Embedded Files
Queer Humboldt is grateful to the Wiyot, Yurok, Hoopa, Karuk and neighboring tribes for their leadership, stewardship and many cultural contributions, both historical and present day. We affirm Native sovereignty. We pledge 1% of our annual budget to the Wiyot Tribe through the honor tax program.
Queer Humboldt is a community center for Queer people, including those with multiple marginalized identities, such as Queer people who are young/old, Jewish, Muslim, living with disabilities, Black, Indigenous, Latinx/Latine, Asian, and/or Pacific Islander. We respect the dignity of all our relatives and are, therefore, against systems that don't, such as those that are white-supremacist, settler-colonialist (the practice of destroying people/nations in order to replace them), ableist, sexist, homophobic, biphobic, transphobic, fat-phobic, anti-islamic, anti-semitic, ecologically exploitative, and ageist. While there are those who seek to make caring for one another and our planet politicized, respecting our natural world, valuing diversity/equity/inclusion, and being intolerant of intolerance are not radical political stances; they are a foundation for being kind and respectful community members who honor the dignity of all people. Queer people exist in all communities therefore Queer liberation will never be complete without our collective liberation from all forms of body terrorism.
At Queer Humboldt, we believe decolonizing heteronormative ideals of love/family/sexuality is necessary for the health and restoration of our world.
Intersectionality
Queer Humboldt believes in the importance of cross-movement solidarity, and partners with grassroots local social justice oriented organizations to collaborate on programs.
Why 2S/LGBTQIA+ instead of LGBTQIA2S+?
In short, because Two-Spirit people were here first and this is a way that we honor First Nations.
Here is an article on this topic:
https://twospiritjournal.com/?p=1054
Why Queer?
Why Queer?
From the November 2003 Multicultural Queer Studies Minor Coming Out Party at Humboldt State University, by Eric Rofes:
From the November 2003 Multicultural Queer Studies Minor Coming Out Party at Humboldt State University, by Eric Rofes:
Why “queer”? For many this term is an epithet, an insult, a threat. For many, the word has been reclaimed, much like the pink triangle, which came from the Holocaust but now is deployed and displayed as a symbol of gay and lesbian pride and activism. The insult behind the word “queer” is to say that someone is not normal. In reclaiming “queer,” activists and academics declare that there is value in challenging the norm. For many the word is more inclusive, more plural, including lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, and other categories and refusals of categories. For many the word is more politicized, more radical, than the other options.
Why “queer”? For many this term is an epithet, an insult, a threat. For many, the word has been reclaimed, much like the pink triangle, which came from the Holocaust but now is deployed and displayed as a symbol of gay and lesbian pride and activism. The insult behind the word “queer” is to say that someone is not normal. In reclaiming “queer,” activists and academics declare that there is value in challenging the norm. For many the word is more inclusive, more plural, including lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, and other categories and refusals of categories. For many the word is more politicized, more radical, than the other options.
Our Collaborative Leadership Model
Our Collaborative Leadership Model
Queer Humboldt's collaborative leadership model is inspired by the structure designed by Cooperation Humboldt for building solidarity economies.
The system involves three leadership bodies that each bring their own unique skills, experiences, and prospectives to program visioning, assessment and evolution.
Examples of one-off interactions are: people who attend a training with us, people who interact when we are tabling or in the community, people who reach out with a question, and people who comment on our social media.
Examples of ongoing interactions are: people who work with us on an ongoing project, clients of our mental health clinic, schools we are contracted with, and people we frequently collaborate with.
The Board of Directors is in charge of fiscal management.
The Staff Collective includes ongoing employees.
The Community Advisory Council is a group of esteemed community partners and elders who are vested in this work as it interconnects with social justice work locally and beyond. This group is still in the formation stages and is the final aspect of the system to be implemented. Developing this body is being done using a "Moving At The Speed Of Trust" methodology, which we learned from our partners at the Two-Spirit Dry Lab.
