Community Profiles

Carlos Valenzuela

Carlos Valenzuela met his first strictly platonic “girlfriend,” Gustavo, at age seven, but it took them another seven years before admitting they found guys in school very attractive. Sixty years later, they are still best friends.

Carlos grew up in Agua Prieta, Sonora Mexico. His career started as an international manager with Levi Strauss in San Francisco in 1971. “A great time to be in San Francisco: flower power, hippies, disco, and gay bars!” he recalls.
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Josefina Ahumada

For most of her life, Josefina Ahumada knew she was being called to service. Last year, upon retirement from fulltime work at Arizona State University (ASU) Social Work Program, she answered the call to extend beyond social service to offering spiritual guidance when she became a lay pastor for the Presbyterian church on the Tohono O’Odham nation in Sells…
» Read full profile by Bruce Hyland

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Claire Ellington

Claire Ellington

Claire Ellington knew from an early age that the conventional middle-class world didn’t have everything quite right. Growing up a tomboy “from the get go” in 1950s-60s Charlotte, NC, “I recognized right away the world had a problem, but I didn’t have a problem.” Claire’s rebellion against conventional life put her on a fiercely independent path of discovery to root out and dismantle oppression in her own life and help others do the same…
»Read full profile by Ed Kimble

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Jo Schneider: Owner, La Cocina

by Joyce Bolinger

A longtime member and supporter of the LGBTQI+ community, Jo Schneider owns Tucson’s downtown La Cocina, known for its outdoor patio, eclectic cuisine, and live music. When Tucson Mayor Regina Romero closed restaurants March 17 to contain the spread of COVID-19, Jo began serving free food to out-of-work dishwashers, servers, entertainers, and others — “we don’t turn anyone away,” she says.

Since March 22, Jo has served about 80 free meals 3 times a week. She has donated free meals to TIHAN as well. Part of a non-profit Feeding Those who Feed Us, Jo is also a member of Too Soon Arizona, a group of small businesses who plan to delay re-opening for safety concerns.

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