New program aims to develop leadership skills in Tucson's LGBT community

Mavy Moreno doesn’t feel like a leader, but she’s hoping the DASH Leadership Program can change that.

Moreno, a professional services consultant at Intuit, is one of the inaugural attendees of Develop a Skillful Horizon (DASH), which aims to develop leadership skills in LGBT and allied people ages 21-30.

The free three-hour workshops — sponsored by the Tucson Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Chamber of Commerce — being held this month cover project management, strategic planning, crafting a professional brand and other topics.

“I’m super excited,” said Moreno, who is one of nine participants signed up for DASH. “I hope I can gain that confidence and learn to be able to apply those leadership skills and go back and help the community.”

DASH is the brainchild of president of the Tucson LGBT Chamber of Commerce, John Jackson Moyer, and president of the Tucson LGBT Chamber of Commerce Foundation, Liane Wong.

Moyer said he and Wong wanted to create a leadership program that not only highlights the LGBT community, but also connects young adults with accomplished leaders who can pass on their experiences.

The LGBT and allied leaders speaking at DASH include executive director of Tucson Interfaith HIV/AIDS Network, Scott Blades; chief culture officer at Tucson Federal Credit Union, Trish Kordas; owner of The Rising Effect, Stephanie Rising; and executive director of Southern Arizona Senior Pride, Lavina Tomer.

Moreno said progressing through high school and college without encountering any LGBT leaders was difficult.

“I was wanting to do more, wanting to get involved, and wanting to meet people that were like me, and just did not know how to,” Moreno said.

Russell Toomey, a professor of family studies and human development at the University of Arizona, said LGBT people run into barriers from a young age as they experience discrimination and victimization related to their sexuality, gender identity and gender expression.

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Moreno saw that firsthand growing up.

“Everyone kept telling me all these negative things,” Moreno said. “‘You’re a lesbian, you’re not going to make it out of college, you’re never going to have friends, you’re not going to get a job, you need to change your lifestyle, you’re going nowhere.’”

Toomey, who is also the interim director of the Institute for LGBT Studies at the University of Arizona, said these types of experiences are associated with poor health, poor well-being and lower academic achievement.

“The internal and external assets that all kids need to thrive and survive. … We know that LGBT kids experience lower levels of those assets across the board compared to their cisgender and straight peers,” Toomey said.

Toomey said a program in young adulthood that attempts to provide specialized training for LGBT people can help to create equity.

Pending the success of the program’s first iteration, Moyer and Wong hope to continue offering DASH at least annually.

While registration is closed for this first offering, potential attendees can get more information about future trainings by emailing info@tucsonlgbtfoundation.org or visiting tucsonlgbtfoundation.org/dash-leadership-program.

Moreno said that after completing the program, she wants to mentor LGBT youth.

“I can’t wait to learn more and to be able to apply those skills to my career, to my life, and to share that with everybody,” Moreno said. “We’re all here, we’re all community, we’re all family, and we will all get through this together.”