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A Gay in the Life: AJ Canzolino
- AJ Canzolino sat at a desk for 20 years working in the financial sector. He liked his job, though it was stressful and never truly was his passion. "About five years ago I started to think about what I would do with my life if I had the opportunity, and owning a gym was at the top of that list," ...
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Lesbian executive talks about coming out
- Beth Brooke serves as global vice chair iof public policy for Ernst & Young. That might not be such a big deal, except Brooke is openly lesbian, making her one of the few out members of leadership serving with an international or even national company. Brooke came out in 2010 in a video for The Trevor Project. Her coworkers had ...
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Lesbian aims to help those in poverty
- Special to the online edition of Windy City Times - Her world changed dramatically one morning in February 2011—and so did, eventually, the lives of countless low-income adults. Megan Kashner went to sleep Feb. 12, 2011, and admitted to Windy City Times that she must have been pondering poverty in the United States. She awoke with a clear vision. "When I woke up, I realized that for low-income adults, it ...
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Bi in the Life: Wendy Bostwick
- Wendy Bostwick has meshed her personal and professional lives on the DeKalb campus of Northern Illinois University, while living in suburban St. Charles. She has been researching the health of bisexual women, among others, for 15 years. "Given that this is my area of expertise, and I have LGBT all over my resume, I presume that those with whom I ...
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Gay-Cierge helps LGBTs put hours back in their days
- Special to the online edition of Windy City Times - If you find yourself muttering under your breath about there not being enough hours in the day, you're just the kind of person Tennyson Mun wants to help. Mun and Cesar Mendoza co-founded Gay-Cierge to be the city's only concierge service catering—as their website, www.gay-cierge.com, states—"exclusively to Chicago's LGBT community." Mun told Windy City Times the endeavor "is a subsidiary ...
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Gay man continues tradition with jewelry store
- When Don Strzepek applied for a job at The Tucker Company, one of Chicago's most prestigious jewelry stores, he envisioned only working there for three months. He had been a school teacher locally and was applying for teaching jobs in San Diego—the Tucker gig was just to bring in a few bucks before he went west. "I applied sort of ...
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A Gay in the Life: Orlando Barsallo
- Orlando Barsallo is a multifaceted individual—and a mysterious one as well, which makes him all the more intriguing. For example, when asked how he ended up in Chicago from Panama, he simply answered, "My life." When asked where he sees his future, he said, "As high as it can be." He did elaborate, though, that he didn't plan things when ...
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Lesbian lawyer lives her passion
- Fifty miles south of Cleveland is Massillon, Ohio, where the once-thriving steel mills have now closed, and Friday nights are still reserved for football. An eclectic host of personalities have called "Tigertown" home, including straight white seismologist Jack Oliver, who discovered plate tectonics; straight white NCAA basketball coach Bobby Knight; straight white film legend Lillian Gish; and African-American lesbian lawyer ...
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Bi in the Life: Br. Michael C. Oboza
- Br. Michael C. Oboza has admitted he waged a long internal battle to figure out "how straight or gay" he assumed he had to be. Instead, he's bisexual—and he works daily with others identified by the "B" in the LGBT community. "I knew I had butterflies for two classmates from kindergarten to seventh-grade at the same time. That's eight years. ...
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Lambda Legal and its Midwest office mark major milestones
- The year was 1972 and a small group of lawyers, led by Bill Thom, set out to found a not-for-profit legal organization based out of New York that would focus entirely on LGBT civil rights issues across the nation. They encountered their first challenge shortly after filing the paperwork for nonprofit status when a panel of New York judges denied ...
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Gay in the Life: Marie Kavadias
- The artwork of Marie Kavadias meshes bright colors with dark backdrops to create a pop. "It's primarily abstract, vivid [and] bold, utilizing oil and chalk pastel on paper," or occasionally on canvas, she said. "As an alternative medium, I do some sculptures and take photographs, [too]. I'm kind of known in circles as an emerging 'outsider, twice-gifted artist' who has ...
