• Abstract and Figures
• Public Full-text

AN INTERVIEW WITH COLLEEN CARPENTER, MILWAUKEE LGBT COMMUNITY CENTER’S NEW EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR by Paul Masterson been haranguing me for treating my life as On November 18 Colleen Carpenter takes if I’m a missionary. They saw my previous the reigns of the Milwaukee LGBT Com - job as too limited. I wanted to shut them up. munity Center. She is the center’s 5 th ex - I applied. As we moved through the inter - ecutive director since its founding in 1998. view process I saw how all my previous The center’s recent history, including a work fit what the center does. I ran a small controversial move, has been one of im - community center in Southern Illinois so I plosion, near extinction and miraculous re - have experience with creating programs. I vival. Now, with the Center’s financial worked for an organization serving run- crisis abated, its community standing re - away kids, an AIDS housing organization, stored, and its spacious Blatz brewery and others that turned out to make this an space reduced to a third of the original area, Colleen Carpenter faces new chal - almost perfect fit. lenges to continue the Renaissance. QUEST: In the press release announc - QUEST spoke with Carpenter and asked ing your hiring, you mentioned “coming your recent leadership roles have been about her strategies, views and vision for out in Milwaukee” and your connection with organizations for women. The the Center. to the city. Can you give us some details Center has also had a female ED for most of the last decade. Here you are QUEST: Congratulations on being se - and insights into your previous LGBT experience? representing all the letters of the LGBT lected as the center’s new executive di - acronym. How do you change the per - CC: I moved to Wisconsin in 1985, mar - rector. Prior to your hire, I interviewed ception that the LGBT Community ried and with three little kids. I had danced Karen Gotzler, the outgoing interim ex - Center is largely geared towards around the edges of lesbian culture for ecutive director. She mentioned there women? were 50 applicants for the position of years. I went to Washington, DC to demonstrate for women’s reproductive CC: I didn’t expect to be called to this po - which over two dozen were highly qual - sition because of the Center’s history of fe - ified. You came out on top. What rights. I met a woman. I came home and told my husband. And that was that. male leadership. We’re all aware of the prompted your application? issue. I think that the proof is in the pud - Colleen Carpenter: To be honest, I wasn’t QUEST: Your career has certainly put ding. I want the entire community to look looking for a job. Four different people sent you in a similar situation before – taking at us and what we produce and judge us by me the application and suggested I apply. over an organization with administra - that. I don’t see any programs that are ex - One was my oldest daughter. My kids have tive and financial problems. Both of clusive. My intention is to serve the entire community. The social services offer verse entities? Or should it focus on of - is no different. Act-up versus the “act nice” everyone support. SAGE is a bridge pro - fering specific services? faction. It’s not any different today. We’re gram. It will be expanded more into social CC: We’re supposed to be a hub. We’re ei - delighted at how quickly public opinion service but it’s also a social opportunity ther a community center or we’re not. In has shifted and attitudes towards LGBT program for our elders. It serves both men my ideal universe there is something the rights have shifted. But now that we’re in and women. The enrichment programs for center sponsors or hosts that touches the danger of being respectable so might say adults are across the spectrum. Part of the entire community and connecting them all. “let’s push the Trannys off the float”- “let’s reason they selected me for the position is It’s a dream but its’ not impopssible, wear polo shirts.” We can’t fall victim to that. Some of most non-conforming because the board and I all have the same QUEST: How do you intend to pursue friends have been at this a very long time. conception of being a community center that role? It would be tragic and immoral to reject as opposed to being a service organization. CC: We have to raise some money. We them in the name of conformity. It will We have a responsibility to provide serv - have to marshall the support of the com - cost us. Andrew Sullivan celebrates the ices and program for the entire diverse munity. The board is driven and energetic end of gay culture. He thinks we’ll just be LGBT spectrum. We’re committed to that and focused. We have an amazing concept absorbed into the mainstream. I react to vision. of this huge canvas we can paint on. It’s that with horror. I’m glad there’s less fear just a matter of the harnessing resources to QUEST: In that regard, there was a re - now and we can go anywhere but I don’t achieve that. cent “sweep” of county parks conducted want to give up our bars and institutions. I by the sheriff’s department with nu - QUEST: Will the Center stay in its cur - don’t believe we need to make that trade merous arrests and public shaming of rent location? off. Anyone who wouldn’t come to the gay men for lewd and lascivious behav - CC: We don’t have the space to do what I Gay Arts Center, for example, shows fear. ior. The action opens a larger debate. think we should do. In fact, the current Most mainstream gay activists didn’t want The reality is public sexual activity is il - space is less than adequate for what we’re to reverse DOMA through the lawsuit. legal. The crime is a misdemeanor. The doing. We need a bigger facility. If we They were afraid to wage that battle. They specific targeting of gay men, however, have to hunker down in this smaller space were afraid the outcome would be bad. Be - had a blatant political motivation and for a few years while we work on our vi - cause of our fears it was two straight purpose for Sheriff Clark. As ED of the sion and raising funds, there’s nothing that lawyers who fought that battle. Our fears Center you represent the community should prevent us from realizing that. have never protected us. even in this awkward circumstance. There is no formal planning right now - QUEST: Even with the reversal of the How would you address this situation? we’re still in recovery mode. The Center’s fortunes, some are still skepti - CC: Oh my. Anybody who has spent time longevity of this institution is dependent cal. How will you reverse that? on not getting ahead of ourselves. This is in this community understands that Sheriff CC: We have bridges to mend. The biggest the first time in over two years we have a Clark’s motivations have nothing to do mistake we can make as a community is to little money in the bank. Our cash flow is with public safety. It’s clear he has politi - have our institutions self-sabotaging. major consideration but its a great change cal ambitions. Giving him more attention Whether its divisions around personalities from being in incredible debt. and spotlight is something I’m reluctant to or strategies, if we are not pulling together do. As a community we are tired of being QUEST: Given the LGBT community’s we are pulling apart. One of things most used as other people’s political footballs. recent political and social gains – mar - important for me in the early part of my Sheriff Clark and others who hold those riage equality now in 16 states and the tenure is to insure we have strong bridges retrograde prejudices are going to find out District of Columbia, the end of Don’t to the extent it is within my power to do that, unlike in the past when those attitudes Ask Don’t Tell, and even the irony of so. Our culture is so segmented - its natu - helped them, the tide has shifted and they Wisconsin’s representation by a lesbian ral, without intent. But it should be some - will pay a price. If the ED of the LGBT in the Senate and a gay man in the how connected. There are too few Center can’t stand up and defend people in House of Representative, yet the State opportunities for it to happen organically. this situation who in the world can? Some constitution has an anti-gay marriage The Center should be the natural vehicle people aren’t positioned to fight back. I amendment – some might argue the for that. It has to be intentional to reach have a responsibility to not be afraid to concept of an LGBT Community Cen - out. Our programs are sometimes divided speak in defense of our community - es - ter is obsolete. Do you foresee that one racially, by age, or identity. We have to pecially as a new leader in the community. day the Center’s purpose will be super - move to bring in everybody. It’s a chal - lenge for all organizations, if you approach QUEST: The Milwaukee LGBT com - seded by acceptance and assimilation? CC: No.

Load more

  26

Copy Link