OutBüro - LGBTQ Voices

In this episode of OutBüro Voices featuring LGBTQ professionals, entrepreneurs, and community leaders from around the world, host Dennis Velco chats with DJ Doran, a media entrepreneur, LGBTQ community organizer, 23 year US Airforce veteran, and long-time Chicago citizen.   

Chicago News: Breaking DJ Doran announces his candidacy for Mayor of Chicago. (April 6, 2022).  The election is in February 2023.    

Mayoral candidate DJ Doran has never held a public office, his background is well suited to tackle the big issues Chicago faces. In our conversation, Doran lists 7 key issues and the practical high-level steps he'd take toward improving life for everyone in Chicago. As he explains, the first step would be to assess the current situation by meeting with the 50 Alderman, and city key departments, auditing the city finances and auditing the city contracts, policies, processes, and systems. He will empower the great employees of the City of Chicago to work with him to make Chicago a well-run city where all have the opportunity to thrive in a safe environment.    

For many, like myself, as soon as I hear "Chicago Politics" the first word that pops in my mind is "corruption".  I thought that maybe I'd seen too many movies. However, as Doran discussed the issues Chicago faces, that knee-jerk thought seems to unfortunately still be quite real.  Compounding the issues is Mayor Lightfoot who is ineffective at best.     

The system is full of career politicians who generally have little business life experience only appear to have their egos in mind.  It would be nice to be proven wrong on that.  The city has contracts that no reasonable business owner would ever sign such as a 100-year parking meter contract.  WHAT? I'd love to see that agreement to pick it apart. How could any competent person working in good faith for the city do such a thing? It was a political hack job with only the crony politician who forced that through and the parking meter company's bank account benefiting.  DJ states that if he ran his business finances the way the City of Chicago currently does, he'd be in JAIL!  The people of Chicago deserve a city government and leaders that have the community at large best interests in mind.  DJ Doran is the right person for the job.  

Learn more about DJ Doran and the issues Chicago faces at: 

https://doran4mayor.com 

https://www.facebook.com/doran4mayor 

https://twitter.com/doran4mayor

Read more on Windy City Times: https://www.windycitytimes.com/lgbt/POLITICS-Gay-media-owner-to-run-for-Chicago-mayor/72852.html

Learn more about DJ Doran and the issues Chicago faces at https://doran4mayor.com.  

Chicago deserves better than Mayor Lightfoot who said: 'I have the biggest d*** in Chicago'

Mayor Lightfoot is being sued for defamation, accused of profane comments - see news story here -  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GpIQ2E4gXj0 

Join us on OutBüro, the LGBTQ professional and entrepreneur online community network for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer, allies, and our employers who support LGBTQ welcoming workplace equality-focused benefits, policies, and business practices.  https://www.OutBuro.com 

Would you like to be featured like this? Contact the host Dennis Velco via our site's Recommend an Interview Guest form.  https://outburo.com/recommend-a-guest/

In this episode of OutBüro Voices featuring LGBTQ professionals, entrepreneurs, and community leaders from around the world, host Dennis Velco chats with Dr. Kelly. Today we are chatting about the need and importance of having wills and other end-of-life planning for LGBTQ persons.  

Don't leave headaches, problems, burdens for others. Estate planning including a will ensures your wishes and desires are carried out as you would like. It can be slightly more complex for persons who identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual, asexual, intersex, transgender or queer in several ways.   First, if estate planning is not done, family members who may not support you for who you are may swoop in and take all your assets away from those you intended to have them if no current will is present.  Also, family members who acted/seemed like they supported you as LGBTQ, can change their tune once you are gone.    Why chance it? 

With a little bit of time and planning, you can legally ensure your wishes are honored. Use a licensed attorney in the state you reside in and have assets in.   

When someone passes away the ugliness and greed in others come out. In many US states having a will may allow your case to bypass probate court. In other states that require all estates to pass through probate court, having a will, will be the guide the judge uses and speeds up the process. Not having a will is a sure way to have all your assets tied up in a probate court where the judge then has no clue about your desires and intentions and then will distribute your assets solely based on blood family relations.   

