SANTA CRUZ – The Santa Cruz Lesbian and Gay Community Center, more commonly known as the Diversity Center to locals, will experience a changing of the guard, as Sharon Papo will step down from her position as executive director after eight years.
“It’s just putting one foot in front of the other and its hard. it’s a big chapter of my life that I’m so grateful for and proud about,” Papo said. “I’m trying to wrap up as strong as I can.”
The Diversity Center accomplished many things under Papo’s direction. One of the biggest accomplishments for the local center, and one of the most recent, was the completion of the Diversity Center’s Capital Campaign in December.
The Capital Campaign allowed the Diversity Center to secure the funding it needed to buy the building it uses at 1117 Soquel Ave. outright. One-third of LGBTQ+ centers across the country could close down over the next several months due to economic instability, according to Papo. However, that is not a concern of the Diversity Center’s anymore.
“By owning our building outright, we doubled our space and also provided economic stability for the Diversity Center,” Papo said. “Because the Diversity Center owns our building and has no debt, we are in a much better place to ensure we are here for the community, and strong today and tomorrow.”
Papo was also instrumental in the training and education of health care and jail workers on the providing a safer environment for members of the LGBTQ+ community. The education wasn’t limited to health care and jail workers, however. The Diversity Center also helped educate students and community members.
“We provided over 90 trainings and triangle speakers last year alone,” Papo said. “By providing these trainings, the diversity center was instrumental in creating a more welcoming community for LGBTQ+ individuals, whether they set foot in the diversity center or not.”
Papo has seen the outlook around the LGBTQ+ community change a lot of over her tenure at the Diversity Center.
Impacts from Papo and the Diversity Center extend beyond just Santa Cruz County. In November, Papo and the Diversity Center helped lead the charge in defending diversity training in the U.S.
President Donald Trump enacted an executive order in September that barred diversity training in federally funded operations. Trump backed up the order, citing they were “inherently racist and sexist.”
Papo and the Diversity Center went to bat for the diversity training and filed a lawsuit against the president and the order in November. U.S. District Court Judge Beth Labson Freeman ruled in favor of the Diversity Center, and reversed the order.
“It was a heinous executive order,” Papo said. “By winning the injunction, we stopped it from being in effect.”
The City of Santa Cruz recognized Papo’s contributions to the LGBTQ+ community and chose to honor her at Tuesday’s City Council meeting, the first one of the new year. New Mayor Donna Meyers proclaimed Jan. 12 to be Sharon Esther Papo, LCSW, Day as one of her first acts as mayor.
“Sharon, it is my great honor in declaring Jan. 12 as your day here in Santa Cruz,” Meyers said. “I’m just extremely proud to know you and think you’ve done amazing things in our community.”
While Papo said she didn’t accomplish everything she hoped to as the executive director, she’s still confident that her successors will do great work. She will be followed by Deanna Zachary and Ashlyn Adams.
“I am delighted to pass the torch to two dedicated brilliant and strong leaders already working at the diversity center,” Papo said. “I have full confidence that Ashlyn and Deanna will successfully sustain and grow the Diversity Center in the next chapter.”
Papo’s eight-year tenure with the Diversity Center will end on Friday. However, she has not decided what she plans on doing next with her professional life.
“I am going to take a deep breath after eight years of working really hard and then figure out what my next professional adventure will be,” she said.
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