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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 1, 2008)
14|juSt|OUt AUGUST 1, 2008 northwest A New Foundation Gay leader hired as CEO of educational nonprofit by Ben Ferguson To order, please call or visit: 503-236-3395 2710 NE Glisan Street Portland, OR 97232 Edible/lrra ngern ents.com Copyright e JtXW Edibk ArtjngwmnU, l-LC Dentistry In The Pearl That’s Something To Smile About! New Patient Basic Cleaning (exam required) ■ V Dr. Viseh Sundberg Children’s Exam and Cleaning (new patients 12 & under) Professional Home Whitening <‘±1 (exam required) tAJt'V&LSZÇ (503) 546-9079 222 NW 10th Avenue www.sundbergdentistry.com You CAN see In Office 1 Hour “Zoom” Tooth Whitening (exam required) LIPOATROPHY (SUNKEN CHEEKS)? YOU in the mirror again! SCULPTRA injections can help you look as young and healthy as you feel. DR. MARLA ROSS, a board certified dermatologist, is your local sculptra expert. DERMATOLOGY ASSOCIATES ■ a . • c- re» mouAf iva(dra.-r1 For consultation and treatment, call her at 503-245-2415 was trained as an actor—I’m sup posed to have an Oscar by now, but this is nice, too,” says Dan Ryan, jok ing about his July 28 appointment as CEO of the Portland Schools Founda tion, a nonprofit organization that finds private funding for public education. Ryan’s commitment to the students of Port land is clear. During the past 11 years, he has been an unexpected yet invaluable part of Portland’s public school system. As an openly gay man without children, Ryan’s involvement with the education system stems from a sense of communal duty and a genu ine drive to facilitate progress. “Only 20 percent of the larger population are parents of these chil dren,” he says, “but I think that the remaining 80 percent should be just as involved.” Ryan, a Portland native, began his educa tional career by volunteering at his former school, Roosevelt High. There, he was a guest teacher and mentor to teenagers, among other roles. He helped start Roosevelt’s Gay Straight Alliance, along with the support and leadership of the school’s staff. After eight years of volunteering, Ryan decid ed to further commit himself to public education by running for a position on the Portland Public Schools board, where he soon became co-chair man. During his time on the board, his most cherished achievement was leading the search for the district’s newest superintendent, Carole Smith. Ryan is proud of Smith’s “right intentions and integrity,” which he believes will influence the entire system from the top down. Although embarrassed by the amount of attention his col leagues paid to his farewell, Ryan describes his last board meeting as warm and nostalgic. Now, after a unanimous vote by its members, Ryan will be directing the Portland Schools Foun dation in a vigorous drive to further fund public education. The foundation was started 11 years ago in response to a growing need for private funding in public schools. According to Ryan, it is the “philanthropic and political arm of the school system.” He will be an active fund-raiser and an advocate not only for equality in education, but equity as well. He stresses the importance of eq uity in response to the growing divide between higher-income and lower-income families in volved in Portland’s schools. “The majority of a student’s life isn’t spent in the classroom,” says Ryan. “They spend it in the community, and that is where we should be investing.” Some neighborhoods and families require more support than others to attain an equal op portunity, which is the goal of the foundation. “We [as a country] have to invest shamelessly in public education to close this divide," says Ryan. According to Ryan, being gay has rarely, if ever, felt like a hindrance in his career. Although he oc casionally encounters a stray splinter of homophobia in a parent or student, he moves beyond it with grace. Occasional homophobia is offset by the value in members of the queer community ris ing to positions of prominence. In his role as an educator, Ryan can inspire youth struggling with their own sexu ality and work to combat homophobic stereotypes. The problems that Ryan will work to tackle for the young queer commu nity are much different from those of his own childhood. “Young queers are not in the same space that out queers in authority of today were in 20 or 30 years ago,” he explains. “Most of us were extremely closeted while in high school.” While Portland’s progressive per sonality makes it one of the easier cities in which to grow up gay today, new issues are arising. In his position at the foundation, Ryan hopes to help tackle the perplexing discrepancy among white, privileged gays and gays of color. He has noticed another layer of homophobia that racial minorities face when coming out. “The youth of today are miles ahead of most adults in terms of cul tural competency,” Ryan says. “We need to hear their voice and accept their leadership. ”© Former Portland Public Schools board co-chairman Dan Ryan continues his profession in education by leading the Portland Schools Foundation. B en F erguson is an English major at Davidson College in North Carolina.