Estate Planning Tips: Fresh - Keep a current active will that is less than 3 years old. Plan - In planning, make a list of all your current assets, descriptions, location, value, etc. 

No Assets? A will is still needed, consider if there may be a wrongful death lawsuit case awarded to your estate. Your Family as you Define It - As an LGBTQ+ person, you may have a life partner, have a family of choice, and community non-profits you'd like to support and give your assets to.   

Designate Guardian for Minor Children - If you have minor-aged children, having a will is important to ensure the child will be placed in the care of who you choose and again that all decisions you want to make to care for the child after your passing is done.   

Many LGBTQ persons choose to live with a life partner yet are not legally married. Note even if married, a will is smart, but LGBTQ persons who are in a long relationship yet not legally married definitely need to leverage the legal structure of a will.  A will is your last love letter to those you love. It lays out the distribution of your assets in the event of your death.

Join us OutBüro, the LGBTQ professional and entrepreneur online community network for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer, allies, and our employers who support LGBTQ welcoming workplace equality-focused benefits, policies, and business practices. https://OutBuro.com

Would you like to be featured like this? Contact the host Dennis Velco via our site's Recommend an Interview Guest form.  https://outburo.com/recommend-a-guest/

In this episode of OutBüro Voices featuring LGBTQ professionals, entrepreneurs, and community leaders from around the world, host Dennis Velco chats with Martin Cowart, a spiritual and mindset coach helping clients heal personally and financially. Listen in or watch now or later on the video or audio apps you already use.   

The summary below doesn't fully explain. Be sure to listen or watch the full episode.  

Martin works with gay, bisexual, and transgender business owners. Previously he was a wealth manager at a large firm. He found himself in a toxic work environment which affected his performance.  He came close to bankruptcy and one day came to the point of owning it and surrendering the whole situation to his higher power - God.  At that moment a feeling of love, grace, and power enveloped him. He found a new perspective - that it all doesn't matter. He changed his perception and attachment to money.  Love and gratitude are the foundation of abundance.  Martin does what is called Shadow Work. That is helping others identity, address, and overcome their negative and scarcity mindset at the root cause.  He has a spiritual guide called Joy the Wise Woman. \

No matter how much money someone has if they have a mindset of scarcity and lack in their mind, it will never be enough. They must release their emotional attachments to money to be freed in order to feel their worth, accept themself and live a fulfilled and prosperous life with self-love and gratitude for the moment.  Martin's ideal clients are gay, bisexual, and trans men who are entrepreneurs and professionals who feel they've reached a plateau and want to break through and reach their full potential and earn what they desire and are worthy of. He also works with top corporate leaders who have given up their lives to reach their career goals. He works with them to love themselves enough and regain work-life balance.  

For the LGBTQ+ community, this is amplified by the negativity and rejection unfortunately often still experienced from family and professionally.  Part of self-love is setting boundaries with others to limit the negativity projected from others. You cannot change others. You can only control and change yourself.  In his coaching, Martin takes a spiritual approach using the Wisdom Teachings of Jesus with the Hero's Journey moving from the beliefs in our heads to the love in our hearts.  Martin provides group and one-on-one coaching.    J

oin us OutBüro, the LGBTQ professional and entrepreneur online community network for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer, allies, and our employers who support LGBTQ welcoming workplace equality-focused benefits, policies, and business practices.  https://www.OutBuro.com 

Would you like to be featured like this? Contact the host Dennis Velco via our site's Recommend an Interview Guest form.  https://outburo.com/recommend-a-guest/

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In this episode of OutBüro Voices featuring LGBTQ professionals, entrepreneurs, and community leaders from around the world, host Dennis Velco chats with out gay author Michael Dumlao regarding his new book "The Wisdom of Guncles" (gay uncles).

Michael Dumlao (he/his) is an artist, author, and activist equipped with more than twenty-one years of advancing diversity, equity, and social justice through award-winning brand strategy, digital marketing, and creative storytelling in corporate, federal, academic, and non-profit environments. He led the rebrand of a Fortune 500 company as its first Director of Brand and serves as a senior advisor for leaders in defense and intelligence.

Are you the black sheep in your family who chafes at traditions and seeks examples of how to redefine them?