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Gay in the Life: John-Michael Korpal
- Born and raised in rural Indiana, John-Michael Korpal quickly became connected to nature and though he moved to Chicago in 1988, where he now lives, Korpal hasn't forgotten his roots, literally. Korpal is an environmentally conscious artist, focused on an eco-friendly lifestyle. He also has been a certified, licensed massage therapist for more than 20 years—the last five at Toujours ...
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Lesbian Oak Park trustee is focused on village's issues
- Even in 2013, it can still be unusual for an elected official to be openly gay—unless it's in the Chicago suburb of Oak Park. Oak Park Village Trustee Colette Lueck, who is running for re-election this year, said that being an out lesbian has never been an issue. "Certainly I've been called to speak about the civil unions bill and ...
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A Gay in the Life: Redgi Woods
- Redgi Woods is regularly shopping at estate sales, and even buying clothes direct from clients' closets. He's looking for vintage goods, the older the better—it's the quality fabric that he's after, so he can turn them new, tailored, and hip, with a little re-cutting, or design element. "I'm a history buff, so I love how clothing affects history and how ...
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A Bi in the Life: Chuck Kramer
- Chuck Kramer taught reading and writing to local junior high students for 30 years. "I really enjoyed working with adolescent kids; I liked their fresh point of view, often raw and unmodulated," he said. Now retired, Kramer stays in contact with some of his former students via Facebook, watching as they pursue careers as lawyers, engineers, teachers and more. Kramer's ...
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A Gay in the Life: Richard Dayhoff
- The fashion world is pretty simple to Richard Dayhoff, an award-winning designer who left his mark in women's clothing for decades and, for the past five years, has now shifted to the men's industry. His Fashion 101 nowadays starts with layer one: underwear. However, Dayhoff doesn't do basic, run-of-the mill, mass-produced department-store underwear. Richard Dayhoff Underwear is high-end fabric, made ...
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Memories aplenty aboard Chicago boat
- Andrew Sadock is preparing for the 2013 sailing season, but he won't have the lesbian anchors that he's relied on for the past two years while serving as the on-boat captain for Red Witch, the only commercial wooden sailboat in Chicago. Lauren Lindeman and her wife, Lynn Randall, managed the boat's administrative functions in 2011, while Lindeman handled the duties ...
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A Gay in the Life: Troy Karnoff
- When Troy Karnoff moved from Long Beach, Calif., to Chicago almost six years ago, he barely knew anyone; also, the few friends he knew, they too traveled regularly. But a brunch club ultimately brought everyone together. The simple idea has blossomed into the Big Gay Brunch Club, formed in April 2009, in which Karnoff and friends joke around, chow down ...
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THE Q LIST H.Melt on poetry and muses
- Special to the online edition of Windy City Times - A prolific visual artist and transqueer poet, H.Melt is a crucial voice in Chicago's queer poetry scene. Represented also by slam poets, writers and activists like Mar Curran, ellie june navidson and Jakob VanLammeren, Chicago's queer poets are rethinking the divides between the public and the private, the visual and the discursive, the page and the stage. These young artists ...
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Former Scout on coming out
- Before the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) ban on gay scouts ever became a thing of headlines, Christopher Pries was leading hikes in New Mexico, problem solving with other scouts. Pries, an out gay Chicagoan, became an Eagle Scout in the late '80s. Today he feels that Scouts gave him the confidence to be himself, part of what made it ...
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A Gay in the Life: Robbie Baldwin
- His road to retiring in Hawaii is now working in Chicago, with a memory of days in Key West, Fla. Robbie Baldwin was 18 when he went to Key West on vacation, and immediately fell in love with its laid-back lifestyle. "I went back [home], packed up my stuff and moved," to Key West, he said. "When I got there, ...
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Pro soccer player comes out
- Robbie Rogers revealed Friday that he is gay and retiring from professional soccer—but he's still welcome to play for the Chicago Fire, which acquired the MLS rights to Rogers in January as part of a trade with the Columbus Crew. "Yesterday I thought he was a very good player and I still think that today. Should Robbie want to return ...
