Compete Spring 2023

MEMBER SPOTLIGHT: Andrew Dort: Founder and Owner of Pride Lending

Openly Gay NASCAR Racer Zach Herrin

Making Strides

The annual Lexus International Gay Polo Tournament welcomes players and spectators from around the world

OUR VISION: Compete Sports Diversity Unites the World Through Sports.TM

MISSION STATEMENT

Compete connects, educates, empowers and inspires mission-driven LGBTQ+ and allied sports and community leaders, sports organizations, non-profit groups, tourism partners, corporate partners and athletes to further sports diversity together through our membership, media and event platforms.

VALUES

E-Excellence

S-Service

P-Passion

Want to make a difference?

We currently have one open Executive Committee seat. If you are a sports organizer interested in joining our committee, please contact Eric Carlyle, SDLT for more information. eric.carlyle@competediversity.com

CEO | DEI ADVOCATE

Eric Carlyle • eric@competenetwork.com

C0O | DEI ADVOCATE

Connor Shane • connor@competenetwork.com

VP OF PARTNERSHIPS | DEI ADVOCATE

John Deffee • john@competenetwork.com

MEMBERSHIP DIRECTOR | DEI ADVOCATE

Trayer Martinez • trayer@competenetwork.com

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF | DEI ADVOCATE

Connie Wardman • connie@competenetwork.com

MANAGING EDITOR | DEI ADVOCATE

David “Dirk” Smith • dirk@competenetwork.com

ART DIRECTOR

Dara Fowler • dara@competenetwork.com

PROJECT COORDINATOR

Emma Carlson • emma@competenetwork.com

ADMINISTRATIVE MANAGER

Bethany Harvat • beth@competenetwork.com

To partner with Compete Sports Diversity, please contact our Vice President of Partnerships.

VICE PRESIDENT OF PARTNERSHIPS

John Deffee • john@competenetwork.com

All Mail: PO BOX 2756, Scottsdale, AZ 85252

Corporate Office: 7014 E Camelback Rd Ste 1452 Scottsdale AZ 85251

Copyright ©2023 Media Out Loud, LLC

All Rights Reserved.

Compete Sports Diversity, Sports Diversity Leadership Council, Sports Diversity Leader and SDL are all trademarks of Media Out Loud, LLC.

Proud Partners of

2023-2024 COMPETE SPORTS DIVERSITY LEADERSHIP BOARD

LEADERSHIP BOARD COMPETE LIAISON: Connor Shane, SDLT

Compete’s Leadership Board is comprised of leaders from college athletics, professional sports, business, non-profits and the travel and tourism industry who engage the professional and business communities on behalf of Compete Sports Diversity.

2023 EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE COMPETE LIAISON: John Deffee, SDLT

Compete’s Executive Committee is comprised of recreational sports leaders from diverse backgrounds, including leaders from both the for-profit and non-profit sectors who work closely within the diversity community to engage sports organizations, organizers, athletes and other sports leaders to further Compete’s mission

ANGELA SMITH, SDL Amateur Sports Alliance of North America (ASANA) Commissioner

JOEL HORTON, SDL National Gay Flag Football League (NGFFL) Commissioner

ARION HERBERT, SDL Main Attraction Recreational Sports (MARS) Owner

BRIAN HELANDER, SDL International Gay Rodeo Association (IGRA) President

DIANE MAIESE, SDL BOARD CHAIR USA Diving DEI Council Chair DiveRVA CEO

GREG LEE, SDL Arizona Cardinals Chief Financial Officer

DR. WILLIAM KAPFER JPMorgan Chase Global Head of Supplier Diversity

RHONDA RAJSICH, SDL World Champion Racquetball Athlete

ROGER CAPOTE CAN Community Health Senior Vice President

DEANA GARNER, SDL Arizona State University Sr. Associate Athletic Director Deputy Title IX Officer

FEATURES

GAY POLO LEAGUE Makes Strides Towards Inclusion During Annual Event

CSDC COMMUNITY MEMBER SPOTLIGHT STACEY JAY CAVALIERE: AUNT RITA’S FOUNDATION

CSDC CORPORATE MEMBER SPOTLIGHT ANDREW DORT: PRIDE LENDING

CSDC CORPORATE MEMBER SPOTLIGHT JOE MARQUART: AARP

CSDC TRAVEL + TOURISM MEMBER SPOTLIGHT PARTNERSHIP WITH DOWNTOWN TEMPE AUTHORITY

DEPARTMENTS

NOTEWORTHY Teams Conference Extends Partnership With Compete Sports Diversity ONE-ON-ONE

Deana Garner • ASU Board Member

FROM THE COMPETENETWORK.COM BLOG First Ever World Gay Boxing Championships: Kicks Off New Era in Lgbtq+ Sport GREETINGS

JUNE 9-11, 2023

WHO: Compete Sports Diversity Council Members and Prospective Members

WHEN: June 9-11, 2023

WHERE: St. Petersburg, Florida

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Hosting

Hitting a Home Run With the Complete Compete Sports Diversity Team

Spring is in the air and what a wonderful time for growth! As we look forward to our 2023 Compete Sports Diversity Membership Conference in St. Petersburg, Florida I am reminded of the hard work and dedication the Compete team has put forth to support our vision and mission.

And when I say the Compete team, I don’t just mean Compete’s team members. I always include our sports diversity leaders, member organizations, corporate, travel and community partners in the phrase “Compete team.”

Members like ally Arion Herbert (who will be featured in our Summer of Pride Issue), who volunteered to helm our Executive Committee. And to North Carolina Sports Association (NCSA) for its commitment to support and attract more diverse sports organizers to the state and to CAN Community Health that has stepped up and supported so many of our sports organizations. Together, we absolutely are making change happen!

