15.2003
inda Traeger is warm and composed,
such that spending time with her
makes you feel as though everything
is right with the world. No wonder,
then, that she was just appointed as i New executive director wants to increase
executive director of Equity Foundation, an i
Equity Foundation's visibility in promoting tolerance by j . b . Rabin
organization that supports the sexual minorities
community hy funding programs that promote I
diversity and tolerance; it would seem that her
is so much more to he done. It’s a
new joh is to make sure everything is right with
constant struggle to maintain
the world.
those rights, to keep them from
Traeger comes to Equity from a position
eroding."
as program developer and manager at G ood
This is exactly what Traeger
will Industries o f the Colum bia W illam ette,
plans to do in her new post, and
where, among many tasks, she headed the
she has very specific ideas about
expansion of a vehicle donation program.
how to do it. “I do think it’s
She attributes her passion for activism to
important to market what Equity
growing up in th e segregated town o f
Foundation is doing more effec
Om aha, Neh.
tively. There are people in (the
sexual minorities) community
“I always had a feeling that racial segrega
tion was wrong. All the activism of the ’60s was
who don’t know about it, and
other people wanting to support
happening when 1 was a teen-ager,” she
remembers.
diversity and justice who would
Traeger came out as a lesbian in her late 20s
want to support it. To accomplish
that, 1 know 1 need to have con
after a brief marriage. “1 did a good job of
repressing who 1 was and what 1 really felt in
tact with people in the communi
ty who have (similar) concerns,”
the early years,” she says.
Soon thereafter she met her partner of 26
she says of her desire to increase
Equity’s visibility with groups
years, whom she is still with today. Their inter
racial relationship has further cemented
across Oregon concerned with
Traeger’s commitment to cultivating accep
the negative effect of ignorance
and fear.
tance: “It’s allowed me to see the harmful effect
Linda Traeger was drawn to Equity Foundation because
of discrimination on a very personal level and
Traeger also believes that
it supports education and awareness while combating
in general.”
what Equity is doing should not
ignorance and fear
O f the time that has passed since she met
be limited to Oregon. "O ne of
her partner, Traeger notes: “T h e world has
my hopes for Equity Foundation is 1 would
She adds that another goal of hers is “to sig
changed so much: W e’re more represented in
like to see the things going on here highlight
nificantly expand the funds annually allocated
government institutions, we’re able to adopt,
ed and replicated in other parts of the coun
to grantees.” This is no small task, as Equity
get m arried...there are small gains, but there
try,” she says.
boasts an impressive $234,000 granted to more
than 200 nonprofits in 2002 and a total of $1.5
million granted since its inception in 1989.
W ith a r£sum£ that reads like a who’s who
o f nonprofits, Traeger seems to be the perfect
person to carry out Equity’s mission. “I’m really
feeling like I’m in the right place. It’s a job that
allows me to draw from all my past experiences
from all my past jobs,” she says.
Prior to her position at Goodwill, Traeger
served as vice president of Heartland Alliance for
Human Needs and Human Rights in Chicago,
where she headed up housing and service pro
grams for people with HIV/A1DS and provided
case management and emergency assistance for
people who were homeless or at risk. Also to her
credit, she was a co-founder of the Lavender
Fund, which established an endowment fund for
queer programs; a hoard member of the AIDS
Foundation of Chicago; and a member of the Illi
nois Gay and Lesbian Task Force.
Traeger was attracted to Equity because of
the breadth of causes it supports. “I like Equity
Foundation because it provides an opportunity
to fund education and awareness, but also
allows funding for things that are more celebra
tory... to acknowledge our experience as
human beings,” she says.
Sitting at her desk in an office filled with
light and a beautiful view of the city, Traeger
reflects on how lucky she is to he doing what
she’s doing. “Normally when you work, you
don’t have time to get involved in issues that
are important to you. Now, it’s my job.” JT1
A C onstant S truggle
L
15
For more information about EQUITY
F o u n d a t io n call 503-231-5759 or visit
www. equityfourulation. org.
J.B. R a b in is a Portland free-lance writer.
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