Community building social work, intersectional inclusion and media

blane McLane

734-***-**** (Text, Voice)

***********@*****.***

An experienced, detail-oriented process facilitator, catalyst, developer, administrator & organizer with strong holistic, cross-discipline & intersectional capabilities. A well-organized individual who utilizes a full palette of skills — including excellent creative, analytic, database, internet, social media, communications & media experience — to collaborate with individuals, groups, nonprofits, associations, institutions, businesses, governments & communities.

Focused on inclusion, equity, multiculturalism, diversity, education, healthcare, empowerment & social action to create & sustain change that improves the economy & quality of life, produces local jobs & revitalizes all neighborhoods & communities through mutually organized, participatory, grassroots, democratic & cooperative social media & economic development within local, cooperative, green & other local investment & tax zones.

WORK EXPERIENCE

See COMMUNITY SERVICE, ADVOCACY, NETWORKING & VOLUNTEER WORK below

Completed Continuing Education Classes for Michigan Social Work License Dec 2022-Nov 2023

Washtenaw County Health Department “Covid-19 Clinics,” Ypsilanti & Chelsea, MI Feb 2021-Sep 2021

Community Health Worker & Assistant Logistics Coordinator

Laid Off During Covid-19 Pandemic (company went out of business) Mar 2020-Feb 2021

Returned to USA for Employment Opportunities

Comunidades Para Todxs, San Juan, PR 2014-2020

Grassroots Organizer & Facilitator to Improve Quality of Life after Hurricanes Irma & María

Moda de Poda/Tree Care Corp., San Juan, PR 1995-2000

Nonprofit Organizer, President & Federal Environmental Grants Coordinator

Latin Media House LLC (formerly Casiano Communications Inc.), San Juan Oct 1992-Sep 2020

Caribbean Business newspaper, CaribbeanBusiness.PR & PuertoRicoWOW.com

Research & Database Center Director, Copy Editor, Assistant Internet Editor & Staff Supervisor

Spectrum Center “SOGIE Services,” University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, MI Dec 1990-Jul 1992

Counseling & Advocacy for Faculty, Staff, Students & Community

Office Assistant II, Hotline, Calendar, Community Resource Center & Educational Outreach

Attended Graduate School of Social Work, U-M Ann Arbor Sep 1989-Dec 1990

Statistical Research Group, U-M Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI), Ann Arbor Jul 1985-Sep 1989

Nationwide Research on Fatal Accidents Involving Large Trucks

Research Associate II, Data Editor, Staff Supervisor & Researcher

Alternative Lifestyles, Oakland University, Rochester Hills, MI Sep 1982-Jul 1985

Social Support Group for LGBTQIA+ Students & Community Members

Organizer, Group Facilitator, Networking & Outreach

EDUCATION

Master of Social Work (MSW, LLMSW): Community Organization, Interpersonal Practice & School Social Work

Graduate School of Social Work, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor

Graduate-Course Organizer/ Teacher: Multicultural Dialogue Groups Placements: Countywide Organizing Project on Women, Alcohol & Other Drugs; Domestic Violence Project, SafeHouse; and Pioneer & Community high schools

Bachelor of Arts (BA): Double Major in Social Sciences & Psychology; Minor in Gender Studies

Residential College of the Literature, Science & the Arts College, U-M Ann Arbor

Placements/ Course Examples: Feminist Law; Planned Social Change; Small-Group Processes, French & Spanish

Technology: Microsoft Windows operating system, Office 365, Access & Navicat databases, basic HTML tags, Adobe Acrobat, social media, basic MS Teams & Zoom

MEMBERSHIPS & LICENSES

Permanent restricted radiotelephone operator permit, US Federal Communications Commission

Michigan LLMSW License #685*******

Permanent Puerto Rico Social Worker, PR Board of Examiners, License #4549

Member of the Colegio de Profesionales del Trabajo Social de Puerto Rico

Past member of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW)

Past member of Sierra Club Puerto Rico

KEYWORD SUMMARY: COMMUNITY SERVICE, ADVOCACY & VOLUNTEER WORK

Community organizing, advocacy, social change, human rights, discrimination & equity

