Name & a nickname you go by (if you have one): LeeQuan McLaurin, but I go by Quan
Current Job Title/Employer: Hampton Roads Planning District Commission (HRPDC) – DEI & Title VI/Civil Rights Liaison
Past Experience: I am a DEI/Civil Rights professional with experience driving change, implementing equity frameworks, and fostering enriching environments for queer youth. As the DEI & Title VI/Civil Rights Liaison for the Hampton Roads Planning District Commission (HRPDC), I support technical staff in creating equitable planning and transportation processes that incorporate the considerations and needs of disadvantaged communities.
Before my current role, I provided consulting services to mental health organizations related to improving access to care for marginalized peoples and supporting clinicians with incorporating equity frameworks into their therapeutic approaches. In this space, I was able to assist clinic administrators in updating their human resources processes to recruit and retain more diverse and culturally informed clinicians who better represented the communities that they were serving.
I also served as the Director of Diversity Retention at Liberty University, where I co-founded LUQueerSpace. This network is still active today for ostracized queer students who need an enriching and safe environment. I later launched LUnderground Railroad, where I raised funds for Black and other minoritized staff and students who have experienced elevated racial trauma and helped them transition to safer work and education environments.
What are some of your skills, abilities, talents?: I enjoy cooking, and recently, my attention has been turned to creating more plant-based foods.
How did you become interested in this position?: I believe in the work that our local queer organizations, centers, and networks are doing across the nation. Queer people have a history of being oppressed in America, and we still face that oppression today. Those who are not queer or do not have active connections to the queer community can be lulled into the false sense of American exceptionalism, believing that rights are only infringed upon or horrendous things only happen in other nations when in fact, the harsh truth is that queer people here face oppression and marginalization every day. To live openly, loudly, and proudly is an option for some of us, but according to The Trevor Project, “LGBTQ+ young people are more than four times as likely to attempt suicide than their peers.” For youth who are bisexual, transgender, nonbinary, or of a racial minority, that data shows even further disparities. Organizations like LGBT Life Center help to provide supportive services, a community network, and safety to exist and ultimately mitigate some of these dangers and harms our youth and adults face. I want to ensure that I am doing my part in our community to create a safer and more empowering place for Queer people, and I am thankful to be joining LGBT Life Center in this capacity to do so.
What makes our organization’s mission powerful to you?: When I first moved to Hampton Roads, LGBT Life Center was one of the first places I visited seeking support. It was apparent to me that LGBT Life Center interweaves dignity, support, and care into all of its interactions. Any organization can have a mission statement; many nonprofits have very fancy ones, but it’s the organizations actually living out those guiding words that make the difference. That’s LGBT Life Center. What the center has been doing since 1989 has created so many positive ripples throughout countless lives. That sort of impact empowers folx to go forward and recreate those same sorts of impacts on whatever scale they are at.
What is an interesting thing about you that most people don’t know?: I have a slight obsession with house plants and currently have about 35 plants indoors. I think there is something very therapeutic and healing about nurturing another form of life and seeing it take form. Before pruning, I had a Monstera that was taller than me!! My mom and I will regularly check out new plant nurseries or shops. It always starts as “window shopping” and ends up with another plant coming home.
What would you like to say about joining the LGBT Life Center Board of Directors?: I am thankful for the opportunity to operate in this capacity and support the efforts of LGBT Life Center. In this role, I hope to also create ripples that will positively impact the lives of queer people.
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