Bob Schoenberg
Schoenberg has led the LGBT community on the campus of the University of Pennsylvania for nearly three decades.
Schoenberg was hired as the first employee of the university’s LGBT Center in the fall of 1982 and has led the center, now as its director, through years of growth that have enabled it to become a major player on the Penn campus and in the city’s LGBT community.
Jason Landau Goodman, Penn student and executive director of the Pennsylvania Student Equality Coalition, said Schoenberg is a constant source of support for the community.
“Every day he’s there to say hello and greet everyone,” Landau Goodman said. “We can bounce ideas off of him, about everything from gender-neutral housing to advocacy efforts, and he’s there to help and support students, faculty and staff on those issues. His leadership is meant to empower students and other members of the community.”
Schoenberg has been influential in helping to plan and host LGBT-focused events and conventions on campus, such as PSEC’s Youth Action Conference in October.
Also this year, Schoenberg was integral in bringing to campus a number of high-profile LGBTs and allies, such as British rugby player Ben Cohen, Penn alum and author Nick Krieger, LGBT researcher Dr. Kristen Renn and founder and executive director of the National Center for Transgender Rights Mara Kiesling.
Philadelphia City Council
Philadelphia’s governing body took several steps forward in 2011 for LGBT equality.
In two separate and unanimous votes, the bipartisan Philadelphia City Council approved measures that updated and strengthened the city’s nondiscrimination law and extended domestic-partner benefits to employees of some city contractors.
The first bill, spearheaded by Councilman Bill Greenlee, who worked in partnership with the city’s Commission on Human Relations, revamped the Fair Practices Ordinance to ensure it contained uniform definitions that were in line with state and federal laws.
Greenlee’s measure clarified that the definition of “familial status” extended to one’s life partner and also streamlined the process for life-partner registration. The bill, passed i n March and signed into law by Mayor Nutter that month, also heightened the penalties for those found to be in violation of the Fair Practices Ordinance.
The same day Greenlee submitted his measure, Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds Brown introduced a bill that mandated city contractors with contracts over $250,000 offer domestic-partner benefits to their employees.
In a November hearing on the bill, all public testimony was favorable and, the following month, all 17 councilmembers voted to approve it. Nutter signed it into law in December.
Philadelphia Phillies
The Phillies came out swinging for LGBT youth this year. The team joined the growing number of professional sports teams getting on board with the “It Gets Better” movement in August.
The video campaign, which launched in 2010, was created to showcase messages of hope for LGBT young people and drew submissions from everyday LGBTs, celebrities, politicians and, in a trend that took off this past summer, sports figures.
The Phillies put together a 30-second piece that offers words of support for young people struggling with their identities.
“There’s nothing easy about being young, about being yourself, about being an individual,” the message stated. “Every day brings changes, challenges and emotions that help define who you are. But something you should never experience is being bullied, intimidated or pressured to be someone or something that you are not.”
While some of the videos don’t specifically reference LGBT youth, the Phillies’ 30-second piece did: “The Philadelphia Phillies are proud to join ItGetsBetter.org to let all LGBT young people know that life gets better. We promise.”
The video, which debuted at the Phillies’ Gay Community Night, was delivered by Phillies players Chase Utley, Roy Halladay, Hunter Pence, John Mayberry Jr. and Mike Stutes.