Volunteering, nonprofits, foundations & neighborhood associations

Architectural access, retrofits, housing coops; infrastructure & renewable energy

Environment, gardens, trees, land trusts, urban forestry & green zones

Self-help, prevention, physical & mental health insurance; social services, detox aftercare & work therapy

Police, courts, prisons, trafficking, hate crimes; antiviolence; domestic violence & trauma survivors

Legislative, participatory democracy & empowerment

Multiculturalism, inclusion, intersectional; women &/or marginalized communities; identity theft

Education, tutoring, academia & public schools

Research & grant writing; knowledge & data sharing; directories; quality-of-life & social-progress indices

Cultural workers, mob actions; communications, media, internet access; sign language & multilingual

Spiritual retreats, rituals & celebrations

Biking, rideshares, public transportation & trains; two-way electric-charging stations

Food, housing & finance coops; small business; economic democracy, sliding scale & bartering

Jobs, HR, management; wages, benefits, equity; corporate social responsibility; undocumented workers

COMMUNITY SERVICE, ADVOCACY, NETWORKING & VOLUNTEER WORK

Comunidades Para Todxs (Comunidades Figueroa, Santurce, PR); community and quality-of-life improvement efforts; neighborhood organizing

Foundation for Puerto Rico, Somos/ Imagine Santurce; Map/ Parking Committees; bike lanes, municipal train & green cars; community gardens; cultural & community organizing

Centro Para Puerto Rico and La Fundación Sila M. Calderón; comunidades, business & real-estate development; women, poor people & families

El Departamento de la Comida; community gardens; Green Zones; recycling, trash dumpsters & composting; Coalición Restauración Ecosistemas Santurcinos; environmental work & street clean-ups; nature preserves; Pet/ Dog Zones; animal rescue, sterilization & vaccines

Paz Para Todxs; Casa Protegida Julia de Burgos/ Proyecto Matria women’s shelter; domestic violence, hate crimes & bullying

Rejuvenation Station; community services & kiosk center

Techos, Refugios y Hogares Para Todxs; abandoned properties; architects, Realtors & construction contractors; Reality Realty; Fondita de Jesús homeless people’s shelter

Salud Para Todxs; Iniciativa Comunitaria de Investigación Inc. (ICI); substance users, harm reduction & clean needles; legalization, decriminalization; drug treatment & community-work programs; Centros de Diagnostico y Tratamiento (CDTs) & public-health work; HIV/ AIDS, STDs, hepatitis; alcohol, tobacco & other drogas; prevention & vaccines; sex workers

Infrastructura/ Aceras Para Todxs; sidewalks, drinking water, storm sewers; LED lighting, renewable-energy retrofits, solar panels & turbines; electric grid; underground cabling

Arte Para Todxs; artist co-ops, cultural workers; transform urban blight & graffiti

Entretenimiento Para Todxs; inclusive community entertainment centers & nightlife; Zonas Libres: Adult Entertainment & Recreational Drug Zones; sex work & strip clubs; drug dispensaries, bars & coffeehouses

Trabajos & Negocios Para Todxs; sustainable community, volunteer, municipal & paid jobs; inclusive merchants; small & midsize enterprises (SMEs); women, LGBTQIA+, Dominicans & other minority-owned business networks; B Corporations & corporate social responsibility

Inversiones Para Todxs Investors Network; Acts 20/22 (60, tax-free) investors; community-controlled investments & trust funds

Internet/ Smartphones Para Todxs; broadband access, wifi hot zones, directories & maps; Santurce Online; Óptico Fiber by Critical Hub Networks

Gobierno por Todxs; grassroots political representation; block, barrio & municipal district councils

Moda de Poda tree-pruning program to involve community & maintain trees on public land. Won prize for Caribbean region; worked with International Arborists Association

Justice/ Family departments consultation for transgender youth kicked out of school & arrested for sex work (used to pay for her hormone treatment & gender-affirming surgery)

Networked with COPS (Community-Oriented Policing Services), Comunidades al Día & Special Communities programs; participated in various neighborhood-organizing efforts to address street crime, vehicle robberies, homelessness, sex work, hate crimes, etc.