This year’s Conference truly took a village to build and organize. I am grateful to our COO, Connor Shane for taking the lead in organizing this year’s Conference. I am also grateful to Visit St. Pete/ Clearwater, Valley Forge Tourism and Convention Board, The Tampa Bay Rays and MollyTommy for being our premier event partners.

But beyond that, I am grateful to you, our members for recognizing the need for Compete and supporting what we do. We are deeply honored you have chosen to prioritize our IDEAL Principles of Inclusion, Diversity, Equality/Equity, Acceptance and Leadership. Like I just said, it takes a team.

For those of you who are unable to join us in St. Pete, please know you will be missed. And for the rest of you, we will see you all soon. •

Eric Carlyle, SDLT, CEO • HE | HIM CEO | DEI ADVOCATE eric@competenetwork.com

Spring’s All About Growth –Both New and Continued

Why do we have such a love affair with the spring season? For many it’s because spring is always that wonderful break from the cold, dark days of winter. Spring is when those seeds and roots that have been growing unseen during the winter months, use their gathered strengths to burst into colorful blooms that we can ooh and awe over.

Growth and renewal in its showy “seen” version is something we tend to celebrate, often waxing rhapsodic about it. While in contrast, we tend to overlook the unseen growth process that requires hard work and dedication … and sometimes, an indomitable will. But in this issue we offer stories of both new AND continued growth

This issue highlights Andrew Dort’s new business venture as the owner of Pride Lending as well as Martin Stark’s multi-year journey to finally hold the first ever World Gay Boxing Championships. And let’s not forget Compete Sports Diversity’s latest adventure, the exciting new partnership extension with Northstar Meetings Group’s TEAMS Conference and Expo that now enables TEAMS’ business and individual event organizers to meet with our destinations, venues and suppliers that are interested in LGBTQ+ sports events.

On the continued growth side, you’ll find stories such as the Gay Polo League’s (GPL) annual Lexus International Gay Polo Tournament presented by Douglas Elliman Real Estate. GPL founder, Chip McKenney held his first tournament in 2010; Compete became involved not long after the league’s inception. Today, Wellington, Florida proudly hosts polo players and worldwide aficionados thanks to Chip’s dream. Another wonderful story highlights a continued community need for the presence of Aunt Rita’s Foundation’s ongoing work to end HIV and introduces you to its new executive director, Stacey Jay Cavaliere.

In terms of career reinvention, we share the story of Deana Garner, Director of Diversity and Deputy Title IX Officer for Arizona State University, who recently accepted Compete’s invitation to join its leadership board. She’s had quite the upward career path; her last position was with the NFL. Another wonderful story is that of Joe Marquart, the volunteer president of the Arizona AARP chapter. After spending his career as a human resources and organizational development executive, he now dedicates his time and talents to Arizona AARP and it’s important and growing list of resources (it’s not your grandparents’ AARP anymore!).

I hope you’ll enjoy these wonderful stories and offer to share them with your colleagues, inviting them to learn more about Compete Sports Diversity and the work that you and the rest of us are doing to foster Compete’s IDEAL Principles of Inclusion, Diversity, Equality/Equity, Acceptance and Leadership. It’s now more important than ever! •

As always, with lots of hugs and kisses,

Connie Wardman, M.A., SDLT • SHE | HER

HIGH FIVE

Deserving athletes, teams, leagues, organizations, and corporations as well as high profile celebrities receive High Fives for their contributions to promoting diversity, inclusion, equality-equity and acceptance for all.

THE KINDRED PRIDE FOUNDATION (KPF)

… for launching Red Shirt Pride Day, a new annual global tradition to be held every first Saturday of June where all LGBTQ+ individuals and allies wear a RED Shirt, not only in celebration of Pride Month but as well as a message of “KindRED” spirit. KPF will inaugurate its Red Shirt Campaign at the official kickoff of its very own Pride Cup multi-sport competition held during Gay Disney weekend in Orlando, Florida. With events welcoming all levels of athletes, the spirit of the competition is “Be Kind Champion” to coincide with Pride Month celebration and RED Shirt Pride.

MLB’S LOS ANGELES DODGERS

… for re-signing outfielder Andrew Toles who has schizophrenia and hasn’t played since 2018, to give him access to team’s health insurance and mental health services. While not expected to play this season, his signing allows him to continue receiving treatment that includes counseling, therapy and medication.

A COALITION OF CATHOLIC NUNS (REPRESENTING OVER 6,000 RELIGIOUS AND NEARLY 30 RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONS AND CONGREGATIONS)

… for releasing a statement on International Transgender Day of Visibility that read: “The Gospel call of unifying love compels us to actively interrupt harmful interactions in daily life and dismantle the systems that reinforce this rhetoric and violence in society, particularly for Black, Indigenous, and other folks of color. We will remain oppressors until we — as vowed Catholic religious — acknowledge the existence of LGBTQ+ people in our own congregations. We seek to cultivate a faith community where all, especially our transgender, nonbinary, and gender-expansive siblings, experience a deep belonging.”

TOM DALEY AND DUSTIN LANCE BLACK

… on the arrival of their new son. Daley announced his birth with this: “♥ PHOENIX ROSE BLACK-DALEY ♥ Our family has grown in the last week; we welcomed Phoenix to the world on 28/03/23 and he’s just perfect ♥ Robbie is loving being a BIG BRO!”

CONGRATULATIONS

MATTEL TOY COMPANY, MAKER OF THE BARBIE DOLL

… for introducing a new Barbie with Down’s syndrome, a plus for Down’s; and syndrome patients, and for those without, it’s to encourage children to play with dolls that don’t look like they do.