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A Gay in the Life: Dougie Collins
- Dougie Collins hosted a house party four years ago before he and his crew headed north to Milwaukee in a bus that, well, is seemingly still rolling along. Collins has since been asked regularly, due to the fact his day job is for Chicago Charter Express, to provide The "gAy List" bus for many local events and parties, particularly fundraisers. ...
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A Gay in the Life: Erwin Overes
- Erwin Overes shares his personal thoughts, feelings and emotions in artwork that he sculpts, all centered around material found on and around trees. "I put my feelings in many [of the sculptures]. It's almost impossible to make some art and not put your own life experience in it," Overes said. "It doesn't mean that the viewer has the same life ...
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A Gay in the Life: Mary King
- As a child, Mary King lived on a farm and her my mother sold eggs to people who came from the nearby town. King then used the remaining pages in her mom's receipt books to draw. "I first just made curvy lines," she said. That expanded into paper dolls which she made from pages out of the old Sears Roebuck ...
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Gay in the Life: Maura Ross
- While a student at Northwestern University, Maura Ross attended a barbecue on campus for a group called, College Feminists. She remained involved with the club for the rest of her career on the Evanston campus and, by the time she graduated, Ross was really interested in non-profit work. However, she was an art-history major who dreamed of working at a ...
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Lesbian and straight friend form new cleaning company
- Two long-time friends, La Toya Burkhalter and Tanesha Taylor, recently formed a local cleaning company named TaylorMaid For You Cleaning Services. The business motto is "Let us cater to you." Burkhalter and Taylor service residential apartments, houses and commercial businesses throughout the entire Chicagoland area, traveling as far as the border between Illinois and Wisconsin in the north, northwest Indiana ...
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T in the Life: Alex Temple
- Identifies as: Transgender, genderqueer Pronouns: "She" or "they" Neighborhood: Edgewater Life's work: "I'm a composer. Right now, I'm in the doctoral program at Northwestern and teaching music theory and composition for non-majors there." Hobbies/interests: Film, literature, photography, politics, language, cultural history and road trips. Do you have a coming out story?: "My transition has been very gradual, so I never ...
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Gay in the Life: Vinny Valdez
- Vinny Valdez landed a tattooing apprenticeship several years ago with Jacob Kearney, who has worked in the ink industry since 2000. "In my eyes, tattooing is the most challenging form of art, and I wanted the challenge," Valdez said. He's progressed from apprentice to full-time tattoo artist, never affected by the fact he's deaf. "I love it so much; [tattooing] ...
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Former Chicagoan asks, 'What bullies you?'
- Michael Anthony Nalepa has come full circle from his days being bullied while growing up in suburban Wheeling. Now known as simply Michael Anthony, he is a Los Angeles-based actor, writer and producer. He came back to Wheeling in late August to discuss and sign copies of his new book, anthology of anonymoUS. Anthony also discussed the "anonymoUS initiative" and ...
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Bi in the Life: Chris Pierce
- Chris Pierce coordinates the monthly events at the Center on Halsted for the bisexual community, relying on his diverse personal relationships, past and present, and an open-book look at his life. He came out at age 15 as bisexual while in a heterosexual relationship. They continued to date and eventually were married, living a mostly monogamous life for nine years, ...
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'Million Dollar Decorator' Martyn Lawrence Bullard
- NUNN ON ONE: TV Special to the online edition of Windy City Times - Designer Martyn Lawrence Bullard has made a big name for himself over the years with a client list that includes Cher, Elton John, Christina Aguilera and the Osbournes. He has had many commercial projects, such as the Jimmy Choo corporate headquarters and properties for the Colony Palms Hotel Group and been given the Andrew Martin International Interior Designer of the ...
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Gay in the Life: Sky Cotton
- Twenty-five years ago, Sky Cotton struggled to find her place in a male-dominated leather scene. Now the self-identified "Leather Dyke" has made a name for herself as a sex educator, leather and chainmaille artist, DJ and performer who promotes kink and fetish awareness. Cotton's first introduction to the leather scene came when she met Benedict Michaelowski, a leather daddy who ...
