the newsletter of the department of the interior gay

Interior Globe News

Spring 2001 Volume 1 number three

During its December 2000 Holiday party, Interior GLOBE awarded its first annual New Millennium Human Rights Award to former Assistant Secretary for Policy, Management and Budget, John Berry. The Award honors an individual who has shown outstanding leadership and commitment in his or her efforts to significantly benefit gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered employees of the Department of the Interior.

Assistant Secretary Berry, this year's recipient and inspiration for the award, first arrived at the Department in the fall of 1997 and was the first openly gay Assistant Secretary. During Assistant Secretary Berry's tenure and through his efforts, the Department took significant steps towards improving the working environment for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered employees. As a result, the Department is now recognized as one of the leading Federal departments with regard to gay and lesbian rights.

Overseeing the creation of the Office for Equal Opportunity 1998 Grievance Procedures for Complaints of Discrimination Based on Sexual Orientation; Extending to the entire Department the Dual Career/Relocation Assistance Policy which authorizes bureaus to provide relocation assistance to domestic partners of Departmental employees; Extending the Department Employee Assistance Program to
domestic partners of Departmental employees; Directing the Department Office of Small and Disadvantaged Businesses to begin a national outreach effort to gay and lesbian businesses and chambers of commerce to alert them to procurement opportunities at the Department; Initiating a policy of notifying prospective contractors and lessors of the Department's sexual orientation non-discrimination policy; Authorizing the creation of a new position in the Office for Equal Opportunity - the Departmental Liaison to gay and lesbian employees; Working to correct discriminatory practices still found in certain polices, such as aspects of the National Park Service law enforcement standards, and the refusal to provide security clearances to gay and lesbian employees; Supporting the Office for Equal Opportunity's sponsorship of June Pride programs, and working for greater coverage of GLOBE events and other diversity programs in the Department's newsletter People Land and Water; and Providing invaluable support to GLOBE in its efforts to have the Stonewall Inn recognized as a National Historic Landmark, and then listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

In his acceptance remarks, Assistant Secretary Berry thanked GLOBE for the Award, and noted that GLOBE had initially brought many of these issues to his attention, and that GLOBE members had been integral to working on the issues and seeing them through to completion. He also encouraged GLOBE to continue its efforts to bring about a workplace that accepts and embraces its gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered employees.

The New Millennium Human Rights Award will be given annually and presented during June Pride festivities in Assistant Secretary Berry's honor, and will be known as The Berry Award.

Message From the President
Maria Wiseman, Solicitor's Office, Washington, DC

The Interior Department is the leading Federal agency with regard to instituting policies which support its GLBT employees. There are early indications that Secretary Norton is aware of diversity issues and is open to continuing the dialogue GLOBE enjoyed with the former administration.

In her first address to all Interior employees, she responded to several questions from the audience regarding her views on diversity. Secretary Norton stated that she supports a diverse workforce and wanted to fill positions with the most qualified people. In response to a suggestion that she meet with the various employee groups, including GLOBE, the Secretary replied that she would welcome the opportunity to meet. We hope that her remarks indicate a willingness to continue to work to build a supportive and positive work environment for Interior's GLBT employees. GLOBE intends to continue to advocate for Interior's GLBT employees, and to meet with the Secretary as soon as possible to open a dialogue regarding our issues.

Finding Family in the 'Park Service
David Smith, National Park Service, Joshua Tree National Park

Family is important in the Park Service. When you move around every couple of years to a new community and park, your Park Service family is the glue that maintains some sense of stability in an otherwise turbulent life. My partner and I presently work as rangers at Joshua Tree National Park in the California Desert. We began our careers ten years ago at Dinosaur National Monument in Utah and have worked throughout the west since then.

As a dual career household living in mostly rural park sites, our NPS Family also provided the added comfort of acceptance and tolerance in communities that were not always forthcoming. If we were living in a town that offered more than its fair share of bigotry, we always knew that other rangers and staff would give us the camaraderie and companionship that we couldn't find in town.