Internal Organizational Structure:
For our internal operations, we use the metaphor of a plant: our office team is the Mulch, managing resources and nourishment for the organism as a whole. The Orange is our clinical lead. The Apple is our education lead. The Flowers are all the wonderful staff who are out there doing the work, our clinicians, interns, trainers, youth leaders, etc. These structures are not rigid and some individuals exist in multiple locations symotaniously. Even as it is ever evolving as grants and staffing shift, this plant metaphor is how we conceptualize our organizational structure.
Our history:
Our history:
In May 2003, Todd Larsen and Michael Weiss moved from Southern California to Humboldt County. While researching the move, they found no central online site to help visitors and locals with queer friendly resources. Todd and Michael created the Queer Humboldt website to provide a communication vehicle for the 2004 Humboldt Pride event, which they co-chaired. The website then expanded to include visitor and relocation information as a result of the many inquiries and calls they received from people planning to visit or relocate to Humboldt County. The Queer Humboldt nonprofit was thus created in 2006.
In May 2003, Todd Larsen and Michael Weiss moved from Southern California to Humboldt County. While researching the move, they found no central online site to help visitors and locals with queer friendly resources. Todd and Michael created the Queer Humboldt website to provide a communication vehicle for the 2004 Humboldt Pride event, which they co-chaired. The website then expanded to include visitor and relocation information as a result of the many inquiries and calls they received from people planning to visit or relocate to Humboldt County. The Queer Humboldt nonprofit was thus created in 2006.
In September of 2020, Todd, Michael and the third board member, Deb, retired from the Queer Humboldt Board and passed leadership to Tai Parker, Levia Love, and Cori. There was a passing of the torch event and the group became an organization dedicated to centering systemically undervalued people within the 2S/LGBTQIA+ community. With a new focus on equity and intersectional liberation, new programs were developed. Queer Humboldt began growing to meet community needs during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.
In September of 2020, Todd, Michael and the third board member, Deb, retired from the Queer Humboldt Board and passed leadership to Tai Parker, Levia Love, and Cori. There was a passing of the torch event and the group became an organization dedicated to centering systemically undervalued people within the 2S/LGBTQIA+ community. With a new focus on equity and intersectional liberation, new programs were developed. Queer Humboldt began growing to meet community needs during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.
From 2020-2026 Queer Humboldt grew tremendously. Grant funding was awarded, staff was hired, internship programs initiated, internal systems evolved, and there was rapid expansion of community serving programs. Just to name a few highlights, we provided:
From 2020-2026 Queer Humboldt grew tremendously. Grant funding was awarded, staff was hired, internship programs initiated, internal systems evolved, and there was rapid expansion of community serving programs. Just to name a few highlights, we provided:
over 470 queer inclusion trainings reaching over 6,500 people across our region and beyond,
around 6,000 clinical therapy sessions with no one turned away for lack of funds,
workforce development for dozens of queer local youth,
training, supervision and experiential hours to over a dozen queer local trainee and associate therapists,
around $60,000 in direct mutual aid/micro grants directly to local queer people and causes,
over $350,000 in direct funding to other local social justice organizations,
over 3 million dollars in grant awards moving into the local economy,
co-founding leadership for the annual Redwood Coast Two-Spirit Conference,
support to local governments being the first in the country to recognize International Two-Spirit and Indigiqueer Celebration and Appreciate Day,
drafting of legislation for the State of California and reports on rural queers for the United Nations, and
so much more.
On October 1st, 2026, Lark Doolan completed his term as executive director of Queer Humboldt and moved into a supporting role while Aisha Morton Candrian transitioned into the executive director position.
On October 1st, 2026, Lark Doolan completed his term as executive director of Queer Humboldt and moved into a supporting role while Aisha Morton Candrian transitioned into the executive director position.
Our current Queer Humboldt team offers our gratitude to all the people who worked over the years to make this organization what it is today, and we are excited to continue developing this organization as we work towards brighter futures for our 2S/LGBTQIA+ community.
Our current Queer Humboldt team offers our gratitude to all the people who worked over the years to make this organization what it is today, and we are excited to continue developing this organization as we work towards brighter futures for our 2S/LGBTQIA+ community.
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