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Bi in the Life: Ed Negron
- Ed Negron shares his life, the good and the bad, on the tattoos that cover his arms. The left arm is his past. The right is the present. It truly has been a wild ride, filled with addiction, self-destruction, hate, shame and anger—words that also are tattooed on him. Negron hit rock bottom in 1999 when he was arrested in ...
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A Gay in the Life: Suzanne Santos
- Suzanne Santos has trained and performed as a professional clown, and even has a master's degree in theatrical clowning. Now she's sharing that passion for juggling, unicycles, stilts and more with area youngsters. Santos previously worked for the San Francisco Arts Education Project, which involved going to schools, teaching about multiple aspects of the circus. "I really love teaching circus; ...
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Art 'Chat Daddy' Sims and Mark Lewis: The 'Real Deal'
- Talking over BlogTalkRadio about everything from relationships and sex to the current news headlines and local community members on their radio show "The Real Deal Experience," Art "Chat Daddy" Sims and Mark Lewis (a gay and a straight man, respectively) sat down for an interview with Windy City Times about their radio show, friendship, lives off the air and personal ...
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Paul Cannella aims to expand empire
- Special to the online edition of Windy City Times - Paul Cannella has a clear vision for his business empire: He wants to own 10 businesses by 2020. That'd likely be nine restaurants and one nightspot, Scarlet Bar in Lakeview, which he has already owned for five years. "Ten is just a number, but you have to set a goal and have something to shoot for," he said. Cannella, 42, ...
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Gay in the Life: Eric Durchholz
- Eric Durchholz applied in October to be a server or bartender at The Spot in Uptown but its owner, Calvin Duong, had another idea for the multi-talented Durchholz. He brought Durchholz to the upstairs portion, which was not being used. He said, "Figure out a way to convert the space into a comedy club." Durchholz is now the manager of ...
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T in the Life: Gabriela "G" Zapata-Alma
- Pronouns "Zhe (but am not offended by use of 'she,' 'he,' 'they,' etc., since all correspond to aspects of my gender)." Identifies as Two-Spirit Neighborhood Logan Square Job Associate director of Scattered-Site Housing, and founder/co-chair of the Advocacy Committee at Chicago House & Social Service Agency. Hobbies "Eating, reading, spirituality, dogs and other animal friends, all things 'cute,' body modification, ...
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Diversity thrives within Chicago zine institution
- BOOKS Special to the online edition of Windy City Times - By Matthew C. Clark According to local lore, when founder Steven Svymbersky first opened Quimby's in 1991 he was always intending for it to be the oddball, eccentric books, comics and zine store it is today. "I really want to carry every cool-bizarre-strange-dope-queer-surreal-weird publication ever written and published and in time Quimby's will. Because I know you're out there and ...
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Library head talks mission, journey
- Brian Bannon is the newest commissioner of the Chicago Public Library—and, as is expected for someone in that position, he is extremely qualified. His immediate job before coming to Chicago was being chief information officer (CIO) for the San Francisco Public Library, and was previously chief of branches of the same system. He has also managed Seattle Public Library and ...
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Gay in the Life: Vince Dinh
- Vince Dinh continues to work in real estate, but his true passion is found at the new Savon Spa in Lakeview, which opened in July, boasting a primarily organic approach to products and treatments. "I just feel this is the right fit for me; I really love interacting with customers," Dinh said. Savon Spa offers a luxurious, purifying spa experience ...
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Gay in the Life: Tim'm T. West
- Tim'm T. West brings a roller-coaster background to the Center on Halsted, where he works with youth who range in age from 13 to 24, primarily gay men of color—and many definitely can relate with his past. He's lived on food stamps to survive at one point in life, has two brothers who were in gangs and, while growing up, ...
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T in the Life: Ronen Mark
- Identifies as Transgender, Genderqueer, Genderfluid Pronouns He/him/his or ze/hir/hirs Neighborhood Edgewater Life's work "Music and performance are my life's work. I've been a singer and performer all my life. Within the last five years I've set aside mainstream theatrical ambitions, picked up a guitar and begun to sing my own song, both literally and figuratively. I have a solo album ...