NBA’S ATLANTA HAWKS

… for launching a $50 million venture capital operation to support women and minority-owned small businesses that often go underfunded by traditional sources.

• UTMB (ULTRA TRAIL DU MONT BLANC) … for holding its first ever UTMB World Series Major® in the U.S. in historic gold-rush town of Auburn, California, also known as the birthplace of mountain ultratrail running.

• LEBRON JAMES, 38-YEAR OLD

NBA SUPERSTAR

… for becoming first player 38 years of age or older to post multiple triple-doubles in a season. According to ESPN Stats and Info, he joins Elvin Hayes, Tim Duncan and Karl Malone, who have only three triple-doubles combined after age 38.

• SAN DIEGO STUDIO, DEVELOPER OF MLB THE SHOW 23

… for including some of the greatest Negro League players — from Satchel Paige to Jackie Robinson — into 2023 edition of the game as playable characters.

• GREAT CANADIAN HELI-SKIING

… for donating a day of heliskiing so two blind athletes could challenge themselves to ski 25,000 feet, raising funds for other blind adventurers to experience the Canadian backcountry. All fundraising monies went toward a five day backcountry trip for the blind and visually impaired.

• DISNEYLAND ANAHEIM IN CALIFORNIA

… for holding its first “officially sanctioned” Pride Nite as after-hours ticketed event. Original Gay Days was never a Disney sanctioned event.

PHOTO©ARTURO PARDAVILA III VIA WIKIMEDIA

PHOTO COURTESY OF TOM DALEY INSTAGRAM

Teams Conference Extends Partnership With Compete Sports Diversity

Northstar Meetings Group and Compete Sports Diversity have renewed their agreement for a three-year term to host Compete members to attend the TEAMS Conference & Expo, both to conduct business specific to the group as well as for individual event organizers to meet with destinations, venues and suppliers interested in LGBTQ+ sports events. Beginning with TEAMS ’23 in the Palm Beaches, October 2-5, the agreement will provide meetings services and networking opportunities for members of Compete Sports Diversity and will feature Compete’s second annual “Person of the Year” award during the SportsTravel Awards luncheon on October 4.

The Compete Sports Diversity Council, a group with more than 150 member organizations, reaches 250,000 leaders, athletes and fans. Its mission is to bring together leaders, athletes, fans and professionals to further sports diversity. It accomplishes that by creating a platform based around Compete’s IDEAL principles of Inclusion, Diversity, Equality/ Equity, Acceptance and Leadership to connect, educate, empower and inspire mission-driven LGBTQ+ and allied sports and community leaders, sports organizations, nonprofit groups, tourism partners, corporate partners and athletes through membership, media and event platforms.

Under the agreement, TEAMS will offer meetings and appointments with the organization’s qualified event organizers and discounted registration for the organization’s members who are not event organizers. It will also provide a platform to announce Compete’s “Person of the Year” award, recognizing an influencer who has demonstrated commitment to advancing diversity, equality/equity and inclusion in sports. Last year, Compete recognized Greg Lee, CFO of the Arizona Cardinals at TEAMS ’22 in Oklahoma City.

“We were excited to have the members of Compete Sports Diversity with us at TEAMS ’22. Their active participation in every aspect of the event last year demonstrated the vitality of the industry segment they represent,” said Jason Gewirtz, vice president of the Northstar Meetings Group Sports Division and executive editor and publisher of SportsTravel.

“We’re delighted that the TEAMS Conference & Expo will serve as an annual meeting place for the members of Compete to connect with each other and the hundreds of other sports-event stakeholders for whom TEAMS is a must-attend event.”

“TEAMS produces one of the largest sports tourism conferences each year and Compete is proud to be a part of it by partnering with Northstar Meetings Group,” said Eric Carlyle, Compete CEO. “Together we can make a big impact and reach a broader, more diverse audience.”

“Northstar Meetings Group is an industry titan and I have had the pleasure of working with them for years in various roles,” added Connor Shane, COO of Compete. “Their dedication to inclusive spaces and diversity in sports is unquestionable. It brings me great joy to capitalize on our partnership to strategically combine their resources with our DEI education standards and vast community.”

The TEAMS Conference & Expo, organized by Northstar Meetings Group, is the world’s largest gathering of sports-event organizers and the destinations and venues interested in hosting their events. Since 2018 TEAMS has been the exclusive home of the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee’s SportsLink and NGB Best Practices Seminar. The National Congress of State Games has also held its annual symposium in conjunction with TEAMS since 2016. •

BY EMMA CARLSON, M.L.S.,

Deana Garner, SDL, Joins Compete Sports Diversity’s Leadership Board

Deana Garner, SDL, Arizona State University’s (ASU) Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and Deputy Title IX Officer, recently accepted an invitation to become a member of Compete Sports Diversity’s Leadership Board. This follows on the heels of last fall’s powerful partnership between Compete and Garner to hold a Compete Sports Diversity Summit on Women in Sports and Events held at ASU.

Hired by ASU Athletics in 2015 as its senior woman administrator and senior associate athletic director, Garner’s current role at ASU ensures that student-athletes, staff, coaches and Sun Devil administrators behave in ways that align with the NCAA’s DEI and Title IX standards. Additionally, she also oversees all 26 sports as senior associate AD.

An athlete who played club soccer and softball (although she says she wasn’t very good), she attended Dillard University, an HBU in New Orleans and later earned a Doctor of Jurisprudence from Indiana University School of Law at Indianapolis in 1991. Garner began her legal career as a deputy prosecutor with Indiana’s Marion County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office in its Domestic Violence Unit, eventually becoming the supervisor.

