A dozen active members of the gay community, all with diverse cultural backgrounds, have been newly appointed to the LGBT Advisory Committee of the San Francisco Human Rights Commission. The announcement was made last week by commission staff.

The appointments bring the number of committee members to 27.

"The commission is very pleased that so many of our diverse communities within the LGBT community will be represented in this very active committee," said Commissioner Cecilia Chung. "We look forward to a very exciting year taking the committee in new directions."

HRC staff member Larry Brinkin said the committee has decided to focus upcoming activities on examining issues especially relevant to people of color, including addressing the issue of racism in the LGBT community. He said particular projects in those areas would be announced in late April.

Brinkin said the 12 new committee members represent a diverse cross section of the LGBT community, including African American, Asian/Pacific Islander, Native American, Latino, and transgender. The members are young and old, men and women.

The new members, appointed to a one-year term by Commission Chair Malcolm Heinicke, are: Jane Aceituno, Celina Chico, Billy Curtis, Calvin Gipson, Christopher Gomora, Erica Newport, Roberto Ordenana, Anthony Phillip, Martin Rawlings-Fein, Jason Riggs, Kenneth Williams, and Diana Ming Ying.

They join members Whitney Bagby, Dora Balcazar, David Cameron, Aidan Dunn, Ted Guggenheim, Danny Kirchoff, Nancy Lawlor, Ren Phoenix, Aleem Raja, Stephen Schwichow, Jason Stein, Morningstar Vancil, and Matthew Wood.

"Advising the HRC is a very exciting opportunity to create positive changes throughout San Francisco," said Gipson.

Gipson was one of a number of individuals involved in bringing to the HRC charges of alleged racial discrimination at a Castro bar in 2004, although he was not a formal complainant. Badlands bar owner Les Natali and the complainants reached a mediation settlement in January following the 19-month dispute. Terms of the settlement have not been publicly disclosed. Natali has consistently denied the racism allegations.

"Over the past few years, I saw that resolving racism at the Badlands bar was a very difficult experience for those who filed official complaints with the city," Gipson said. "I would like to see changes throughout the various city departments to help those who have experienced racism and homophobia to feel confident that their experience has been heard, addressed, and resolved.

"Racism is challenged in our community every few years on a fairly consistent cycle," added Gipson, 45, who directs the meal program at Glide United Methodist Church that feeds 2,000 poor people each day. Gipson also has served as president of the San Francisco LGBT Pride Celebration Committee, president of the city's gay and lesbian film festival board, and is a 10-year volunteer on the speakers bureau for Community United Against Violence.

Ordenana, 28, another new appointee, told the Bay Area Reporter, "Through my work on the committee I hope to positively affect systems for all of us, especially people of color, youth, and transgender individuals, in order for us all to have complete access to the incredible opportunities this city has."

"Growing up Latino and gay in San Francisco was not easy. I was teased in school from a very early age because of my sexual orientation and I lacked support from my peers. It is this experience that drives me to create a better place for us to thrive, in particular individuals in our community experiencing discrimination because of their gender, ethnicity, and/or HIV status," Ordenana added.

Ordenana said he hoped to work on such issues as how the city is supporting recently LGBT immigrants, whether queer youth are receiving safety, respect, and attention in shelters and services and the effects of funding cuts to HIV services geared toward people of color.

Ordenana serves as director of community programs at the LGBT Community Center and president of the board of Bay Area Young Positives, an organization that provides social, educational and emotional support for HIV-positive youth.

Brinkin said the HRC recruits for new advisory committee members every year in December and January and the positions are for one year, but renewable. The 12 new appointees were chosen out of 27 applicants following interviews conducted by Brinkin, and Commissioners Chung and Mark Dunlop, the other co-chair of the LGBT advisory committee.

"Individual complaints of discrimination are handled by the staff, not the committee or commissioners," said Brinkin.

"The committee and commissioners handle broader issues, patterns of discrimination, etc. They make recommendations to commissioners that a letter be sent to an organization or business or media on a discrimination-related issue," he said.

The advisory committee also can pass resolutions taking a position on an issue or hold a public hearing on a topic followed by a report with findings and recommendations, according to Brinkin.

Over the years, the LGBT Advisory Committee helped the commissioners organize public hearings on racism in LGBT employment (1984), discrimination against people with AIDS (1985), domestic partners (1989), discrimination against transgender people (1994) LGBT youth (1997), LGBT economic empowerment (2000), aging in the LGBT communities (2002), and intersex issues (2004).

The reports that followed those hearings contained recommendations that have led to legislation by the Board of Supervisors that added sexual orientation, HIV status, and gender identity to antidiscrimination laws. Another report helped create the city's domestic partner registry, while another led to the landmark city ordinance granting insurance benefits for transgender city employees in 2001.

During the focus on issues affecting queer people of color and racism in the LGBT communities, committee members will decide exactly what projects and activities it will undertake during a retreat next month, Brinkin said.

"Their work plan could include planning a public hearing [conducted by commissioners], and the production of a report on a particular topic, planning a public forum on an issue – hearing from experts and organizations, etc," he added.