Every July, the LGBTQ Affinity Group changes leadership. Typically co-chairs serve for two years, starting in alternating years. We are sad to say farewell to Dafna Paltin - thank you for your service! Daniel Davidson will stay on as co-chair for another year, with the additional support of Danielle Chiaramonte and Cayetana Navarro:
Danielle Chiaramonte: I am thrilled to join Cayetana and Daniel as a co-chair of the affinity group! I am a newbie to Yale and started as a postdoc in the Division of Prevention and Community Research in July 2020. When I moved here, my dad had recently passed away, I knew nobody, Yale people were VERY intimidating, and we were in the middle of a global pandemic! I was desperately searching for a space in which to feel safe, validated, and to just relax and be myself. The affinity group welcomed me and filled the void with lovely (and only sometimes awkward) social events, a sense of community, and a forum to practice advocacy and activism. I’m honored to be working with the affinity group in this new capacity. Looking forward, I hope to continuing to provide space for our community to feel safe, laugh, learn, protest, and simply have fun together. I’m especially looking forward to seeing how tall everyone is in real life.
Cayetana Navarro: As I am celebrating my 10th year at Yale this July 5th, it seems fitting that I now give back to a community that has made so much possible for me. I very much look forward to taking on this role with Dani and appreciate Daniel’s willingness to stick around an extra year to provide additional support and expertise.
Being invested in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in all facets of my life, I am committed to building upon the work that Dafna and Daniel began, working collaboratively with the other affinity groups and other DEI mission-oriented organizations both within Yale and in the greater New Haven community.
Having gotten my feet wet as a co-chair for the Trans Specific Issues Committee and co-leading the effort to create a Yale LGBTQI Healthcare Program, I hope to contribute to a lasting legacy for LGBTQI health. We are at an historical inflection point, ripe with promise and opportunity. I look forward to taking advantage of it and doing great work with all of you!