The Wisdom of Guncles is about queer people and their relationship with family — however, they choose to define it. Featuring a diverse pantheon of gay uncles (“guncles”) and other queer mentors, their stories offer unique perspectives about life, love, and personal empowerment.

In our conversation, Michael shares a bit about a few of the stories. We also chat about his process of writing the book and how his passion for storytelling started as a teenager full of angst and his need to express it through writing.  The stories are human stories where any reader regardless of age, gender, gender identity, or sexual orientation may connect with the story and perhaps learn a bit about themselves and/or others.  As a family "black sheep" bunking the expectations of others, we can find our own identity, passions, likes, dislikes, and so forth. With some family dynamics, it can take courage to break out and do your own thing.  Some people are completely rejected by birth families for being different, not the following conformity, and for being LGBTQ+. We can choose to view those past negative situations from a victim's perspective or change our mind's narrative into viewing it as a challenge that we dealt with and now is a superpower.  With those life lessons learned, the book is about sharing such wisdom with others so that we all may rise and be our true authentic selves.

With each chapter, Dumlao examines what various LGBTQ+ experiences teach about disrupting norms, exploring identity, and creating chosen families that affirm one’s truth. Readers will ponder questions such as:

How do I challenge and change traditions that hide those that are different?  

If I choose to never dim my light, will I become a beacon for others lost in the dark? 

How will recovering past stories and unsung heroes help us create a better future?  

How can I leave a space more welcoming than how I found it? 

The Wisdom of Guncles shares ten powerful journeys, each bearing knowledge honed through struggle and triumph, on living with audacious authenticity and compassion. While these narratives are unapologetically queer, they hold universal lessons about the human condition that, like all stories about family, are grounded in love.

Michael was born in Manila, Philippines, raised in Sydney, Australia, schooled in Santa Barbara, California; residing in Washington DC with his Peruvian husband Daniel and their rescue dog, America. He is the proud guncle to more than fifty far-flung niblings and protégés to whom his debut book, The Wisdom of Guncles, is dedicated.  

To learn more and find where to get your copy of the book visit: https://www.thewisdomofguncles.com

Join us OutBüro, the LGBTQ professional and entrepreneur online community network for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer, allies, and our employers who support LGBTQ welcoming workplace equality-focused benefits, policies, and business practices.  https://www.OutBuro.com

In this episode of OutBüro Voices featuring LGBTQ professionals, entrepreneurs, and community leaders from around the world, host Dennis Velco chats with Jaco Kleynhans is a South African based technology business owner, NijaCo, and founder of the NGO A Community of Humans that provides technology support and training to other LGBTQ NGOs throughout Africa.

In Jaco's early career he was in the South African Air Force where he was assigned a special project to learn web development and create websites for various South African Air Force divisions. He fell in love with web and software development. After his Air Form term, he launched his own technology and software development company NinjaCo. Working professionally in the space he realizes that LGBTQ NGOs in Africa lacked the support and skills they need to be successful.

So, with passion and vigor, he created the NGO A Community of Humans to provide technology support and training for other LGBTQ NGOs throughout all of Africa. One of the most frequently requested support is to create reporting dashboard to demonstrate the efficiency and effectiveness of what the LGBTQ NGOs provide to their served communities. This reporting is critical in obtaining and maintaining grants.  The dashboards might include if the NGO is medically focused such as HIV treatment and prevention, things like, how many patients are seen, treated, followed up with, the efficacy of treatment, and so forth. Grant providers want to be certain that the funds they are providing is being used appropriately and making a real difference.

Jaco and his A Community of Humans NGO have created partnerships with global leading software and hardware companies to provide the LGBTQ NGOs with the tools they need to operate and be effective in their communities.  It's not just enough to provide the tools, the LGBTQ NGO management, and team members also need to know how to use them.  So Jaco, teamed up with those providers to provide training and education.  As if that wasn't enough, Jaco has paid attention to the technology job market and like many reports and studies show, there is a global deficit of trained and certified technology professionals to fill all the talent needs spanning from small businesses, NGOs, and large corporations.  Jaco has expanded the training and education to include providing it to members of the community in where the LGBTQ NGOs he already supports are located. The technology partners provide the hardware and software. The LGBTQ NGOs provide the classroom space. A Community of Humans provides the tables, chairs, and in-person instructors to lead the students through the content providing guidance and the support the students need. Jaco even reached out to an internet provider to provide the students with internet access so that they can access all the training content online and perform their homework out of the classroom.