From 1996-1998, Garner worked as staff council for the Indiana Gaming Commission, teaming with Indiana law enforcement to conduct background checks on Indiana Riverboat occupational licensees. She also drafted rules of play for table games and assisted the Commission in the review and approval of riverboat gambling-related activities that were marketed and offered to the public.

When the NCAA moved to Indianapolis in 1999, with her gambling policy experience and knowledge, Garner accepted a position with the NCAA’s Enforcement Services Agent, Gambling and Amateurism Activities department where she provided education regarding NCAA gambling policies to student-athletes, coaches and administrators.

Following her nine years with the NCAA, Garner moved to New York City in 2008 to work for the NFL in their Securities Department. Working with all 32 NFL teams (more than 1,600 players) around the NFL, she was primarily responsible for implementing and coordinating educational programs for NFL players and staff. In 2014, Deana partnered her background in law enforcement and educational programming to organize and lead the NFL’s Domestic Violence education efforts.

Wanting to broaden her work within athletics beyond professional football, ironically it was through her NFL experiences with then vice president of Football Operations, Ray Anderson that led Garner to apply at ASU in 2015. Today she acts as VP of Arizona State University Athletics.

One of her current goals is to implement sports diversity leadership training, a service offered by Compete, into ASU athletics for coaches, staff and student-athletes. Referring to herself as a mentor rather than a teacher or coach, Garner also actively promotes Compete Sports Diversity, noting that Compete is doing work many people and organizations throughout the greater Phoenix area need to know about. •

One of her current goals is to implement sports diversity leadership training, a service offered by Compete, into ASU athletics for coaches, staff and student-athletes.

Gay Polo League MAKES STRIDES TOWARDS INCLUSION During Annual Event

PHOTO BY ALDEN CORRIGAN

BY JENNIFER MARTINEZ • SHE | HER

IN WRAPPING UP THE ANNUAL LEXUS INTERNATIONAL

GAY POLO TOURNAMENT presented by Douglas Elliman Real Estate, league founder Chip McKenney reflects on the early days that launched him into creating an event that welcomes players and spectators from around the world.

“It was many years of facing exclusion and isolation that drove me to do more to eliminate the feeling of having to keep quiet if you were gay and an athlete,” shared McKenney whose outlet for this change was polo. “I wanted to create a safe place. I never could’ve imagined the event would soon become a vehicle driving change.”

As a former show jumper, he saw polo as a way to bring the LGBTQ+ community together for sport and fun. He launched the Gay Polo League (GPL) in Los Angeles in 2006 by inviting gay athletes and allies to a monthly tournament at the Santa Barbara Polo & Racquet Club. In 2010 he brought the first International Gay Polo Tournament to Wellington, Florida. Beyond the joyful camaraderie of the matches, he saw the greater impact GPL was making as the first tournament concluded.

“We have the incredible opportunity to showcase athletes who are LGBTQ+ in a way that inspires younger people to participate in a team sport, authentically and openly,” McKenney added.

PHOTO BY RACHEL SPENCER

This year’s four-day tournament featured events across Palm Beach County that celebrated awareness, stimulated discussion and culminated in a colorful, fun-filled day with over 2,500 guests attending the match. Attendance has continued to grow annually with 35 percent of guests coming from outside of Florida and the U.S. and an astonishing 80 percent of them having never attended a polo tournament.

The players have also grown in both diversity and skill. In GPL’s early years most players were novices. While those players have honed their game, the league has attracted more experienced gay and allied players from all over the world.

GPL’s efforts to advance inclusivity have also grown. The tournament raises funds for an LGBTQ+ charity each year. The last two years GPL has chosen onePULSE Foundation, established in the aftermath of the 2016 Pulse nightclub massacre to honor the legacies of the 49 people killed. The four pillars of the charity’s mission are to create and support a memorial, a museum, educational programs and scholarships for students who share the same ambitions as the victims. During this time GPL has raised over $200,000 for the fellow nonprofit.

GPL is not stopping there, however. McKenney has his sights set on continued growth by making the tournament a destination for LGBTQ+ tourism. “We’re well on our way, and we’re going to keep going,” he said. “We’re poised for continuous growth and with that, a growing impact, even as our world continues to change. We stand together and we stand tall. We know we are making the world a more inclusive place, one chukker at a time.” •

“We have the incredible opportunity to showcase athletes who are LGBTQ+ in a way that inspires younger people to participate in a team sport, authentically and openly.”

PHOTOS BY SARA COLE

OPENLY GAY NASCAR RACER ZACH HERRIN Brings Pride

RACE TRACK to the

BY DIRK SMITH, M.SC., SDL • HE | HIM

MAKING HIS GRAND COMEBACK TO NASCAR RACING in January 2022, Zach Herrin knew he was stepping into a world of professional car racing that he had left behind to embark on a journey of self-discovery. Of course his story is not unlike many gay athletes who left their sport, feeling it would conflict with their sexual orientation.

For generations too many LGBTQ+ people have been left to choose between the sport they love and living authentically. What makes Herrin’s journey stand out? It’s not him stepping back into the driver’s seat as much as the unlikely support he found that kept him there.

It’s no secret that car racing is a hyper masculine sport that hasn’t been particularly welcoming for the LGBTQ+ community. But Herrin isn’t the first openly gay driver to compete in NASCAR either; that title belongs to Stephen Rhodes back in 2003. Unfortunately, during that time Rhodes willingness to race openly made it difficult for him to retain sponsorships which, in auto racing is crucial to remain competitive. With this precedent, it’s no wonder Herrin left the sport in 2016 and came out as gay.

