003 - Issues related to the LGBTQ Community w/Jay Kaplan & Scott Ellis

The Visibility Project Podcast

Welcome back to the Visibility Project Podcast! Our last two episodes have been focused on issues related to the Black Lives Matter movement and racial justice. We will be shifting gears to focus on issues related to the LGBTQ community in this month’s podcast. You will hear our guests talk about important legislation, the importance of voting, the passing of Ruth Bader Ginsberg, and much more.We have two exciting guests with a wealth of knowledge and experiences with us.Jay Kaplan has been the staff attorney for the ACLU of Michigan’s LGBT Project since its founding in 2001.He has worked on cases including: challenging undercover sting operations targeting gay men, fighting Michigan’s constitutional amendment prohibiting same-sex couples from marrying, defending the validity of second parent adoptions granted in Michigan, and recently advocating for a transgender high school student to be able to run for prom court. Jay was honored with the 2006 Unsung Hero Award from the Michigan State Bar and the 2010 Virginia Uribe Civil Rights Award from the National Education Association (NEA).He was part of the legal team of the transgender rights case filed by Aimee Stephens that went to the U.S. Supreme Court. Today, listen for Jay talk about who Aimee was as a person and how she is more than just a name and headline in the important legislation.Our second guest Scott Ellis serves as the Executive Director of Perceptions, the Great Lakes Bay Region’s LGBTQ+ education, advocacy, networking, and resource organization.A 2014 graduate of Saginaw Valley State University, Scott began his career in Bay City’s maritime industry - managing marketing and special events for the Appledore Tall Ships and the Tall Ship Celebration festival.Scott joined the board of Perceptions in 2017 and became the coordinator of the Great Lakes Bay Pride Festival that same year and has since produced four successful events for the organization.In 2019, as Perceptions expanded, Scott accepted his current role as the organization’s first full-time Executive Director.To learn more about The Visibility Project, follow us!Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/thevisibilityprj/Contact us at [e-mail] This podcast was produced by Push Productions | https://pushpromi.com/Transcription | https://drive.google.com/file/d/1MESTuC97LDY2soQkPe0zJ2dxdpamcDwJ/view?usp=sharing---The Visibility Project is a community collaborative aimed at bringing awareness to unseen and unheard populations in our community. We are based out of Midland, MI.Spearheaded by members of the Cultural Awareness Coalition the Project is the brainchild of several organizations and individuals with shared values who sit on the Project Steering Team. The current Team includes staff from Northwood University, Midland Kid’s First, the Midland County Inclusion Alliance, The Legacy Center for Community Success, Our Community Listens, the Midland Wellbeing Task Force, and several Employee Resource Group member from Dow; the intention is to expand this Team to include other like-minded groups in the region. The Project’s vision is to create a more connected, empathetic, and inclusive community by listening to and learning from individuals whose stories are too often unheard.The Project’s vision is to create opportunities for stories of diversity to be heard so that people can grow in connection and understanding of self and others. The impact will be to create a more inclusive mindset both as individuals and as a region.