Jaco also reached out to the school that he attended nearly 20 years ago and formed a partnership in where current students can internship on the A Community of Humans projects to gain real-world practical experience.  This experience will include but is not limited to, reporting dashboard development, website development, custom web, and smartphone application development, technology security, marketing, communications, strategic planning, and so much more.    Jaco is an entrepreneur and community leader who is reaching not only the LGBTQ community in Africa but cross-connecting beyond for true collaboration, community building, mentoring, skills development, and leadership development for LGBTQ NGO and youth in Africa in general.

Join us OutBüro, the LGBTQ professional and entrepreneur online community network for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer, allies, and our employers who support LGBTQ welcoming workplace - https://www.OutBuro.com

In this episode of OutBüro Voices featuring LGBTQ professionals, entrepreneurs, and community leaders from around the world, host Dennis Velco chats with Sarah Lynn, an IT security professional focusing on LGBTQ+ owned small and midsized businesses and LGBTQ+ community non-profits.

   Lynn has a 30-year career in technology with a significant portion of that career dedicated to information technology security. She is a partner in BPM CPA and leads the IT Security division.  Lynn stated that she started focusing on IT security for small and medium businesses because in that industry they were and still are very underserved. She further explained that LGBTQ+ owned businesses and non-profits are even more underserved and she aims to do her part to correct that.  

Lynn and Dennis both share real-world examples of IT security breaches they have encountered. The threats are many including:

Securing your communications: email, cell phones, chat boxes, and more 

Securing your systems from automatic attacks and ransomware 

Securing your databases: from both external forces and internal employees/contractors - theft mitigation 

Securing your website and backup/recovery strategies 

Securing cloud services you leverage Logging employee activities on company-owned devices or devices used on behalf of the company/organization Improve your 

IT security strategy and monitoring  Lock your systems down and trust very few people.    

Lynn is offering all viewers/listeners a complimentary 1 hours consultation phone call. Reach out to Lynn to set up your time to chat about your organization's technology security. 

Connect with Lynn here:  https://outburo.com/profile/salynn/

Sarah A. Lynn IT Sechttps://www.youtube.com/redirect?

https://www.linkedin.com/in/salynn

https://www.bpmcpa.com/People/Sarah-Lynn

Join us OutBüro, the LGBTQ professional and entrepreneur online community network for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer, allies, and our employers who support LGBTQ welcoming workplace equality-focused benefits, policies, and business practices.  https://www.OutBuro.com Would you like to be featured like this? Contact the host Dennis Velco via our site's Recommend an Interview Guest form. https://outburo.com/recommend-a-guest/

In this episode of OutBüro Voices featuring LGBTQ professionals, entrepreneurs, and community leaders from around the world, host Dennis Velco chats with Dr. Kelly about legal issues LGBTQ+ persons should be aware of in 2nd parent adoptions building their family.  

We welcome your comments and questions. 

Join us on https://outbur.com and join the Out-Families group!  

Family law throughout the United States and Canada can vary from state to state.  LGBTQ+ persons desiring to build their family by whatever means can face challenges not necessarily faced by heterosexual families. Many states have recently updated their laws to address the past challenges while other states still remain behind the times. At the moment you choose to build your family, it is important to gain a full understanding of the Family Laws in your state and seek a licensed attorney to help you protect your legal connection rights as a parent or guardian of a child you care for and love and the rights of the child.    

Some issues to be informed about: 

If unmarried yet have a life partner, do your state laws allow can co-adopt simultaneously? 

Similarly, if unmarried and using an egg or sperm of the partner do your state laws allow both to be added to the birth certificate or not? If using an egg or sperm donor, what if any rights might the donor have or not? 

What is your desire? Legally recognized parents or guardians bare the financial responsibility of the child.  

Benefits of having the legal connection to the child: 

Ability to make healthcare, education, wellbeing, and other decisions on behalf of the child. 

