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Clawson succeeds Tim Healea, who served as
interim coordinator during a leave of absence from
Q Center’s board.
Clawson loves cooking, movies and travel, and
she is the mother of two dogs. She and her partner of
16 years married in Massachusetts in October 2006.
Hambleton Project Closes
Sharon Hambleton underwent advanced med
ical treatment for her ovarian cancer at the
Mautner Project for Lesbians with Cancer in
Washington, D.C.
“Her vision was to have a similar project here in
Portland,” said Hambleton’s partner, Lorie Hansen,
who co-founded Hambleton Project with Carol
Brownlow and Jan Dillon.
Brownlow added: “She came home wanting to
start something similar for lesbians who don’t have
support. Sharon died before we could get it off the
ground, but we still wanted to do it as a tribute.”
Hambleton Project was founded in 1997 to sup
port lesbians with cancer, their partners and their
friends by providing referrals, resources, advocacy
and support groups. In October 2005, its board
witnessed declining numbers of members and calls
from lesbians requesting the program’s services.
With the energy of new board members and
successful fund raising, it seemed Hambleton
Project would create a stable foundation with
a committed volunteer base and increased board
membership. Despite efforts to keep the project
alive, the board, with the guidance of co-founding
members, unanimously decided to close Hambleton
Project effective June 1.
e
Co-chairwoman KJ Jensen is a breast cancer
survivor. “My partner left me six weeks after I fin
ished treatment. We had been together for 17
years,” she said. “If we had been living in Portland,
this wouldn’t have happened.”
Hambleton Project was unique because it
provided support for the partner, who is truly the
primary caretaker. “It’s a huge toll,” she added.
“1 had tons of support, and she had none. That, to
me, is the biggest loss.”
Brownlow told Just Out: “I’m feeling conflicted.
I think the organization provided wonderful servic
es, but it seems as if the community’s needs are
changing, so those services may not be as needed as
they were 10 years ago.”
Brownlow said Hambleton Project’s closure
might be, in part, because of Portland’s wider
acceptance of lesbians. “It's also difficult for a small
nonprofit that operates strictly with volunteers to
be a priority when we all lead such busy lives these
days.”
Jensen speculated that the organization is
a casualty of the Internet age. “I think the pendu
lum has swung so that we turn to the anonymity of
the Internet rather than have face-to-face contact.
As a certified nurse midwife, I’ve seen the same
thing with women scheduling C-sections. It’s
a swing away from personal empowerment, but
I think it will come back,” Jensen explained.
According to Jensen, a core group of 30 to 50
people held the project together, while 550 people
have been supportive through the years. They will
celebrate Hambleton Project’s 10 years of service to
the lesbian community from 3 to 5 p.m. June 10 at
the Ecotrust Building, 721 N.W. Ninth Ave. Call
Jensen at 503-577-5952 if you would like to attend.
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National Chamber Gets Local
As shown in the increasing significance of the
Human Right’s Campaign’s Corporate Equality
Index, corporate America wants to work with the
queer business community. Until recently, there
was no independent third-party certification or
ganization like those that Certify ethnic minority-
or women-owned businesses. The National Gay
and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce is the only
national not-for-profit advocacy organization ded
icated to expanding the economic opportunities of
the queer business community.
The Portland Area Business Association is
hosting a workshop, presented by the chamber, on
securing business contracts from major corporations
throughout the United States. The Diversity
Certification Workshop will be held June 12 at the
offices of Web MD, 2701 N.W. Vaughn St. #700.
The event will begin with a wine and cheese recep
tion at 6 p.m., followed by the formal presentation
at 6:45.
A business that is at least 51 percent queer-
owned qualifies to become a “Certified LGBT
Business Enterprise” through the chamber. With
the certification, that business becomes eligible to
compete in supplier diversity contracting opportu
nities. The manager of the national chamber
Supplier Diversity Initiative, Aditi Dussault, will
discuss how and why to become certified, the
process to go through and how to market a business
as a queer-owned enterprise.
“This is a great inroad for a business in getting
to work with larger companies like Kodak, IBM,
Motorola, Wells Fargo, Intel and others,” said
PABA president Sean Minogue.
The workshop is open to all PABA members
and those interested in becoming members. RSVP
to PABA at 503-280-7222.
On June 13, »Intel is hosting Prime
Opportunities, a business forum created to connect
Intel suppliers with diversity suppliers and small
businesses. This event is open to all queer business
owners seeking to do business as a second-tier sup
plier to Intel. It will be held from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
at the Lloyd Center Doubletree Hotel, 1000 N.E.
Multnomah Blvd. To register call 202-419-0440 or
e-mail supplierdiversity@nglcc.org.
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