The University of Arizona to offer new series, “OUT on the Job”

As lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ) students consider joining the workforce, they are often faced with additional career planning challenges. For the most part, university life has been a supportive environment. The workplace, though, can be quite different in terms of the openness of and support for LGBTQ employees.

A new series at The University of Arizona, OUT on the Job, is designed to offer a starting point in considering issues faced by LGBTQ people in the workplace.

OUT on the Job will bring 'out' professionals from the community to campus for lunch hour brown bag discussions. The speakers will talk about their career path and engage the students in dialogue about the challenges and benefits of being out on the job.

The series is a collaborative partnership among The University of Arizona’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs (http://dos.web.arizona.edu/lgbtq/), UA Career Services (http://www.career.arizona.edu/) , and Tucson GLBT Chamber of Commerce (http://www.tucsonglbtchamber.org/) .


“I am tremendously excited about this new collaborative series,” shared Cathy Busha, Director of the Office of LGBTQ Affairs. “Students have indicated they are interested in learning more about LGBTQ history and talking about their future career path. This series provides both opportunities—a chance to look back and hear first-hand how the workplace has been for LGBTQ people, and a chance to look forward and consider new possibilities.”

Busha continued, “It is also my hope that allies (people who don’t identify as LGBTQ and are supportive of the LGBTQ community) will attend these important conversations—to learn more about the LGBTQ community, and also to learn more about the careers that our speakers will discuss.”

The series will highlight career fields ranging from politicians, lawyers, and doctors to entrepreneurial small business owners, artists, educators, researchers, activists, administrators, and more.

The series is free and open to all students, staff, faculty, and community members—straight allies are encouraged to attend. Drinks and dessert will be provided; attendees are asked to bring their lunch.

“This is a wonderful opportunity to support a segment of our student population whose particular career planning and job search needs are often overlooked. This series will give LGTBQ students a chance to see successful role models in the community and how those role models have negotiated the work world,” shared Lizzie Schloss, Associate Director of Career Services.

The goals of the series are to provide "out" professional role models and possible mentors for current LGBTQ and Allied students; to provide students with information on being out at work---what the opportunities, challenges, and benefits are; to strengthen the relationship between the campus and community; and to provide all students with a diverse overview of the kinds of careers and employers available to them.

The series begins Thursday, September 18th at noon at UA Career Services (Student Union Memorial Center, Suite 411). The closest parking garage is the Second Street Garage (After turning off Speedway onto Mountain Avenue, turn left onto Second Street and stay in the far right lane. Second Street Garage is on the right).

The first speaker of the series is Tucson Ward 3 Vice Mayor Karin Uhlich.

In 2005, Karin was the first openly lesbian elected to the Tucson City Council. Karin is a graduate of Michigan State University. She served as the Executive Director of Primavera Services for nine years, an affordable housing/job training and homeless services agency with an annual budget of $2 million and a staff of 50 people. She has served on the Boards of Directors of the Community Food Bank, the Brewster Center, and the North American Alliance for Fair Employment. In 2002 Karin served as an NGO Delegate to the United Nations International Labour Organization in Geneva. Karin now serves as the Executive Director of the Southwest Center for Economic Integrity, a non-profit research and advocacy organization. The Center engages in research, education and advocacy to strengthen local economies.

The series continues on Thursday, October 16 at noon at Career Services with Peri Jude Radecic. Peri Jude is the Executive Director of the Arizona Center for Disability Law (Center). The Center is the only non-profit legal advocacy organization in Arizona protecting the rights of children and adults with a wide range of physical, mental, psychiatric, sensory and cognitive disabilities. A Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania native and University of Arizona James E. Rodgers Law School graduate, Peri Jude has worked to expand civil rights for all Americans for over 20 years. Peri Jude joined the Center in 2003 as a staff attorney and has focused her work on voting rights and state public policy issues. Prior to that, she served as the Civil Rights Manager for the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development in Washington State enforcing federal civil rights laws with recipients of federal funds. Her civil rights expertise also includes lobbying for passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in Washington. During the ADA debate, Peri Jude was the civil rights lobbyist for the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force working to ensure that individuals with HIV and AIDS were included in the ADA. Peri Jude served as Executive Direction of the National Lesbian and Gay Task Force from 1993-94.

As part of Transgender Awareness Week, the fall series concludes on Thursday, November 20 at noon at Career Services with Dr. Kevin Q. Maxey. Kevin received his BA in 1980 from the The University of Arizona, and his MD in 1991 from the UA College of Medicine. Kevin accomplished his transition from female to male in 1998, the same year he co-founded SAGA, the Southern Arizona Gender Alliance (SAGA). He facilitates the SAGA and Dezert Boyz monthly meetings. Kevin is a scuba diver and amateur underwater videographer, a gardener for his collection of desert plants, and a motorcyclist who likes to explore the Southwest on two wheels. He earns his keep and pays for his hobbies by practicing emergency medicine.

The series will continue during the spring academic semester. For more information on the series or for an interview, please contact Cathy Busha at cbusha@email.arizona.edu or at (520) 626-1996.