyah Baker, and Terry Sok are holding a braunch (brunch and launch) event Saturday.
the power of purchasing; lifting up the community in the process of buying a cup of coffee or a gift for a friend. We’re also more inclusive than exclusive, which means we’re open to allies too.” The multi-use space is founded on a “cycle of support” whereby the cafe and retail space secure Qulture Collective’s sustainability and permanence, which in effect ensures that community events and artist/maker workspace and merchandise arrangements remain accessible. Baker, 33, a queer woman of color and owner of the downtown Oakland boutique Show and Tell, has been integrating accessibility into her business practices for four years and is bringing that expertise to the collective.
“In my past career working for a large mainstream retailer as a queer woman of color, people didn’t know how to relate to me; they looked at me weird,” Baker told the B.A.R. “That’s uncomfortable as you’re trying to excel in your career. When I left, it became important for me to highlight folks that experience spaces or opportunities as inaccessible because of gender, orientation, disability, etc. “When Show and Tell opened, my co-owner at the time and I decided to carry products created by people we shared community with, people without representation,” Baker added. “It was very much on my heart and mind that the business needed to be for people without access. Qulture Collective toes the same line.” Baker also plans to move community events historically held at Show and Tell to Qulture Collective. “We’ve needed to expand out of that location and establish something that will answer additional community needs,” Baker said, “like a cafe people get good service in where they don’t get misgendered or have bathroom issues. But also screen movies and have additional events, things we’ve been doing already that Show and Tell’s space can’t support anymore.” Qulture Collective also seeks to break up the homogenizing effects of gentrification, a disturbing shift longtime Oakland residents Baker and Wolfson have witnessed, but that’s particularly painful to Sok, an Oakland native. See page 9 >>
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