Even when making his comeback to the sport in 2022, it didn’t feel like much had changed. Despite the support of his racing team, he struggled to find corporate sponsors willing to support him. The team had been trying to woo sponsors but he was constantly told that he didn’t “fit” within

companies’ marketing strategies. Herrin continued to persist, however. Having been “practically raised on the track,” Herrin wanted to follow in his brother Josh’s footsteps. Josh had become one of the few American racers to compete in Moto GP’s Moto2 World Championships as a professional racer, a path that Zach Herrin also had set his sights on.

Coming into the 2022 season, Herrin’s persistence paid off. He was able to sign on with a sponsor that brought him into his official professional NASCAR debut in November 2022. The sponsor? Lambda Legal, the oldest and largest LGBTQ+ legal organization.

Lambda Legal is currently challenging the antiLGBTQ+ legislation in Florida and other states. Herrin had reached out to CEO Kevin Jennings who initially had been hesitant about the idea of sponsoring a racecar driver, even an openly gay one. However Herrin stayed in touch and shared that his first race of the season would be in Florida at the legendary Daytona International Speedway.

This convinced Jennings to take a chance on Herrin and to make a bold statement about LGBTQ+ representation in Florida. Proudly wearing the Lambda Legal logo on his car and racing suit, Herrin spoke to the media about Lambda’s mission and work. In turn, Jennings shared his pride in sponsoring Herrin and his racing team for the 2023 season. While the sport has a way to go, racers like Zach Herrin and organizations like Racing Pride are leading the way. •

“It’s extremely important for me as a professional athlete to represent the LGBTQ+ community on and off the track ... Now more than ever I understand the importance of visibility and representation for LGBTQ+ youth to be able to follow their dreams, to see that there’s a path for them to participate and excel in any aspect of life and sports they choose. I want to be the role model I never had and fight stereotypes and discrimination in sports, showing that everyone can belong!”

PHOTO BY MBMOULTON, CC BY-SA 4.0

VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

STACEY JAY CAVALIERE Named Executive Director of Aunt Rita’s Foundation

Stacy Jay Cavaliere, a dedicated, experienced leader in Arizona’s nonprofit community, has been named the new executive director of the Aunt Rita’s Foundation in Phoenix, Arizona. With nearly 20 years of experience working in social services and the nonprofit arena, Cavaliere will build upon Aunt Rita’s solid foundation, serving as its chief fundraising and administrative officer leading its development/administrative team. The Foundation, whose mission is to end HIV in Arizona, noted that Cavaliere will bring fresh eyes and new perspectives to the Valley-based nonprofit and lead it into its next chapter.

Cavaliere is considered a respected professional in the field, having held various executive leadership positions throughout his career. He is a tireless advocate for vulnerable populations and marginalized communities, including youth and young adults of color, justice-involved populations in recovery, houseless individuals and those living with HIV. Additionally, he has developed and managed positive youth development and homelessness prevention programs, stewarded major corporate and sustaining donor initiatives and has extensive experience executing record-breaking fundraising events.

“On behalf of the Board of Directors, I want to extend a warm welcome to Stacey Jay,” said the chair of Aunt Rita’s Board of Directors, Daniel Sciortino, who led the search committee. “With nearly 20 years in nonprofit leadership and a great track record as a teambuilder, innovator and change agent, I know he will be an excellent leader. We are thrilled to support him as he builds upon the solid foundation.”

Cavaliere walks proud in his truth as an HIV-positive individual, often serving as a personal resource for others. When he was first diagnosed, Aunt Rita’s Foundation was one of the first agencies he reached out to for resources, a move which led him to receiving services at several of the partnering agencies.

“My journey has now come full circle and I truly believe the universe is calling me to serve the community in a new capacity,” said Cavaliere. “As the incoming executive director of Aunt Rita’s Foundation, I look forward to leading this dedicated team and supporting the partnering agencies during this pivotal time in the Foundation’s history; building upon the Foundation’s rich legacy, and working tirelessly each day to end HIV in Arizona. Let’s get to work!”

“MY JOURNEY HAS NOW COME FULL CIRCLE AND I TRULY BELIEVE THE UNIVERSE IS CALLING ME TO SERVE THE COMMUNITY IN A NEW CAPACITY.”

Aunt Rita’s partner agencies include Ebony House, The Bill Holt Clinic at Phoenix Children’s Hospital, CAN Community Health, Chicanos Por La Causa LUCES Program, HEAL International, HIV Care Directions, Valleywise Health, one n ten, Southwest Behavioral Health Services, Southwest Center, Shot in the Dark, Southwest Recovery Alliance, Terros Health and more.

Having already provided millions of dollars in grant funding in support of critical HIV prevention and treatment programs throughout Arizona, Aunt Rita’s distributes free 15-minute Home HIV oral swap test kits through GetTestedAz. org, where free vouchers for confidential in-person clinical testing at Safeway/ Albertsons and Sonora Quest locations statewide for all STIs can be used. Aunt Rita’s Foundation also works with the Arizona Department of Health Services to connect individuals of any status to knowledgeable providers covering the entire state through HIVAZ.ORG.

Aunt Rita’s Foundation was a founding member with the City of Phoenix Fast Track Cities initiative and plays a vital role in advocating at the Arizona legislature and state government to establish laws, regulations and policies that further its efforts to educate, prevent HIV and to treat HIV. •

For more information on Aunt Rita’s Foundation, visit www.auntritas.org.

CSDC CORPORATE MEMBER SPOTLIGHT

ANDREW DORT: Founder and Owner of Pride Lending

BY DAVID “DIRK” SMITH, M.SC., SDL • HE | HIM

It’s additionally compounded for people of color who are also members of the LGBTQ+ community. So there’s definitely a need for this kind of representation. Compete’s mission to help grow that kind of representation seems like a worthwhile mission to support. That’s how I got involved with Compete.

DS: Are you still working in Denver?