Cared for kittens, puppies through animal-rescue & -adoption program Amigos de los Animales

Organized LGBTQIA+ social-workers network in Colegio de Profesionales del Trabajo Social de PR (CPTSPR)

Advocated for community job-training programs (tree pruning, recycling & neighborhood clean-ups) to empower & put people to work who use drugs &/or are homeless; encouraged programming for drug treatment & prevention with Administración de Servicios de Salud Mental y Contra la Adicción (Assmca) and Iniciativa Comunitaria

Provided support & advocacy for transgender woman who attempted suicide & was admitted to a psychiatric hospital, but left treatment when told she had to wear “men’s” clothing. Attended workshop on drug-overdose intervention

Advocate for program to link substance users with job training & health improvement, as well as support from community foundations (Fondos Unidos)

Evaluated PR Education Department’s sex “abstinence” program relevant to gender, race/ ethnicity, socioeconomic class & sexual orientation; inclusion advocate on issues related to rape, sexual abuse & incest; use of contraceptives & condoms to prevent pregnancy & transmission of STDs; & effects of abstinence programs on LGBTQIA+ people, whose marriages weren’t legally recognized

Advocated for Social Support Groups & Educational Speakers Forum for out LGBTQIA+ students, faculty & staff at Universidad de Puerto Rico (UPR); attended International Community Psychology Conference (UPR-Río Piedras) and workshops for LGBTQIA+ people (UPR-Mayagüez) & employee health benefits; supported efforts to teach LGBTQIA+ issues at UPR Law School

Advocate for inclusion of LGBTQIA+ survivors in PR Domestic Violence Act 54, as well as creation of programs to assist hate-crime victims & survivors through local police, justice & health-insurance programs (Triple-S Inc.). Encouraged referrals to service providers who are women, openly LGBTQIA+ &/or from other marginalized communities with experience with social & institutional discrimination, domestic violence as well as the Justice Department’s Victims of Crime & local health-insurance programs

Advocate for inclusion of data on healthcare providers’ backgrounds, specializations & population experiences via online health-insurance directories so survivors of violence, including LGBTQIA+, Dominican, Women &/or People Living with HIV/ AIDS (PLWA) can locate culturally & medically supportive services; reached out to federal AIDS program coordinator to encourage culturally relevant healthcare services, especially for Women, Minorities of Color, LGBTQIA+ folks &/or PLWA

Attended classes through the Traumatology Institute for first responders & folxs collaborating with survivors of trauma & other forms of violence; attended workshops on domestic violence at IGEA (Instituto del Género y la Educación de Avanzada/ Proyecto Matria) and human trafficking, institutional discrimination & bullying

Networked with various communities of faith, including Cristo Sanador, an “open door” LGBTQIA+ church, & other groups (Fundación Derechos Humanos; PR Justice Department; Comité Dominicano de los Derechos Humanos; Comisión de Derechos Civiles; Transexuales y Transgeneros en Marcha; La Alianza Ciudadana en Pro de la Salud Lesbiana, Gay, Bisexual, Transgénero, Transexual, Queer y sus Aliados [ACPS-LGBTQA]; Human Rights Watch; & Amnistía Internacional) to respond to police violence against LGBTQIA+ folxs, the Dominican community, homeless people, drug addicts & youth

Networked with Saliendo del Closet community-radio program, Conexión G newspaper & workshops at Teatro Coribantes “Festival del Tercer Amor” to encourage inclusion, equity, community-building, multiculturalism & social change within the LGBTQIA+ communities

Attended various “congresses” & workshops to network & advocate with folks working to counter all discrimination: racism, sexism, heterosexism, cissexism, binarism, ageism, classism … & ableism within LGBTQIA+ and Other intersecting communities

Participant with Iniciativa Comunitaria, Aché (H)/ Coaí (gay & bi men) & Tanamá (transpeople) social support groups for HIV/ AIDS prevention & treatment ; encouraged workshops on heterosexism, cissexism, sexism, racism, classism, ageism & … ableism

