Happy July everyone! Joanna Marroquin here, Director of Pilot Programs for The Women’s Foundation for the State of Arizona and VP of the Gaymber Board.
We made it through June–the gayest month of the year! It was wonderful to be out there with you all to learn, to educate, and to celebrate what it means to live our lives intentionally and to be seen by our friends and community that are part of the Tucson LGBT Chamber of Commerce, aka the Gaymber. And while we celebrate, honor, & live Queerness out loud for Pride month, we know that we are queer all year!
As LGBTQIA+ people, we can’t stress enough how important it is to know that there are advocates inside and outside of the Gaymber striving toward building a just community where LGBTQIA+ rights are not consistently under attack–especially those of our trans, black, indigenous, and people of color family.
That support matters in the statehouse: on June 27th, 2023, Governor Katie Hobbs signed executive orders protecting our LGBTQIA+ community including:
- Executive Order on Ensuring Access to Medically Necessary Gender-Affirming Healthcare (2023-13)
- Executive Order on Protecting Young People from Conversion Therapy (2023-12)
- Protecting Reproductive Freedoms (2023-11)
And that support matters in business. More and more people in Tucson and Southern Arizona are learning what inclusive business looks like–and the Gaymber is here for it! Did you know that from June 2022 to June 2023 we have had 105 new members join the Chamber, bringing us to over 260 active member organizations? Our LGBTQIA+ community is here, and businesses that genuinely want to be inclusive have the power to create real change while engaging with a large, loyal, and diverse customer base.
The Gaymber can be your rainbow to inclusive business resources! Having the Gaymber as a supportive partner to engage with offers the chance to work together to be informed in how to best support employees, community, and commerce.
It matters. Recently, I was at a physical therapy appointment and noticed that the employees’ badges had either a progressive flag sticker or a progressive flag sticker with the word ally on it. My eyes lit up. The employee told me that their employee resource group had encouraged the corporate office to connect with the LGBT chamber local to their headquarters to talk about how they could be more inclusive. The stickers were one small visible part of their ongoing efforts to be more inclusive of both their employees and their clients.
Are you interested in having a conversation about how your business can continue and expand your inclusivity efforts — both for the sake of people and for the bottom line? We’d love to discuss how we can engage and support! Reach out to us at membership@tucsonlgbtchamber.org to kick off a conversation.
Just like our end of school year yearbook signatures said: “Stay cool, positive vibes, and thanks for being the amazing bunch you are.” Don’t forget to like us on instagram &/or facebook @tlgbtcc and join us at our next breakfast on Thursday, July 20, 2023 and for a sweet soiree at Tucson Botanical Gardens on the 30th.
In community,
Joanna Marroquin
Gaymber Board VP | 2022-Present
Membership & Sponsorship Committee Member
Become a Gaymber Ambassador Today!
Rainbow Reads @ Pima County Public Library
P.S. We love to see you out and about and we love that our Gaymber members are able to use their membership perks to tell everyone what you have going on each month. Our Events page is a great tool to promote your business events, classes, workshops, meetings, etc. Visit our Events page to see the latest and greatest and visit the Member Portal page to log in and list your events. (Want to invite us to join you at an event? Please do! Once you’ve posted to our events page feel free to send us an email at board@tucsonlgbtchamber.org if there are more nuanced asks.)