Ability to pass assets to the child easily in the event of the death of a legally recognized parent or guardian. 

Custody and visitation - If currently married or in a relationship and you have formed a bond with the child, yet the adult relationship dissolves having the legal right to continue a relationship with the child. 

The ability to add the child to your health insurance plan.  

Dr. Kelly is not an attorney, yet represents a vast network of licensed attornies throughout the United States and Canada. Reach out to Dr. Kelly to learn how for a low monthly subscription, you can have access to licensed attornies for both personal and business issues.   https://outburo.com/profile/kellyclark/  

Join us OutBüro, the LGBTQ professional and entrepreneur online community network for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer, allies, and our employers who support LGBTQ welcoming workplace equality-focused benefits, policies, and business practices.  https://www.OutBuro.com  

Would you like to be featured like this? Contact the host Dennis Velco via our site's Recommend an Interview Guest form.  https://outburo.com/recommend-a-guest/

In this episode of OutBüro Voices featuring LGBTQ professionals, entrepreneurs, and community leaders from around the world, host Dennis Velco chats with Kevin Huntting, a Leadership Coaching Centered on Your State Of Consciousness.

If you are a professional or entrepreneur in either capacity and would like to up your leadership skills, make sure you watch/listen. Along the way, we'd love for you to drop a comment. What did you learn? What was new or interesting to you? What are your goals and what's blocking you?

Kevin has had a long career in the large Fortune 500 corporate world in areas of eCommerce, digital marketing, social media management for brands like Banana Republic, GAP, and GE. He enjoyed the challenges and what they taught him about himself. The biggest change was when he met his spouse who is a career Mexican Diplomat. Due to his husband's government role that requires him to be resigned to new international or US locations to serve his country every 3-4 years, this caused Kevin to assess himself and reconsider his career.

We discussed how relocating can allow you to reinvent yourself leaving the past behind. If coupled with a self-assessment and an intention to grow and change it can have a profound positive impact on your life. Also, how so many people fear the change, leaving a comfort zone (even if negative) and unknown and further we discuss how to deal with that. step into the possibilities, and make it a reality.

Kevin's leadership coaching modality is founded on core energy or energy leadership. The idea is that every one of us is operating from a place of 7 core levels of consciousness in any given situation, context, or interaction in our day-to-day lives. Kevin assists his clients in understanding where they are showing up energetically or consciously speaking. He works with leaders to help them build that awareness and emotional intelligence that allows them to tap into higher levels of consciousness which results in more effective leadership, overall satisfaction, and productivity.

It sounds a little metaphysical, but level one is a victim mentality. If someone is operating in this level with their thoughts, emotions, and actions life is happening to them, not for them. Energy attracts like energy. Kevin helps his client's break the mold or lens to see the potential of raising their consciousness and provide a wide range of tools to see what is holding them back, see what you maybe cannot see from an outside objective perspective, and make positive change in a short period of time - usually just 3 months.

Kevin's ideal clients are change-makers, envelope pushers, innovators, social entrepreneurs, anyone who is looking to make a positive impact in the world, and maybe the employer they work for to increase their leadership and performance. He starts off with each client using the Energy Leadership Assessment Index which measures the client's attitude to gauge where they are today. Taking the client's stated desired goals, he creates a systematic plan and then works with the client over a typically 3 month period to achieve their desired change. He creates a gap analysis potentially covering attitude, skills, behaviors, characteristics to gain to reach their goals.

Connect with Kevin:

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/2stepsforwardcoach

Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/2stepsforwardcoaching/

LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevinhuntting/

Website:   https://www.stepsforwardcoaching.com

Join us OutBüro, the LGBTQ professional and entrepreneur online community network for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer, allies, and our employers who support LGBTQ welcoming workplace equality-focused benefits, policies, and business practices.  https://www.OutBuro.com

In this episode of OutBüro Voices featuring LGBTQ professionals, entrepreneurs, and community leaders from around the world, host Dennis Velco chats with Joseph Barb founder of the LGBTQ+ Family Connections Center located in South Dakota to support LGBTQ+ homeless youth. 