Encouraged creation of LGBTQIA+ support group for Quisqueyanxs/ Dominicanxs in Puerto Rico through Partido de la Liberación Dominicana as well as the San Juan mayor’s office

Advocate for creation of social groups for rural &/or senior LGBTQIA+ folxs; searched for support services through AARP, homecare services & gerontology departments so individuals could receive care assistance & to promote diversity, inclusion & consciousness of all LGBTQIA+, senior, &/or Other people living in rural areas

Encouraged Asociación Médica de Puerto Rico (AMPR) to openly support its LGBTQIA+ members & patients

Advocate for prevention of hate crimes (Pink/ Grey Panthers); barrier-free access & other programs for social inclusion & justice for walkers, people of all abilities, homeless people, drug addicts, sex workers, senior residents, children, families & street workers (kiosk & newspaper stands); & sliding-scale fees for all activities & public programs; encouraged resident participation in Cantera Peninsula community & barrier-free, human-scale designs for San Juan’s sidewalks, bike lanes & roadways

Facilitator & co-coordinator of University of Michigan School of Social Work Dialogue Groups (courses on diversity communities); co-organizer of Student Orientation Program on Multiculturalism & Diversity for incoming U-M Social Work Students

Social Work Intern with Coordinating Project on Women, Alcohol & Other Drugs (services in Washtenaw County [MI] for women who are substance users &/or survivors of assault, abuse &/or other forms of violence); and Ann Arbor Public Schools’ Pioneer and Community high schools (addiction/ prevention programs for alcohol, tobacco & other drugs)

Attended courses in American Sign Language ; participant in Take Back the Night Men’s Rally (rape prevention & antiviolence group) & Ann Arbor’s Antiviolence & Discrimination Task Force (a coalition of LGBTQIA+, Faerie, African-American, women & survivors of domestic violence); co-organizer of support group for male survivors of violence (sexual assault, harassment & abuse); Diversity educator for U-M Lesbian/ Gay Male Programs Office (LGMPO, now Spectrum Center) & Minority Affairs Office (now Multi-Ethnic Student Affairs [MESA])

Networked with various HIV/ AIDS organizations, including ACT UP A2 (AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power Ann Arbor)

Organizer, engineer & host of Closets R 4 Clothes Community-Affairs Radio Program for LGBTQIA+ & Other Sexual Minorities on WCBN-FM 88.3 Ann Arbor; helped establish & engineered Stares & Stairs Community-Affairs Radio Program for People of All Abilities on WCBN-FM; & LGBTQIA+ Hotline worker for LGMPO

Organizer & participant with Men Against Rape Culture (MARC); helped establish First Annual Men’s Rally during Women’s Take Back the Night March and educational workshops on men’s issues at U-M; received training for Wellness Network HIV Hotline; regularly attended City of Ann Arbor’s Human Rights Commission meetings

Counselor, crisis-hotline worker, shift coordinator & member of independent-living program, community outreach, social services & personnel collectives at Ozone House youth shelter; hosted Male-Adjustments Community-Affairs Radio Program for men against sexism on WCBN-FM

Co-created Lavender House residence cooperative & neighborhood garden

Candidate for Rochester Hills (MI) City Council; taught Peace & Conflict Resolution skills at church summer youth peace camp; lobbied & recruited for Michigan Organization for Human Rights (MOHR), a statewide LGBTQIA+ civil rights organization

Organized & facilitated Alternative Lifestyles personal & social support group for college students & community members working on LGBTQIA+ identity issues at Oakland University (Rochester Hills, MI); networked with HAVEN (Help Against Violent Encounters) domestic-violence shelter, North Oakland County (MI) Chapter of National Organization for Women, Senior Residents’ organizations & other groups; participant in university Coffee House poetry series

Candidate for Rochester (MI) Community Schools Board of Education; co-organized cooperatively run newspaper Perceiver at Auburn Hills (MI) Campus of Oakland Community College; taught radio at Auburn Hills High School on WAHS-FM 89.5

Contact this candidate