Women at the Helm 2014
Director, Forty to None Project at the True Colors Fund
There is a crisis of LGBT youth homelessness in this country and Jama Shelton, LMSW, PhD, has been fighting to end it for more than a decade. A former homeless youth herself, Shelton’s life goal was forged while working with queer kids as a community-based artist in Texas. “Young people would disclose things that had happened to them in their lives that I did not have the skill set to address. It felt irresponsible to continue doing that work without learning more about how to handle such disclosures, so I decided to pursue an MSW,” she says. “After years of providing direct services to LGBT youth experiencing homelessness, I knew I wanted to do more.” She went back to school to work on her PhD, which she completed. Currently, she is the director of the Forty to None Project at the True Colors Fund, an LGBT organization co-founded by Cyndi Lauper. She’s also a professor at Hunter College and NYU School of Social Work. “I remember the first young woman of transgender experience who I helped get her own apartment 10 years ago,” she says. “I think about how hard she worked and how many barriers she broke through to get there. Her story, and countless others like hers, keep me going.”
Meet the next wave of out leaders!
SELIMA AND TAMI LUST
Co-Founders, CEO and President, Iwilla Remedy
Tami and Selima Lust started their plant-based body care line because, like so many of us, they were tired of relying on traditional medicine. “We started listening to our bodies’ signs that our diet and lack of exercise were causing us harm. …Cancer scares and, unfortunately, losses within our families [also] had a huge impact on us deciding to live better and healthier lives,” the couple says. “And, sadly, hearing the doctor say that surgery was the only solution to Tami’s uterine fibroids was the last confirmation we needed to change our lives.” Their business, Iwilla Remedy, offers a variety of body oils, lip balms, skin cream, insect repellent, and a private consultation service. Local organizations were vital to the duo’s success: In 2013, they won top prize in the Brooklyn Public Library’s PowerUP! Business Plan Competition, which helped them secure funding, while the Business Outreach Center in Brooklyn offered a key mentor. “Most importantly, our mentor gave us the space to be authentic and, with each strategic decision, she held us accountable to what we said we wanted to build. That helped us make decisions that were best for our lifestyle and business.”
