GLSEN-SCW and Governor Honor Hollander Contributions
By: Jason Rasmussen and Vicki Shaffer - Posted on: 5/24/2005

It would be impossible to sum up all of Gary Hollander's contributions to LGBT youth in a few words, so we will focus here on a few of his many achievements. A decade ago, Gary founded Diverse and Resilient. Diverse and Resilient serves as a catalyst to help LGBT youth groups get started, and continue to thrive, by providing mini-grants, consultations, adult and youth leadership training, and leadership coaching.

Through Diverse and Resilient, Gary has developed and supported the Rainbow Alliance for Youth, a statewide network of LGBT youth groups. One of his many goals is to increase the number and quality of programs that promote healthy development: the "Big Lives" -- of LGBT youth.

Not only has Gary secured over $22,000 in funding for GLSEN over the past five years, but he has also provided consistent technical assistance and support. Furthermore, Gary has taken action to put institutional support behind the work of GLSEN in ways that challenge and strengthen the organization and assure its longevity.

Gary continuously leads and stretches the collective vision of what's possible for LGBT-serving organizations. Gary has demonstrated a willingness to take thoughtful risks in order to move forward important initiatives. These efforts have produced enormous positive change for Wisconsin.

In addition to his work with Diverse and Resilient, Gary serves as clinical faculty in the psychology department of the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee and the family medicine department of the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine. A licensed psychologist and a well-know provider of consultation services, Gary also founded the Center for Urban Population Health at the University of Wisconsin and served as the first Wisconsin co-chair for the HIV Prevention Community Planning Council. He teaches in the Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Studies Certificate Program at the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee.

Because of Gary's insistence that LGBT youth deserve the same quality of programming that other youth receive, he has sometimes come under personal attack in the Wisconsin legislature. Just in case anyone may have been confused by these attacks, we asked Governor Jim Doyle to set the record straight. He has issued the following commendation:

"Whereas, Gary Hollander is the founder and executive director of Diverse and Resilient, Inc., a nonprofit organization that has supported the healthy development of thousands of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) young people in Wisconsin; and

"Whereas, Gary Hollander, through Diverse and Resilient, has developed and supported a network of community-based youth groups to support the needs of LGBT youth; and

"Whereas, Gary Hollander has provided critical leadership to professionalize the field of LGBT youth development; and

"Whereas, Gary Hollander, through Diverse and Resilient, has generated hundreds of thousands of dollars to directly support LGBT youth organizations; and

"Whereas, Gary Hollander lives with passion, integrity and strength to make our communities more just for all; and

"Whereas, Gary Hollander acts as a peer, mentor, and role model to scores of colleagues; and,

"Whereas, Gary Hollander has advocated with courage and compassion, for more than four decades, as a pioneering visionary and change agent on behalf of LGBT youth,

"NOW THEREFORE, I, Jim Doyle, Governor of the State of Wisconsin, do hereby commend Gary Hollander for his advocacy and dedication in service to the youth of the State of Wisconsin. Signed this 21st day of May, 2005."

We are pleased to present Gary Hollander with GLSEN's Community Ally of the Year Award.

In accepting these honors, Gary offered the following comments.

It is an honor to be recognized by such a vital and effective organization committed to the educational needs of LGBT youth in Wisconsin. Thanks, too, to Jason Rasmussen, Brian Juchems, and the GLSEN board for so thoughtfully and indefatigably addressing the needs of LGBT youth in schools.

10 years ago, I started Diverse and Resilient to meet the HIV prevention needs of LGBT youth in Wisconsin Communities. Since our inception, we have enjoyed the ongoing financial and personal support of the Wisconsin Department of Health and Family Services, the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, the Greater Milwaukee Foundation, the Brico Fund, the Wisconsin AIDS Fund, the Faye McBeath Foundation, Leonard Sobczak, and many other individuals and foundations. I elected to devote our efforts to community-based groups not because I lost faith in our public schools -- I was a public school teacher and a school psychologist. I remain a staunch advocate of public school education.

But I elected community-based approaches to LGBT youth development because of my ongoing frustration with the slow pace and continuing politicization of LGBT issues in local and state educational decision making bodies.

Diverse and Resilient believes our best way to foster the healthy development of LGBT youth is through expanding their life options in communities where families and other responsible adults -- both LGBT and straight allies -- are also living and promoting big lives.

My greatest personal challenge in doing this work involves my early decision to approach leadership behind the scenes, building the capacity of others to do direct service. That removes me a step or two from some of the first hand connectivity found in GSAs or our community-based RAY groups.

In 1975, I started the Bicycle Club at James Madison High School. It was my first attempt to make things right for LGBT youth. The club boasted a membership of over 500 at one point, though we had about 100 active members. They were the sports team members, cheer squad, the developmentally delayed youth, the bike enthusiasts, and the gay kids ¡V all together. Many didn't have bicycles at all, because the point wasn't so much about riding as it was about the process and dream of doing things together.

Since then, much of my work with LGBT youth has been a bit less direct. From that position, it is sometimes difficult to recognize that what I do is making a difference. Therefore, this award from GLSEN of South Central Wisconsin is particularly meaningful to me, reminding me that my efforts are appreciated and important.

In closing, I specifically want to make 3 appreciations.
-- First to my beloved partner of 21 years, Paul Mandracchia, who is always at my side and in my heart;
-- Second, to my dedicated colleagues at Diverse and Resilient, Mark O'Neil and Brenda Coley. They provide me a safe haven from which I can do bigger and bigger thinking; and,
-- Finally, to the GLSEN Awards committee for NOT giving me a lifetime achievement award. I have much more to do and I'm only 56 which is old age only to the uninformed and the disheartened.