AD: Before opening private lending I was working in Denver for a mortgage company wanting to open a branch in Vegas, so I moved here. When COVID hit I lost all support from that company’s home office. Ultimately it was a springboard to start my own company, Pride Lending.

Dirk Smith: I’m speaking with new Compete Sports Diversity member, Andrew Dort, founder/owner of Pride Lending about his new business in Las Vegas. Thanks for joining me, Andrew. Tell me about you and the work you do.

Andrew Dort: I’m primary loan officer and owner of Pride Lending, an LGBTQ+-focused mortgage brokerage. While we work with everyone, our market outreach is focused on the LGBTQ+ community since LGBTQ+ individuals trail their heterosexual counterparts dramatically in home ownership.

There’s also discrimination existing within the real estate industry, either directly from realtors, sellers or ancillary industries like appraisers and others. Lots of stories tell of appraisers discovering that a same sex couple lives in a home and then the home value goes down. It’s also common with people of color.

DS: It’s really neat to hear you’re not just working but as founder of Pride Lending, you’re able to start growing and expanding. Do you have particular goals or visions for Pride Lending?

AD: Yes, to work in the vast majority of states; to be THE gay lender. Part of our goals are to get our own setup to fund deals in-house. I also want to employ a diverse, representative group of people, to create a place where we can employ and work with the underserved communities we’re part of. I know that being cisgender, white, even gay, I still have lots of privilege, so I want to make sure I’m employing BIPOC and diverse gender identities in positions of leadership and authority.

I have big goals; sometimes it feels like I’m taking on more than I can handle but it’s all worthwhile, especially with all the new legislation throughout the country making it more difficult for LGBTQ+ people just to exist. That’s why we’re targeting southern states first because representation is most important in areas where it’s most needed.

SOMETIMES IT FEELS LIKE I’M TAKING ON MORE THAN I CAN HANDLE BUT IT’S ALL WORTHWHILE, ESPECIALLY WITH ALL THE NEW LEGISLATION THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY MAKING IT MORE DIFFICULT FOR LGBTQ+ PEOPLE JUST TO EXIST.

DS: Organizations like Pride Lending as well as nonprofit and for-profit organizations are important for building that community. In the past it’s been just bars and clubs. But now it’s businesses, organizations and nonprofits that offer more than drinking and partying. The last question. What does sports diversity mean to you?

AD: Personally, as a gay athlete it’s about finding a place where I could be authentically myself for the first time in my life. It wasn’t just cathartic, it was incredible; possibly up in the top three single most important internal interactions I’ve had in my life making me who I am today. It was directly through the power of sport giving me the confidence to be who I was; it also introduced me to many other people and viewpoints I never otherwise would have been exposed to. For me, it’s essential. That’s why I was so interested in joining Compete because I truly see the value in all this.

DS: Thank you, Andrew, we’re happy you’re part of the Compete family! •

Learn more about Pride Lending at www.mypridelending.com.

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CSDC CORPORATE MEMBER SPOTLIGHT

AARP BENEFITS EVERYONE

BY CONNIE WARDMAN, M.A., SDLT • SHE | HER

One of the newest groups to join the Compete Sports Diversity Council is AARP, a national 501(c)(4) nonprofit and nonpartisan organization. Recently I spoke with Joseph P. Marquart, volunteer president of the Arizona AARP chapter which has 900,000 members. Not only was our conversation enjoyable, it was also an eyeopener.

Advocating for older individuals, AARP also provides a number of member services. However, as it turns out, there’s no longer a minimum age to join and the cost to belong is between $12-$16 a year. But can a Millennial or Gen X or Z individual benefit from belonging to an organization for middle-age and elderly individuals? The answer? Absolutely! AARP has exclusive member discounts covering a wide variety of areas going far beyond the travel, dining and entertainment discounts the organization has long promoted on television.

According to Marquart, an openly gay and proud retired human resources and organizational development executive, AARP is involved in bettering communities on both a large and small scale. With chapters in all U.S. states plus Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, it has over 38 million members, making it one of the most diverse, inclusive and welcoming organizations in operation today.

AARP is a recipient of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award that recognizes companies and organizations that successfully implement quality management systems. As the highest presidential honor an organization can receive for performance excellence, it’s something Marquart says is his North Star when involving himself as a volunteer.

With a long history of volunteering and serving on numerous non-profit boards, following his retirement he originally became active with AARP as a member of the Iowa Executive Committee before moving to Arizona with his husband; they’ve been together for 17 years. Now 74-years old, Marquart not only has served as a facilitator for Fraud Watch presentations and Life Reimagined sessions but also testified on behalf of AARP before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee’s hearing on fraud and

financial abuse of senior citizens. Additionally he has met with congressional members discussing Social Security and the Caregiver Act, all part of AARP’s advocacy arm.

Through its Livable Communities initiative, AARP grants enable communities to create and/or enhance a wide variety of projects that serve its residents of all ages. Grant money can be additional support for a current need or a new project that can include parks and recreational needs, a community garden or a suicide prevention program. Marquart shared that 21 different Arizona organizations have received AARP community grant monies.

Also good for all ages is the SkillsBuilder at Work program. It offers a job board with filters for both full and parttime work and online career fairs. There also are workshops offering topics such as how to create a good resume, interview tips and how to create and maintain a healthy work/life balance. •

PHOTO COURTESY OF JOE MARQUART

CSDC TRAVEL + TOURISM MEMBER SPOTLIGHT

Tempe Tourism Office and Compete Sports Diversity Partner with DOWNTOWN TEMPE AUTHORITY FOR PRIDE PARTY 2023

Downtown Tempe Authority is excited to announce the organization and hosting of Pride Party 2023, Tempe’s inaugural LGBTQIA+ pride event to be held on June 3rd, 2023, from 7pm to 10pm at CenterPoint Plaza in Downtown Tempe.

