I Am Being Honored Part II

So I am only 3 short days away from The Attic's 15th Anniversary Gala where I will be receiving their Leadership Award. Late last week I got word that my full time employer was planning to do a press release on this. I am still a little in awe that all this is happening to me. I really am humbled by it all and I like the way the press release came out. Here is the press release:

_______________________________________

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

November 10, 2008

Contact: Jamie Arehart (267-350-7699 or jarehart@phmc.org)

Lee Carson to be Awarded Leadership Achievement Award
The Attic Youth Center to Recognize LGBT Activist

PHILADELPHIA - On November 15, 2008, activist, researcher, educator and social worker Lee Carson will receive the Leadership Achievement Award at The Attic Youth Center’s annual gala at the Ritz-Carlton in Philadelphia. The Attic Youth Center is Philadelphia's only agency exclusively serving LGBT youth and is one of only thirteen LGBT youth centers nationally. “Lee Carson is a man on a mission,” says The Attic’s executive director, Carrie Jacobs. “He is an individual who already has and will continue to make a huge difference in the LGBT community, particularly in the LGBT community of color.”

Carson has worked in the areas of HIV prevention and substance abuse rehabilitation in the LGBT community for the past ten years. “I am grateful to be receiving an award from The Attic,” says Carson, “and at the same time I am fully aware that my work is only one small part within a larger mosaic of efforts put forth by many toward creating a better quality of life for Philadelphia’s LGBT citizens.”

Currently a research associate at Public Health Management Corporation (PHMC), Carson works on several projects related to HIV prevention among men who have sex with men. "We are very proud of Lee and his recognition by The Attic,” says Lynne Kotranski, vice president of PHMC’s Research and Evaluation component. “Lee brings a unique set of skills to his work and commitment to the community–great clinical training blended with an understanding of conducting research on vulnerable populations.”

In addition to his research work, Carson works part-time as a mental health therapist for the Mazzoni Center, a health center serving Philadelphia’s LGBT population. Carson also serves as an adjunct instructor in the graduate social work department at Temple University.
Carson’s work as an activist in the LGBT community began in 2000, when he became an active member of the New York-based Men of Color Health Awareness Project (MOCHA), an HIV prevention organization. While at MOCHA, Carson served as a board member for the New York State Black Gay Network. After moving to Philadelphia, Carson co-founded and became president of a local nonprofit organization called the Black Gay Men’s Leadership Council, which advocates for black gay men in Philadelphia. He is also a founding member of the LGBT People of Color Coalition, which presently consists of 14 organizations that represent a broad cross section of LGBT communities across race and gender.

Carson’s commitment to the LGBT community has garnered him both local and national recognition. This past fall, he began serving on Mayor Nutter's advisory board on LGBT affairs. His familiarity with the LGBT community also led to his selection by the Centers for Disease Control as an expert on an advisory panel for a new HIV prevention campaign targeted towards black gay men. Carson has a bachelor’s of arts degree from SUNY Brockport, a master’s of social work degree from Nazareth College and is a licensed social worker in the state of Pennsylvania.

###

About PHMC
Public Health Management Corporation (PHMC) is a nonprofit public health institute that builds healthier communities through partnerships with government, foundations, business and other community-based organizations. It fulfills its mission to improve the health of the community by providing outreach, health promotion, education, research, planning, technical assistance, and direct services. Formerly the Philadelphia Health Management Corporation, PHMC has served the Greater Philadelphia region since 1972. For more information on PHMC, visit www.phmc.org.

_______________________________________

2008 has been the hell of year and I am most definitely looking to usher in 2009, as a year with more opportunities and definitely looking forward to the changing of the guards in our nations capital!