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Gay in the Life: Pam Hulvey
- Pam Hulvey started taking photography classes while at the University of Illinois in the 1980s, and immediately was hooked. She ultimately graduated from Columbia College in Chicago with a degree in photography and now, 25 years later, is still active in photography—personally and professionally. "I consider what I do at work to be an art form," Hulvey said. "I take ...
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A Gay in the Life: Patrick Tassoni
- Talking with Patrick Tassoni, one is struck by his boundless energy and optimism. Both of those qualities come in quite handy at Northside College Prep, a public four-year selective enrollment magnet high school that's in Chicago's North Park neighborhood. Tassoni works there as a college counselor, and says that his biggest role is "being a student advocate." Tassoni became a ...
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A Gay in the Life: Lucas Segovia
- Upon being asked what he likes about Chicago, Lucas Segovia quickly said it's the city's "culture and diversity." For the cosmopolitan Segovia—who has danced all over the world and is now a part of the Windy City-based Joffrey Ballet (joining in 2010)—those definitely seem like aspects he can appreciate. As for knowing when he wanted to dance, Segovia said it ...
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T IN THE LIFE Stephanie Dykes
- PronounS: She, her Identifies as: Woman, transwoman, transsexual woman Neighborhood: Lombard, Illinois Relationship status: Single Hobbies: "I enjoy singing, and I currently sing with my church choir. I have also begun to do musicals with community theater groups. I also enjoy reading, and I have become a real fanatic about walking." Career: "I am fortunate to be the director of ...
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Keith Boykin talks about 'The Right Thing to Do' at NEIU
- by Matthew C. Clark - "Mom, I'm gay." A hush fell over the room of about a hundred people. The speaker in the front, Keith Boykin, was telling his coming-out story. He had paused for effect after the recited pronouncement. "And there was a pause just like that," he then added, to several chuckles in the audience. As part of Northeastern Illinois University's (NEIU) celebration ...
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Gay in the Life: Victor Marrufo
- Victor Marrufo has been around the beauty pageant industry for several years—now he's the one wearing the sash. Marrufo was the director of both the Miss Hispano U.S.A. and the Miss Hispano America Illinois Organization pageants. This summer, he was selected as Mr. Illinois to participate in the inaugural Mr. U.S. Universal Competition next June in Fort Collins, Colo. "I ...
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A Gay in the Life: Zach Kropp
- From Wrigley Field to Riff Raff, with a side of sweet potato fries: Welcome to the world of Zach Kropp, an aspiring singer/performer who, in August, sang "God Bless America" and the national anthem at Wrigley Field. Kropp sang on the last Sunday of August before the Chicago Cubs' game against Colorado in conjunction with the Out At Wrigley event. ...
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T in the Life: Jen Richards
- Identifies as: "I am a trans woman." Neighborhood: Andersonville Zodiac: "I'm a triple Aquarius." Life's work: "Being me. Creating spaces that help others to do the same for themselves." Website: www.wehappytrans.com What is the best thing about being gender-variant? "Anyone who visibly deviates from imagined norms of a given community, in a way that is still conceivable in the ...
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Four-legged friends anchor new store, name
- BUSINESS - Jameson is a 70-pound lab-huskie mix whose favorite fellow, furry four-legged friend is Danger, a 17-pound Boston terrier-poodle mix that is afraid of, well, just about everything—from leaves to car horns and almost everything in between. "It's a very unlikely pair," said Gracie Whalen, owner of Danger. "Jameson has a protective relationship with Danger, especially at the beach. Jameson is ...
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Gay in the Life: Pedro Juan Rodriguez
- Pedro Juan Rodriguez was a volunteer some 20-plus years ago at STOP AIDS Chicago, and one of the young, up-and-coming workers there at the time was none other than David Ernesto Munar. Flash forward to today; they are again working side by side in the battle against HIV/AIDS. Rodriguez, in May, accepted a position at the AIDS Foundation of Chicago ...
