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At Carbon Health, we believe that different insights and backgrounds are a strength, and a key part of what allows us to provide high-quality care to every community we work with. Celebrating the diverse viewpoints and life experiences of our team members is central to who we are as a company. So with June being Pride Month, we asked our team to share their favorite parts about pride.
Here’s what they’re saying:
Tim (he/him), Central Support Specialist
How expansive my chosen family has become, and the support given by each individual within that family.
Rhianna (she/they), FCR- Urgent Care Support
I’m proud to be a part of the community because everyone in it is strong, independent, and beautiful in their own ways. We all share the same struggle, some of us to a larger degree than others. But we're always supporting one another in that struggle of coming out and being our most authentic selves, even though it can be scary. The community is such a diverse and beautiful place that you can never feel like you’re left out — because everyone is different. The LGBTQ+ community hasn't always been as widely accepted, and in some places it still is looked down upon harshly, but I know that the people in it are just proud to be who they are whether people like it or not. It’s such a beautiful community, and I am so proud to be a part of it.
Patrick (he/him), Software Engineer II
I’ve gotten to grow up outside the paradigm of “fitting in,” and it's made me understand the gift of individuality.
Charles (he/him), Managing Editor
I’m proud of our resilience. I’m proud that, for me and many others, being gay started a process of recognizing that a lot of what “society” and our country’s predominant culture says about me is wrong — and that has led me to be a person who questions institutional narratives. If I hadn’t been gay, that might not have happened as fully as it has. And I’m just proud of our strength, beautiful diversity, frequent weirdness, and amazing creativity!
Caitlin (she/her), Sr. Manager, Content & Social
I love knowing our community encourages and supports each other to live our own unique truths. And we look out for each other. There’s a sense of family when you meet other people in the queer community even if it’s the first time you are meeting.
Larry (he/him), Provider Network Director
It allows me to stand up for human rights.
Michelle (she/her), Medical Billing Specialist
Relax! Things are never as bad as they seem, no matter how it feels in the moment.
Mark (he/him), Clinician Recruiter
It absolutely gets way better than you could ever imagine!
Reshna (she/they), PA
Trust yourself and your feelings. Take your time to feel safe before coming out. There is absolutely no rush.
Patty (she/her), XRT
To not fight being your truest self. I spent many years trying to hide who I truly was, even from myself. The moment I decided to accept myself, my whole world turned around and for the better.
Charles (he/him), Managing Editor
I would tell him that being queer is going to be such a positive thing in his life! It's going to bring wonderful relationships and experiences into his story — I'd tell him that although he may be feeling shame now, he will very soon come to feel incredibly proud of and grateful for his queerness — and that this feeling will grow and grow.
Carl (he/him), Customer Success Manager
I wish I could tell myself that it is OK to love a man other than your father. I would say, “Carl, your feelings are real. They are not wrong. You deserve to be happy, not silent.”
Carl (he/him), Customer Success Manager
Marsha P. Johnson is an LGBTQ+ figure that comes to mind! As we reflect on Pride in the month of June, we remember the many activists who worked toward the current rights of the LGBTQ+ community. The Stonewall Uprising was one of those events that sparked the gay rights movement within the United States, and Johnson was one of the prominent people within that uprising.
Larry (he/him), Provider Network Director
Melissa Etheridge. She’s an amazing musician and helped push LGBTQ+ acceptance in the ‘90s when she was at her height of popularity.
Michelle (she/her), Medical Billing Specialist
JoJo Siwa! She’s so young and proud. I remember being that age and thinking there was no way anyone was going to understand me.
Reshna (she/they), PA
Lena Waithe, because Lena creates content for and about queer women of color that makes me feel seen, heard, and hopeful.
Charles (he/him), Managing Editor
I am very inspired by the writer and activist James Baldwin — truly one of the greatest American minds of the 20th century. His essays beautifully and thought-provokingly explore complex ideas of race, sex, and class. When I was a teenager, his novels were my first real and affecting exposure to same-sex love in fiction. He's such a beautiful writer. Fearless. In his later life, he became very involved and instrumental in the civil rights movement and the gay liberation movement. A documentary about his life, with a focus on his civil rights activism, "I Am Not Your Negro," is available on Netflix and is a must-see if you haven't already seen it!
Patty (she/her), XRT
One of my favorite LGBTQ+ historical figures is Stormé DeLarverie. She was the only drag king who was part of the Jewel Box Revue cast, which was at the time the only racially integrated drag show. She is also rumored to have thrown the first punch that ultimately led to the Stonewall Riots.
Caitlin (she/her), Sr. Manager, Content & Social
I really love John Cameron Mitchell as a queer icon. His movies are woven into the fabric of our culture, and I feel like he reflects truths about queerness. His movies changed my life. But my greatest love, who might be an unexpected queer icon, is Dolly Parton. For me, she represents someone who lives exactly like she wants to live — boldly going against the grain of the country music industry and still incredibly successful. She is unapologetic about herself and accepts everyone with an open heart. And obviously she’s super fabulous. She represents so many queer values for me.
Mark (he/him), Clinician Recruiter
Eleanor Roosevelt — she is considered by many to be the First Lady of Gay Rights. This quote by her is one of my all time favorites: “Remember always that you not only have the right to be an individual, you have an obligation to be one.”
Thank you to all of our Carbonauts for taking the time to share some of their stories with us. We are so grateful for your dedication to serving our communities and are honored that you are a part of the Carbon Health family.
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