The Downtown Tempe Authority is hosting Pride Party 2023 to promote inclusivity and create a sense of community, belonging and fun for the LGBTQ+ community and friends in the Downtown Tempe district.

“We want to send the message that Downtown Tempe is a place where people can feel like they belong, feel valued, welcomed, and part of the community.” said Tamia Scott, Director of Marketing for Downtown Tempe Authority

Featuring popular drag performer, Barbra Seville, Pride Party 2023 will include a silent disco, beer and wine as well as delicious food served up by local Tempe food trucks. Attendees can also look forward to a fun drag show,

Downtown Tempe “Love is LOVE” t-shirts and tanks featuring the Pride Party 2023 logo are available for pre-order with $5 from every shirt going toward Mulligan’s Manor, a nonprofit LGBTQIA+ youth organization in Tempe.

Pride Party 2023 will run from 7pm-10pm at CenterPoint Plaza in downtown Tempe. Safety and security measures have been taken to ensure a fun and safe festival for all. Find more information at www.downtowntempe.com/events/ pride-party-2023

ABOUT DOWNTOWN TEMPE AUTHORITY: The award-winning Downtown Tempe Authority (DTA) is a nonprofit organization that works in partnership with the City of Tempe to increase the value of Downtown Tempe through enhanced management, safety, marketing and promotional services on behalf of DTA members and other downtown stakeholders.

Whoever you are. Whoever you love.

Wherever your journey takes you.

Allianz Partners is proud to support LGBTQIA+ organizations—in the States and across the globe—to further our mutual goals of visibility and equity.

We are driven to ensure safety, security, and well-being for everyone—whether you’re one of the over 55 million travelers, event-goers, and students we help protect every year; part of our workforce; or simply our neighbor.

→ Learn more about our commitments to our customers and our community at AllianzPartners.com.

First Ever World Gay Boxing Championships: Kicks Off New Era In LGBTQ+ Sport

I recently spoke with Martin Stark, founder and organizer of the World Gay Boxing Championships.

Dirk Smith: Thanks for joining our conversation. Martin; let’s catch up! You just hosted the first World Gay Boxing Championships in February during World Pride Sydney. How did that go? Martin Stark: It was absolutely fantastic. We had a two-day amateur boxing competition February 17-18. Some highlights included having a trans man fight a cisgender man and win the world title in their division; two awesome drag queen MCs entertained the crowd and we had Kate McLaren, recent winner of the Australian Professional welterweight title, and Gary St. Claire, a two-time world boxing champion and hall of famer, there showing support. The event really was about breaking down the barriers and creating opportunities for the community. It was the culmination of three-and-a-half years of hard work over with in two short days.

DS: Fabulous! It was exciting to see it finally come to fruition after the Covid craziness and be so successful.

MS: It was the world’s first amateur boxing competition for the LGBTQ+ community and its allies. A key learning I took from it was the importance of building relationships, particularly within the boxing community, and especially the women’s boxing community. For example, I reached out to Boxing Australia in 2020 and within two weeks of my contacting them, their board voted to support the World Gay Boxing Championships and provided institutional guidance and support for everything we needed. Boxing New South Wales provided all the judges and referees, and then went one step further by providing coaches [transportation] on match day for anybody who was traveling who didn’t have their coach there. When I talk about grassroots change, this is the change that is happening. Whether it’s a national sporting organization, a state sporting organization or local level clubs, it’s about supporting the LGBTQ+ community and its allies to celebrate sport.

DS: I’ve noticed the grassroots level is really where we’ve been able to see a lot of change and progress, not just for LGBTQ+ athletes and LGBTQ+ sports, but how grassroots-inclusive sports like the World Gay Boxing Championships and other events have made a broader impact on our community in terms of making progress by building awareness and education for LGBTQ+ inclusion, not just in sports but within our society as a whole.

MS: We know participatory sport is a key intervention strategy that boosts mental health, physical health and overall wellbeing. Studies show that LGBTQ+ people participate in sport at only half the rate of the wider population. Now imagine removing that barrier so you

“When I talk about grassroots change, this is the change that is happening. Whether it’s a national sporting organization, a state sporting organization or local level clubs, it’s about supporting the LGBTQ+ community and its allies to celebrate sport.”

PHOTOS COURTESY OF MARTIN STARK AND WGBC

now have 50 percent more people from a community participating in sport. Nelson Mandela said, “sport has the ability to unify.” We have great people within the LGBTQ+ community and awesome allies that are enabling inclusion, so I think the least we can do is get involved in sport or another activity and take a stand so that a peoples’ sexual orientation or gender identity doesn’t stop them from achieving their dreams.

DS: You’ve been very proactive in reaching out, contacting boxing’s national governing body and the state governing body; also contacting athletes, organizers and professionals from all over the world to help you find support to promote the World Gay Boxing championships. That made a big impact, too.

MS: One of the sad things is we didn’t get many people from overseas, especially boxers from Africa who were unfortunately unable to get a visa to come to Australia. We would have had awesome boxers from Ghana, Sierra Leone, Nigeria and Gambia, some of whom participated at the Olympic and Commonwealth Games level. Unfortunately, people from South America, North America, Asia and Europe weren’t able to come as we had hoped. Hopefully, in two years’ time we’ll have a more diverse

representation from the LGBTQ+ global community at the event. I was able to get statements of support from four of the five major boxing organizations. I do want to particularly highlight the World Boxing Council; they provided a statement of support, videos, visible allies from LGBTQ+ boxers and straight boxers over the last three-and-a-half years. They also issued a public statement last year saying they’re proud to be an LGBTQ+ ally and support the WGBC. And that statement wasn’t performative; it talks about bullying, harassment and persecution of LGBTQ+ people in various countries throughout the world which was one step further than just an empty statement. It was actually a broader statement talking about human rights.