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A Gay in the Life: Michael Jarecki
- Michael Jarecki is running the Chicago Marathon for the third consecutive year Sunday, Oct. 7, and as he runs downtown, at about mile three, it certainly will have personal significance. That's when he'll run past his office, along Jackson Boulevard. Jarecki runs his own legal firm, concentrating on immigration law. He started the firm in 2006, two years after graduating ...
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T in the Life: Andy Karol
- Pronouns: Her, their, they; enjoys being "Sir'd" Identifies as: Genderqueer, queer, fluid, gender aficionado Neighborhood: Avondale Life's work: "My life's work is to touch people through art, be it through photography or writing. In doing so, I hope to be an instigator for change in positive ways." Website: www.andykarol.com What is the best thing about being gender-variant? "The best ...
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Lesbian finds job at think tank very rewarding
- Naomi Goldberg is all smiles talking about her job as an LGBT movement and policy researcher for the Movement Advancement Project (MAP), a think tank that works to speed equality for LGBT people. Her work is both professionally rewarding and personally impactful said Goldberg, 29, who lives in Chicago's Logan Square neighborhood with her wife, Libby Hemphill. The two had ...
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Gay teen helps lead Phoenix's anti-bullying initiative
- Special to the online edition of Windy City Times - Caleb Laieski has taken another major step to help raise awareness about bullying and diversity—subjects he knows about all too well. Laieski, 17, is now the youngest advocate on loan in the Phoenix mayor's office, it was announced earlier this year. Laieski, as a youth and diversity liaison, will work to raise awareness about bullying and diversity and serve as ...
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A Gay in the Life: Richard Z. Wright
- Text by Ross Forman photos courtesy of wright - When Richard Z. Wright learned in the late 1980s that he was HIV-positive, he was convinced he wouldn't survive. "It was an automatic death sentence back then," he said. Wright admitted that soon after his diagnosis, he participated in many high-risk activities, including drug use and anonymous sex. "At that time, average HIV patients didn't live two years" after being ...
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T in the Life: T.J. Jourian
- Pronouns: He/him/his Identifies as: Transman Neighborhood: Edgewater Life's work "I just started my first semester as a PhD student in Higher Education at Loyola University Chicago, in order to work towards my eventual 'life's work.' I want to research the gender identity development process of transmasculine students of color, and their college experiences." Hobbies "I love documentaries, dancing, beer snobbery, ...
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If These Walls Could Talk: Man's Country anniversary
- Rudolf Nureyev ran naked down these hallways shouting, "Who wants to swing on a star?" Wayland Flowers and Paul Lynde showed up one night in a limo; later Wayland roamed the halls wearing a towel; his puppet, Madame, was on his hand in curlers and a chenille robe. Specialty dancer and silent film star Sally Rand entranced her towel clad ...
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Citizens Alert's Mary Powers on advocacy and the power of individuals
- Mary Powers has been butting heads with the Chicago Police Department (CPD) for more than 40 years. In her work with Citizens Alert, a police-accountability activist group started in 1967, Powers has been directly involved in policy changes within the CPD. She has also been active in the fight for LGBT rights. The Michigan native graduated from the University of ...
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A Gay in the Life: Kevin Neal
- The girl was, perhaps, a wee bit drunk, but was convinced Justin Bieber was actually working at Scarlet in Chicago's Lakeview neighborhood. In reality, it was Kevin Neal, with longer hair that he now sports. Neal, naturally, posed for photos and signed autographs. Neal still laughs at the tale years later. "The best part of my job is that I ...
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T in the Life: Elizabeth Erma Savage
- Pronouns: Feminine Identifies as: Transsexual, male to female Neighborhood: River North Career: "I am retired from the work world, but I used do social casework, customer service and retail sales." Hobbies: "Photography, interior decorating, gardening, watching TV and writing in my journal and my blog at defianttransgothgirl.wordpress.com. My interests are most anything related to transsexual life, my transition and my ...
