On Saturday, June 9, the LGBT Resource Center will host Syracuse University's participation in the CNY Pride Parade and Festival, Central New York's celebration of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered community. Students, faculty, staff, and alumni, as well as their partners, friends, and family members, are invited to participate. Allies are welcome and encouraged to join us as well!

The first fifty participants to sign up for the SU parade contingent will receive a commemorative t-shirt, and are asked to RSVP by June 6 to lgbt@syr.edu with their t-shirt size.

The schedule of events for June 9 is as follows:

10:30 a.m.: Participants in the parade should line up at the corner of Washington and Montgomery Streets.

11 a.m.: The Rainbow Flag will be raised at Syracuse City Hall.

11:15 a.m.: The CNY Pride Parade will begin on the corner of Montgomery and Washington Streets, and proceed to the reviewing stand, three blocks away at Columbus Circle.

Noon - 4 p.m.: The CNY Pride Festival will take place in the plaza adjacent to Everson Museum of Art, with live entertainment, food and merchandise vendors, informational tables from local organizations including the LGBT Resource Center.

For more information, e-mail lgbt@syr.edu, call 315-443-3983, or visit http://www.cnypride.org/

On June 15th & 16th at 8 PM, the Syracuse Gay and Lesbian Chorus will be presenting their Pride Concert "American Rhythms". The performance is at First Unitarian Universalist Society on 109 Waring Road in Syracuse. Our evening will include a drawing for a door prize and a post-concert reception. Tickets are $18.00 the night of the show, or available in advance for $15.00 by calling the Chorus Line at (315) 476-4329. Tickets are also available at The Lavender Inkwell on N. McBride St. Please visit the Chorus website at www.syrglc.org.

Education: High school
Location: New York, New York, 10001, United States
Posted by: NY AIDS Coalition
Job Category: Accounting & Finance, Activism & Organizing, Administration, Advocacy, Communications, Editing & Writing , Fundraising & Development, Grants administration, Management , Project management, Public Policy, Public relations
Salary: $80,000 to $90,000
Last day to apply: July 15, 2007
Last updated: May 16, 2007
Type: Full time
Language(s): English
Job posted on: May 16, 2007
Area of Focus: Consumer Protection, Disability Issues, Foundations, Fundraising, and Philanthropy, Gay, Lesbian, Bi & Trans Issues, Health and Medicine, Human Rights and Civil Liberties, Men's Issues, Network of Nonprofit Organizations, Women's Issues

Description: New York AIDS Coalition (NYAC) seeks an Executive Director

New York AIDS Coalition, a statewide HIV advocacy organization seeks a full-time Executive Director to lead the agency in the next phase of its growth and visibility through expansion of its membership, improved financial stability and expanded programming to address cutting edge issues in HIV/AIDS policy. As a leading voice in HIV advocacy for nearly two decades, NYAC works to empower people living with HIV with training and skills building projects as well as assisting its member organizations to be well informed and effective players in the policy making arena. NYAC has an $850,000 budget, four full-time staff, hundreds of members and a remarkable track record of success to build upon.

The Executive Director is the primary organizer and strategist for NYAC and the chief spokesperson for the agency. The ideal candidate is passionate about HIV and has experience with membership advocacy organizations. S/he is a seasoned campaigner and represents the communities most affected by the epidemic. The Executive Director should be a collaborator and strategic thinker with experience navigating complex political situations. Working with the Board and staff, s/he is responsible for development and fund-raising, financial management, administration and public relations (community, media, government and funders).

Other Requirements: Proven success in fundraising. Reputability in the HIV/AIDS community. Significant non-profit management experience and accomplishments, including managing budgets. Skills and accomplishments in public policy and advocacy, including knowledge of legislative and governmental processes.

Interviews will begin in mid-March, 2007. Please send your resume and cover letter with salary expectations to:

NYAC Search Committee Community Resource Exchange 42 Broadway, 20th Floor New York, NY 10004 nyacsearch@crenyc.org (e-mail preferred)

Connecticut's Trans-Inclusive Non-Discrimination Bill Passes Senate by 30-4; Awaits Vote in the House

Governor of Vermont Signs Trans-Inclusive Non- Discrimination Bill into Law

(WASHINGTON) -- Today, by a 30-4 vote, the Connecticut Senate passed an anti-discrimination bill (SB 1044) that is inclusive of gender identity. The bill now goes to the House of Representatives for consideration, after which it would go to Governor M. Jodi Rell for signature. Connecticut would be the 14th state in the country to pass state-level non- discrimination laws that include gender identity.

There has been amazing momentum in the passage of anti-discrimination legislation that protects transgender people. In the last two months alone, five states have outlawed discrimination based on gender identity, with Vermont's Governor Jim Douglas having signed that state's inclusive legislation into law just yesterday.

WASHINGTON - Gay men remain banned for life from donating blood, the government said Wednesday, leaving in place - for now - a 1983 prohibition meant to prevent the spread of HIV through transfusions.

The Food and Drug Administration reiterated its long- standing policy on its Web site Wednesday, more than a year after the Red Cross and two other blood groups criticized the policy as "medically and scientifically unwarranted."

"I am disappointed, I must confess," said Dr. Celso Bianco, executive vice president of America's Blood Centers, whose members provide nearly half the nation's blood supply.

Before giving blood, all men are asked if they have had sex, even once, with another man since 1977. Those who say they have are permanently banned from donating. The FDA said those men are at increased risk of infection by HIV that can be transmitted to others by blood transfusion.

New, improved HIV tests
In March 2006, the Red Cross, the international blood association AABB and America's Blood Centers proposed replacing the lifetime ban with a one-year deferral following male-to-male sexual contact. New and improved tests, which can detect HIV-positive donors within just 10 to 21 days of infection, make the lifetime ban unnecessary, the blood groups told the FDA.

In a document posted Wednesday, the FDA said it would change its policy if given data that show doing so wouldn't pose a "significant and preventable" risk to blood recipients.

"It is a way of saying, 'Whatever was presented to us was not sufficient to make us change our minds,"' Bianco said.

The FDA said HIV tests currently in use are highly accurate, but still cannot detect the virus 100 percent of the time. The estimated HIV risk from a unit of blood is currently about one per 2 million in the United States, according to the agency.

Critics of the exclusionary policy said it bars potential healthy donors, despite the increasing need for donated blood, and discriminates against gays. The FDA recognized the policy defers many healthy donors but rejected the suggestion it's discriminatory.

Anyone who's used intravenous drugs or been paid for sex also is permanently barred from donating blood.