Now that we are embarking on our first move as permanent employees, I look back over the last decade with a sense of pride and thankfulness that will undoubtedly continue as we make our way through a lifetime of civil service. In the past, this has manifested itself with small acts of kindness on the parts of supervisors. For example, in the six parks we have worked in, managers have gone out of their ways to give us the same days off. What may seem like a small act of kindness was essential for maintaining a healthy and happy marriage. When you're out on a five-day hunting patrol, it's crucial that you be able to spend a couple days with your spouse before returning to the field.

At other times, hiring officials have been able to find jobs for both of us at the same park. When this first happened to us in 1993, I assumed this was standard operating procedure for the government. It made good business sense - in a transient organization like the Park Service, try to hang on to as many good employees as possible and make their working and living environments as comfortable as possible. We were eventually told by other straight couples that the NPS and other government agencies encouraged dual careers and all we needed to do was to include a note with our SF 171s explaining our situation.

Although this was not actually the case for gay couples, we began to include a one paragraph note on our applications, explaining that we were a dual career family. In recent months, the NPS has enacted policy to help dual career families in their moves. That being said, it has been our experience that a de facto policy has existed for at least the last decade. As we plan for our upcoming move to Oakland, CA, where I will be working as a ranger on the Anza Trail, I continue to be heartened and reassured by the direction the Federal government is moving. My new superintendent is proactive in helping to find my spouse a job, while our present superintendent has offered to do everything he can to aid us in finding another job near my new park. But frankly, from what I know already, I would expect nothing else. Families help each other in the times of need and the National Park Service is certainly no exception.

Employees and officials at the Main Interior Building commemorated World AIDS Day on December 1, 2000, with a memorial service that stressed the important contribution men can make in the fight against AIDS.

The U.S. Park Police Honor Guard opened the ceremonies with the presentation of colors and a wreath laying in honor of those who have died from AIDS. Mistress of Ceremonies E. Melodee Stith, Director of the Office for Equal Opportunity, then introduced the theme; "Aids: Men Make a Difference." The theme urges men to recognize their responsibilities in reducing the transmission of HIV, and focuses on their unique roll in educating themselves, their families, and members of their communities about issues affecting the HIV/AIDS community.

Minnijean Brown-Trickey, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Workforce Diversity, noted in her remarks that intolerance unfortunately still exists within the Interior family, and read from an e-mail she received condemning the recognition of World AIDS Day. She noted that HIV/AIDS affects all segments of society, and that such intolerance has no place at Interior. She asked that we work together to eliminate prejudice and bigotry in our daily lives.

Lisa Guide, Acting Assistant Secretary - Policy Management and Budget, expressed concern for those living with HIV and AIDS, and urged support for the continuing fight against the disease.

Maria Wiseman, President of Interior GLOBE, remarked that, "We all have a responsibility" to stop the spread of HIV, and I ask everyone to evaluate their own actions and to make changes where necessary. But I especially ask our men to take a step, any step, no matter how great or how small, towards making a difference.

This year, representatives from two additional employee groups, Denise Robinson from the National Association for the Advancement of Black Federal Employees, and Alexandra Hadley from Association ofHispanic Employees of the Interior Department, participated in the ceremony.

A 10-foot by 10-foot panel of the AIDS Memorial Quilt was displayed during the ceremony, as well as memorial boards on which DOI employees signed the names of friends, family, and loved ones living with HIV or AIDS, as well as those who have died of AIDS. The program ended with an uplifting musical selection by Sarita Davis, Office for Equal Opportunity, and Belva Fletcher, Office of the Assistant Secretary - Land and Minerals Management.

GLOBE Volunteers Monthly at Food & Friends
Jerry Bock, Bureau of Reclamation, Washington

Members of Interior GLOBE have been helping out at Food & Friends, a well-known Washington services organization. Anyone visiting Food & Friends will be immediately impressed not only by their facilities, but by the friendly and efficient staff and by the large corps of volunteers who are the key to the operations of the agency. Food & Friends provides a broad range of nutrition services to its clients and the community, including home delivered freshly-prepared meals, home delivered groceries, and nutrition counseling and education. The agency has traditionally served people with AIDS in the greater Washington area, and in February of this year launched a pilot project to offer the same services to persons with life-challenging illnesses other than AIDS. There are no charges for any of the services provided.