Joe has a career background in corporate human resources and had a moment of realization that turned his life to focus on the underserved LGBTQ+ community in South Dakota. Growing up in Connecticut where he had 3 LGBTQ+ community centers all nearby. However, where he, his husband and their son (pictured with him in the thumbnail/feature image) now live in South Dakota and throughout the Mid-West has very few if any community resources. 

This became blatantly apparent when one day he was at his barber. His barber shared that his transgender son was kicked out of his biological father's home with just a trash bag of clothes and dropped on the doorstep of his barber and his wife, the son's mother. Joe learned that the barber was having a difficult time finding supporting counseling for his family. From that, the non-profit was born. As of mid-2021, there are 1,764,000 homeless youth ages 13-24 in the United States. 

The housing and economic insecurity is so great within our community (supported by studies), especially for youth. Youth today are more comfortable with who they are at much earlier ages than past generations. If they come out or show signs of being LGBTQ+ they still face rejection by family and can face getting kicked out of their family homes. They often are unprepared to live life on their own lacking basic life skills, work skills, and support resources.  Sometimes their families make it even harder by not providing documentation such as their birth certificate or social security card leaving them unable to obtain driver's license or state-issued ID cards. Without the basic documentation, they cannot get a job or if they can afford it, cannot rent a place to live.   Some find temporary shelter surfing couches. This, however, is not home security.

Joe though the LGBTQ+ Family Connections Center non-profit has started providing virtual counseling with a growing team of volunteer social workers, referral to LGBTQ+ supportive counselors, and other services. He wants to provide stability and towards doing so, he has identified a property that has fully equipped private cabins with living space, a small kitchen, and a bedroom. The center also has buildings for a community center and counseling center.  The LGBTQ+ Family Connections Center will be doing more than providing a roof over the rejected LGBTQ+ youth's heads. They will be providing counseling, job skill training to set them off on a career - not just a fast-food restaurant job, casual and work clothing, internship opportunities, and job search guidance. Remember, Joe is a past corporate HR professional.

Joe has established a strong working relationship with HUD and completed the first HUD grant application. All grants however can take 18-months to several years to be awarded.  Joe is seeking business/corporate sponsorships as well.  Not only will they accept personal clothing donations, but he hopes to gain corporate sponsors for technology, food, clothing, shoes, and all other basics the non-profit and these young people will need to exist, grow, and thrive into healthy, active, and successful people. If you happen to have a contact within a business/corporation that you feel might be open to helping, he'd love to chat with you.

Grants and corporate support take quite a bit of time to acquire. Therefore, Joe and the LGBTQ+ Family Connections Center are seeking to raise funds to purchase this beautiful property and are calling on the LGBTQ+ community everywhere to please donate. Learn more here:  https://lgbtqfamilyconnectionscenter.net

In this episode of OutBüro Voices host, Dennis Velco chats again with our friend Gurchaten "Nanoo" Sandhu who is the LGBTQ Global Leader at the United Nations about being LGBTQ and Sikh.   

OutBüro Voicesfeaturing LGBTQ professionals, entrepreneurs, and community leaders from around the world.   

During the recording of our initial interview (link below) at the tail end, I asked Nanoo about being gay LGBTQ, and being Sikh.  His response was rather surprising to me stating that, unlike several other prominent world religions, the Sikh faith has no mention of homosexuality in its scriptures at all.  Many LGBTQ persons around the world have grown up and have been hurt by family and faiths that believe, whether, right or wrong, or even long ago mistranslation. I find it refreshing to hear the Sikh faith speaks nothing about it.  

Would you like more facts?  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sikhism... 

Would you like to connect with other LGBTQ Sekh from around the world? 

Sarbat - Sikh LGBTQ Group main website at: http://www.sarbat.net/

And it on Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/lgbtsikh/ 

Check out our past episode with Nanoo here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M24H0...

In the past episode, we discussed his LGBTQ leadership role at the United Nations.  

Join us on OutBüro, the LGBTQ professional and entrepreneur online community network for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer, allies, and our employers who support LGBTQ welcoming workplace equality-focused benefits, policies, and business practices.  https://www.OutBuro.com Would you like to be featured like this? Contact the host Dennis Velco via our site's Recommend an Interview Guest form.  https://outburo.com/recommend-a-guest/