community
Like most everything in life, change is inevitable. All things must evolve and grow, or as is often the case, they tend to fade away and eventually disappear. The Greater San Diego Business Association (GSDBA) is working hard to avoid that as they strive to meet the challenges of a changing business climate and the needs of an ever-expanding membership. GSDBA’s CEO Barbra Blake, offered this about
the organization’s expanding mission. “When the board and I began to think of how GSDBA could better serve our membership, we could not have imagined the transformation that would take place. However, we did know that we faced one major challenge. Like many non-profits, we were working with limited resources. Fortunately, many of our long-term members, along with many of our new members, shared our vision and joined in the efforts. At the core of our strategy was one major question: ‘How can we make GSDBA more relevant and more valuable to our business members and our community?’ Coming up with an answer proved to be no small feat, as our member- ship is as diverse as our community, so GSDBA’s programs could not be one size fits all.” Blake expanded on some of the specific additions
to what they offer, “Over a dozen of our health and wellness members have worked diligently for over a year to create the LGBT Health and Wellness Referral Network (HWRN). The LGBT community has a history of experiencing bias and discrimination in the healthcare system, resulting in many LGBT persons receiving inadequate care or avoiding treatments. GSDBA’s health and wellness members, led by Board President Dr. Jeri Muse, recognized the need for a culturally competent healthcare provider system that understands their special health care needs.” She continued, “The Greater San Diego’s HWRN is a resource to the community looking for a provider who is trained in LGBT, culturally competent care and who can help ease the anxiety associated with seeking care and ensure our community gets the care it needs.” As a part of that process, the HWRN Develop-
ment Committee decided providers needed to not only be LGBT-friendly, they must also be com- petent and knowledgeable about LGBT-specific needs. Blake said to accomplish this, “GSDBA will need to provide resources for LGBT health and wellness training and education, test for provider competency and ensure non-discriminating office policies and language on forms were inclusive
14 RAGE monthly | JUNE 2016
THE GREATER SAN DIEGO BUSINESS ASSOCIATION by joel martens
TAKING THE NEXT STEPS
of sexual orientation and gender identity or expression. This is exactly what GSDBA did and as Blake noted, “Little did we know that HWRN would be the first LGBT referral program in the country to require this level of competency. HWRN is currently certifying members and we anticipate the network will be populated and available to the community by the end of summer.” Another program the GSDBA set in motion, is
an LGBT-specific jobs board available on their website. It’s a program very special to Blake, “I have worked for many years helping young high school and college students navigate their careers. The idea is simple: You’ve done well, have excellent grades and you were fortunate enough to have an LGBT club in your school. But now, you have to navigate the workforce. You have wonder- ful credentials, equal to the non-LGBT person interviewing for the same position and you may be the one who gets hired. However, in the back of your mind you wonder, ‘They liked me on paper and I may have interviewed well, but how will they react when I put my partner’s picture on my desk or talk about my weekend plans?’” To address such things, the GSDBA designed
a simple but effective jobs board, open to all businesses, not just GSDBA members. As Blake
extolled, it’s the only job-posting site in San Diego to exclusively promote LGBT-friendly, safe work environments. “In addition to employment opportu- nities with our members and other small businesses, the LGBT Job Board will include major employers in San Diego. While we won’t list the hundreds or thousands of jobs employers offer, they will post statements on our job board expressing that they value diversity in the workplace and invite LGBT job seekers to visit their websites to apply for open positions. Ultimately, GSDBA’s overarching vision for the job board is to further workforce equality in San Diego County and further the financial stability of our community.” Big changes and exciting possibilities are on
the horizon for the GSDBA and that is certainly something worth celebrating! The Business Awards and Scholarship Dinner is GSDBA’s annual salute to their founders’ vision and the community’s opportunity to recognize and thank their members and community organizations. The gala event will be held at the Kona Kai Resort and Spa, 1551 Shelter Island Drive on Thursday, June 16. For tickets and more information, go to
gsdba.org.
ForThe Rage Monthly’s much expanded conversation with Barbra Blake, please go to
ragemonthly.com.
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