Reverend Carla Gorrell founded Food & Friends in 1988 to help a friend, sick at home with AIDS, to get meals at home. Food & Friends now makes and delivers three meals a day for more than 900 individuals, six days a week. The agency has a budget of $5.5 million a year, with 55 staff members and approximately 750 volunteers. The two largest sources of funding are the Washington, DC, AIDS Ride and the Ryan White Care Act. Several fund raising events are held each year, including Dining Out for Life and Chef's Best. Food & Friends also receives corporate donations, and 60% of the agency funding comes from individuals. John Berry, former Assistant Secretary at Interior, is Vice President of the Board of Directors.

Most of the food used in the meals delivered by Food and Friends is purchased, as the agency works very hard to meet the exact nutritional needs of their client base. Food & Friends accepts donations of non-perishable foods for their Groceries too program, and the agency is also a member of the Capital Area Community Foodbank.

The kitchen is huge and seemingly always full of people. Typically, Interior GLOBE volunteers assist with putting together meals for delivery the next day. If you volunteer, you will find yourself in a production line that would make any efficiency expert smile - although there is a lot of joking and laughter, the group works hard and produces a huge number of meals in a short amount of time. But it's easy and it's fun. And there is always a sense of satisfaction when you can see the results of the group effort.

A group of volunteers from GLOBE assists in the kitchen of Food & Friends from 5:00-7:00 p.m. the second Wednesday of each month, at the agency's offices at 58 L Street, SE in Washington. We would like to increase our participation and new faces are always welcome. If you would like more information or would like to volunteer, call Jay Douglas (202) 452-0336 or Jerry Bock at (202) 513-0644.

The Interior Department has recently extend employee benefits in two programs to domestic partners of GLBT employees: the Dual Career/Relocation Assistance Policy and the Employee Assistance Program. Both became effective on October 20, 2000.

The Dual Career/Relocation Assistance Policy provides assistance to employees faced with a geographic move, and provides placement assistance and information to employees and their spouses or domestic partners. The term domestic partner is defined as an unmarried partner living in the same household. The types of assistance which can be offered include providing information from local governments concerning local employers and specific job opportunities, and providing the spouse or domestic partner with information regarding Federal employment availability, application procedures, and requirements.

The Department's Employee Assistance Program is a professional counseling and referral service designed to help employees and their family members with work related or personal problems. The Department extended the program to domestic partners of employees by broadening the definition of family member's to any "legal 'family member' dependent ... as well as domestic partners of the employee who may be of the opposite or same sex."

June 8 June Pride video presentation of "Out of the Past"
Room 7000A, Main Interior Building from 12:00 - 1:30.

June 13 June Pride Celebration with keynote speaker Elizabeth Toledo, former Executive Director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force.
South Interior Auditorium at 10:00 am.

June 22 June Pride video presentation of After Stonewall.
Room 7000A, Main Interior Building from 12:00 - 1:30.

Every 4th Friday of the month: GLOBE monthly happy hour from 6:00 - 8:00. Location varies

GLOBE Executive Board elections were held in January, and for the first time were conducted via e-mail which allowed members from across the country to participate in the vote. The elected members of the current Executive Board are listed below.

President:	Maria Wiseman, Solicitor's Office	maria_wiseman@ios.doi.gov
Vice-president:	Bob Veltkamp, National Business Center	robert_j_veltkamp@nbc.gov
Secretary:	Jim Gasser, National Park Service	jim_gasser@nps.gov
Treasurer:	Daphne Berwald, BIA	daphneberwald@bia.gov
Fed GLOBE Rep:	Jay Douglas, BLM	jay_douglas@blm.gov

Meetings are held the second Wednesday of each month. Meetings usually take place in the North Penthouse of the Main Interior Building. All members and their invited guests are encouraged to attend.