Community

WClub

I am the original Founder WClub, a women-focused Queer/LGBTQ+ organization run completely by volunteers that has the core mission of creating weekly events for members in their town, city, or large metro area.

The idea is simple, provide gatherings such as coffee, brunch, sports, poetry slams, axe throwing, arts, Pride tie-ins, and other events on a regular basis but with structure, consistency, leadership, and a focus on friendship. (see more events!) The groups are evolving to address wellness and needs of women for short-term housing and to foster health. Please see the amazing vision statements the group has collaboratively voted to work towards!

The result of WClub is better quality of life for our members.

YIP - Yoga in the Park

I am the original Founder of YIP - Yoga in the Park. YIP is completely free, has 23 groups in Oklahoma and some others out of state in cities in Texas and Arkansas (but I never managed those).

I am not very good at yoga and to be honest I never intended to create this group. People kept asking to follow me when I did my routine in a local park near my house when my kids played in the park. I of course said yes. And it grew. As of this report it has a bit over 6,000 members and over 500 instructors have volunteered their time.

YIP also sponsors a variety of wellness groups for meditation, walking, running, retreats, and more. I am particularly proud of how our groups have embraced: veterans, police, fire, athletes in offseason (rugby teams and ballet folks!), disabled, and even homeless.

Career Mentoring

As a professor, I connected with the diversity and outreach leaders in major corporations in efforts to find rewarding opportunities for my students. This was not part of my job role, but something I felt passionate about. I have been an officer in a company with 64 executives and only one was female and none were from a minority. Invisible barriers are real for women and minorities to advance in companies, but there are champions in most companies. I worked on identifying people that were advocates too in companies like Philips, 3Com, Toyota, and IBM. Dima Ghawi perhaps says it best on my influence in helping students. The video of her Ted Talk mentions me at the 8 minute mark.

Public Speaking & Press

I get asked on a regular basis to speak pro-bono in community groups regarding business topics, but also on transgender issues. The last presentation on business management topics was at The University of Oklahoma on best practices in management. The last presentation given on Transgender issues was titled 25 Transgender Myths presented at the local Lion's Club meeting (photo is from that event). I have also done 32 press interviews over the years on topics ranging from the Port Lockouts off the West Coast to social issues such as diversity when I served as a VP of a minority owned business. Point is, I enjoy opportunities to give back to the community with public speaking opportunities.

Diversity and Outreach

I have served on committees in universities and for companies tasked to improve diversity and outreach. As a faculty Senator at the University of San Diego I was part of the rewrite for the mission statement of the university and ensured it included diversity as follows at the end of the mission, ".....creating a diverse and inclusive community and preparing leaders who are dedicated to ethical conduct and compassionate service. " I am perhaps best known however for my World-Class Diversity and World-Class Outreach step charts. I have limited but still valuable real life experience being in a minority group by having presented most of my life as a white male, and then affirming as a transgender woman.

Toys for Tots & Christmas Store

I confess I have a passion for toys and games. I have leveraged that passion in gathering toys in the past that were in good shape or could be reconditioned for Toys for Tots campaigns. My first effort was in college as an undergraduate assisting the United States Marines, who are sponsors of the campaigns. I also have worked with a local Norman, Oklahoma group called The Christmas Store, which also provides gifts for families during the holidays. When I was stuck with an excess inventory one year I in fact donated 200 of Starling Games board games to The Christmas Store.

Sustainability Advocate

Another passion of mine has been Sustainability in Corporations. If one looks at my resume, they will see a company listed called Intraline. I took the position as VP of Integrated Supply Chain at Intraline specifically because they were a supplier of sustainable products and solutions based in Northern California. I had the chance to contribute to making the world a bit better with solar, wind, recycling and other green initiative solutions. The company was also minority owned. While there I could bury my nose into learning as much as I could about Sustainability, with the culmination of my learning documented in the World-Class Sustainability Management Step Chart that I freely provide to whoever will listen.

American Heart Association

Served as a volunteer in a leadership role for the American Heart Association in the San Francisco Area developing a Donor Mailing Campaign and volunteering for various events. As a professor at the time I could leverage getting student leaders and volunteers involved as well as working with community leaders.

Church Councils and Committees

in every church I have been a member of over my life, I have been a volunteer on committees, councils and in various other roles. The highest level volunteer work in this regard was serving as an officer for First Baptist Church Council in, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (see photo). First Baptist faced declining offerings due to membership declines over the years and that problem was coupled with large infrastructure costs due to the age and construction of the gothic design church. We had to come up with innovative ways to increase membership by outreach to the community while also leasing our spaces and in particular our parking lot to resolve the financial crisis. Rather than a long list of churches, the denominations I have been a part of as a volunteer include: Catholic, Baptist, Evangelical, and Lutheran in areas of Pittsburgh, San Francisco, San Diego and Central Oklahoma. I do not consider myself religious, but have always believed Christ set a good example through his deeds and in his deeds I follow irrespective of the denomination.