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!
CHRISTINE DUNN
Founder and Head Guru, Lesbian Love Guru
As the Lesbian Love Guru, Christine Dunn helps singles find love and helps couples maintain it. “I give my clients a safe, supportive and judgment-free space to discuss their love and relationship issues,” she says. “I work with them to quickly move from despair, frustration, anger and being overwhelmed into feeling empowered with the tools they need to create the relationship they deserve.” Dunn came to this line of work after an unsatisfying decade-long career owning a property management company. Ironically, it was her own relationship troubles that made her realize relationship coaching was the right gig for her. “After struggling for years to make my first relationship work, I decided to learn everything I possibly could about relationships, human psychology—and most importantly, loving yourself. I was finishing up Tony Robbins’ Mastery University when I realized there were a lot of women just like me struggling to make their relationships work.” Her career choice has not only led to a lot of happy women; it’s also made her happier herself. “I never feel bored at work. There’s always something new, and I love that I get to help people all day. Nothing could inspire me more than doing that!”
