In the fall of 2008, I began a position as the Assistant Manager for Technology in the Local Census Office in Portland Oregon. My job was to account for and manage the support of over .5 million dollars of mobile and office computing equipment. Hand-held, GPS devices enabled the ‘enumerators’ in collecting address information for questionnaires to be hand delivered in case of no mail response.

In the summer of 2009 the office held an open house to invite local elected officials, community leaders, and the public-at-large to support participation in the 2010 Census.

One of the 2010 Census slogans ‘It’s in our Hands’ inspired me to facilitate the creation of murals with the handprints of the workers in the office. One of the murals was on display in the meeting auditorium of the Multnomah County Office for the duration of the 2010 Census.

 

In January of 2010, I started a new position as a Partnership Specialist focusing on the LGBT population in Oregon. I was part of a nationwide team of 2 dozen Specialists doing targeted outreach to this population. This was the largest federal government outreach effort directed to LGBT communities, ever.

The most significant difference from the 2000 Census was that same-sex couples that responded as ‘married’ on their form would be counted as they self-identified. The responses were calculated as recorded, regardless whether or not the state recognized it, and not recoded as ‘unmarried’, as was in case in 2000. This data had not been been previously collected.

Outreach came in the form of participation at events from softball tournaments to choir concerts to dance parties as well as connecting with service providers, communities of faith, and many other groups. Interviews for the Portland Mercury and local radio stations provided media exposure through multiple outlets regarding the outreach to LGBT communities. The City of Portland partnered with the 2010 Census to create a video to specifically reach out to LGBT communities. ‘April Snapshot’ was the only one of it’s kind to come from any city government in the country.
The Seattle regional team created ‘All Out for the Count’. It was the first-ever U.S. Census Bureau outreach effort to educate and mobilize the LGBT population to fill out and mail back the Census form. The purpose of the multi-city event was to engage people in their communities–in the bars, clubs, restaurants, coffee houses, bookstores and other businesses where they socialize on Friday and Saturday nights.

I feel so honored and grateful to have been able to be of service to both my community and the Census Bureau. The images below illustrate the shift within the historical context of the relationship between the LGBT communities and federal agencies.

The national team was invited to debrief U.S. Census Bureau headquarters staff to provide feedback and support best practices for 2020. The team is here posing with Dr. Robert Groves, Director of the United States Census Bureau.