DS: You mentioned how sport is an intervention strategy in a lot of ways – how being able to participate in a sport helps to build confidence, strength and resilience for LGBTQ+ people and other communities to stand up against bullying, hatred, and discrimination.

MS: In a discrete parallel to the championships, WGBC has been conducting an anonymous global survey on LGBTQ+

people and allies in boxing. We have 26 responses from people in 15 countries, including Singapore, Japan, Cuba, Brazil, America, Ghana, Sierra Leone and Nigeria. It’s a snapshot survey and the results show that 92.3 percent believe homophobia is a problem in boxing; almost 90 percent the same for transphobia. And 40 percent have experienced some form of homophobia wherever they train and compete. Over half of the people in the survey are out or would feel comfortable coming out and almost two thirds have visible allies or signs of visible support where they train and compete. That tells me that in terms of LGBTQ+ individuals and boxing, there are people all over the world participating in the sport which is great for overall diversity. It also shows that there’s visible support, that LGBTQ+ boxers are able to find spaces where they are supported to train and compete. I believe it’s consistent with other studies on experiences with homophobia and transphobia in sport. I’m encouraged with the findings that there’s something to work with in the future.

DS: It’s good to have that outside support and allyship within the boxing community as well, especially because we can’t just do this ourselves. LGBTQ+ boxing is still relatively young; there’s organization for LGBTQ+ boxing right now other than the work that you’ve already done. So a lot of athletes are going to have to find their ability to train in non-LGBTQ+ specific spaces. Where can people connect with you and the World Gay Boxing Championships on social media websites?

MS: Check us out at www.wgbc.org.au and you can connect with our socials from there! •

“... in terms of LGBTQ+ individuals and boxing, there are people all over the world participating in the sport which is great for overall diversity.”

The Good, The Bad and The Delicious!

OK, pop quiz: have you ever described a food you’re about to eat as either ‘good’ or ‘bad’?

Be honest! I’m pretty confident we all have from timeto-time, sometimes in throwaway comments like, “Oh, I’ll be good and have the salad” or on Monday morning when someone asks how our weekend was, “Not good. I ate a lot of bad food.”

Logically you know what I’m going to say next – or maybe you don’t, what an adventure awaits! - food is not, and can never be ‘good’ or ‘bad’, it’s quite literally just food. Fuel. Sustenance. But as humans we anthropomorphize it and then project our own emotions on everything from bell peppers to donuts to yogurt to steak to soup.

Food cannot be anything other than that with which we power our day-to-day lives, yet for a whole host of reasons (though mainly due to guilt and shame) we label it and let those labels control our own emotions.

Let me explain. I’ll wager you don’t think of yourself as a ‘bad’ person. But if you describe the meal in front of you as bad … and go ahead and eat it anyway … it doesn’t take a psychotherapist to realize that you’re going to think of yourself as ‘bad’ for eating it.

Before they start working with me, I hear this a great deal from clients who have this sort of relationship with food. BFCY (before Fitter Confident You) they start a Diet and cut out all the sugar, carbs, processed food, alcohol and soda because those foods are ‘bad’ for you.

In comes the ‘good’ food. Salads! Watery soups! The driest crackers this side of Death Valley!

Why? Because these are ‘good’ foods, a ‘good person’ will only hit their goals if they’re always ‘good.’

And the first few days are bearable. Just. But the hunger pangs kick in; there’s probably a sugar withdrawal headache and an overall lack of energy about them.

They last one more day, then dive into the cookies, grab handfuls of chips and get very well acquainted with both Ben and Jerry.

They eat a lot of ‘bad’ foods. Worse still, they’ve cheated on their ‘good’ persona they were trying to cultivate. So they feel crappy about who they are – they can’t stick with anything and nothing works for them … and the downward spiral continues.

What can you do about this?

Two things. First, listen to the language you’re using to describe your food. If it’s things like ‘good’ and ‘bad’, pause and see if you could let it pass without judging your food. However nutritionally-poor a food is, it still isn’t ‘bad’, it just won’t help you to your goals as effectively as other foods.

And the flipside? One salad isn’t going to get you to your goals either; neither does it make you a ‘good’ person – sorry! I don’t make the rules up! Actually, I sort of do but I’m still not sorry.

The other thing you can do, is start to allow yourself to have – and enjoy – these so-called ‘bad’ foods during the week and do it on a regular basis. The less you see them as treats and food with which to reward yourself, the more you’ll see them as what they are; that’s right, just food.

The final thing, remember this. Any Diet that gets you to do something out of the ordinary won’t be sustainable long term. It will be a quick fix that will most likely leave you feeling below par.

Do you think Beyonce still does that ridiculous maple syrup, lemon juice and cayenne pepper drink thing? No she does not! (Maybe she never did it, but it was in all the trashy mags about 13 years ago!)

Learning a bit of nutrition knowledge – hey! That’s what I can teach you! It won’t take the fun out of food, instead it will help you create a healthier relationship with food where nothing is ever off-limits and there’s no guilt or shame around anything you eat, ever again.

Happy Eating. •

“... the hunger pangs kick in; there’s probably a sugar withdrawal headache and an overall lack of energy.”

Matt Boyles is the Founder and CEO of Fitter Confident You, online personal training tailored for GBTQ+ men. Fitter Confident Crew is my new group training programme that allows me to reach and support more guys on their Fitter Confident Journeys while also bringing down the investment - check it out at fitteryou.kartra.com/page/crew

Adam Martindale

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