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Attorney finds meaning defending others' civil rights
- Special to the online edition of Windy City Times - When Alyx S. Pattison was working towards her juris doctorate from Northwestern University School of Law, she knew she wanted to use her degree to save the world. "One of the things I feel strongly about are civil rights," she said. "It doesn't matter what kind of minority group you are." She believes in having a system that has the ...
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Gay in the Life: Jim Jackowski
- Jim Jackowski spent 18 years working in high-tech IT sales. He was, admittedly, a workaholic who, consequently, never had a hobby—and his home away from home often was a seat on the next American Airlines flight. During his peak stretch, Jackowski was on the road 70 percent of the time and has amassed more than 1 million frequent-flyer miles on ...
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Gay student leader earns leadership post, learns life lessons
- Special to the online edition of Windy City Times - Making equality a priority is one of Jose Aburto's accomplishments. Aburto, an openly gay 18-year-old graduate of J. Sterling Morton East High School graduate in Cicero, currently serves as Morgan East Gay-Straight Alliance (MEGASA) president. Aburto has been responsible for a 300-percent increase—from 10 to 30 members—in membership. He helped orchestrate a petition drive on the Day of Silence, which ...
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Gay in the Life: Kim Marks
- The quiet, reserved Kim Marks who works at her suburban desk is truly worlds apart from the aggressive defensive specialist who preys on opposing quarterbacks for the Chicago Force. Even her boss admits it's hard to imagine Marks on the football field. But that's her home to let out aggression and frustration. "How I am on the field allows me ...
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Mickey Powers looks back on Chicago's gay life
- It was an early summer evening when Mickey Powers walked from his Lakeview apartment to the lakefront near the totem pole to read, as he often does. He spotted two twentysomething Latino men sitting side by side on a bench, and one had his legs draped over the other man, and they were kissing intimately. An array of emotions raced ...
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Male nurse couple makes it work in the hospital and out
- Special to the online edition of Windy City Times - They celebrated their 10th anniversary July 26 and, not surprisingly, partners Tommy Starr and Brent Alwood were, in the months leading up to the milestone, casual, laid-back and relaxed about what it would entail. Their jobs are their stress. Starr and Alwood, who live together in Chicago's River West neighborhood with their three dogs (a Great Dane and two Chihuahuas), ...
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T in the Life: Kay "Sugarpuss" Yu
- Pronouns She/her Identifies as Trangender female Neighborhood Near North Life's work Artist/ Writer Hobbies TV, movies, books, outdoor activities Do you have a coming out story? "Growing up in a single parent Asian family where I was the only "boy" in the household it was hard for me to express who I really am. I'm not like blaming my family ...
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A Gay in the Life: Michael Kosko
- His dream job would be as a travel writer so he could continue exploring new places and meeting new people. After all, Michael Kosko has already had his passport stamped in Poland, Spain, Italy, South Africa and elsewhere. And someday he'd like to go back to school, to further his education, and then settle down in Spain—where he studied and ...
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YPS college grad reflects on lessons learned
- Special to the online edition of Windy City Times - Carlissa Jackson started work with Youth Pride Services (YPS) in 2006 at age 18, when a friend asked her to join him because he was shy about going. Six years later, she is one of the first female college graduates of YPS. Jackson is pursuing a Ph.D. in community psychology from National Louis University, while also working in research. She ...
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Betty DeGeneres weighs in on 'Care with Pride'
- In a unique and unprecedented move, Johnson & Johnson has teamed with Walgreens to create "Care with Pride." The program offers coupons for products manufactured by Johnson & Johnson and redeemed at Walgreens. The brands represented by Johnson & Johnson are extensive, from Tylenol to Band-Aid and KY to Aveeno, products that consumers use everyday are part of the program. ...
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Kate Bornstein talks gender politics, Scientology at event
- Kate Bornstein has been a lot of things to a lot of people, but at a special Aug. 4 appearance at the Center on Halsted, the iconic transgender writer and performer was more family to the audience than she was performer. Bornstein, whose candor is as famous as her work, shared an emotional two and a half hours with attendees. ...
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