#88: Mission Matched Advocacy - Ensuring a Seat and Voice at the Table With Tammi Wallace
Rising in your community as a leader and a person of impact takes connecting to the right group and support to insure your most efficient use of time and effort. Listen in to hear the importance of gaining a seat at the table to be heard and valued.
Tammi (she|her) is a Co-Founder, President & CEO of the Greater Houston LGBTQ+ Chamber of Commerce. Her passion for economic inclusion focused on the LGBTQ+ community has been a driving force in the Chamber's growth since the organization's launch in 2016. Tammi has been a leader in the LGBTQ+ community for over two decades. She is an advocate at the local, state, and national levels, where she has been dedicated to bringing visibility to the LGBTQ+ business community.
Find Tammi on:
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tammiwallace/
Houston LGBT Chamber: www.houstonlgbtqchamber.com
Chamber LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/greaterhoustonlgbtchamber/
Chamber Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/houstonlgbtchamber/
Chamber Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HoustonLGBTChamber
Chamber Twitter: https://twitter.com/HoustonLGBTCoC
Transcription:
(00:02):
Hello and welcome. I'm Tina Marie, your host, and today we're going to unpack another amazing conversation that's meant to light us up, give us curiosity, have us learn more about this world we live in possibilities for ourselves and others. And, you know, today we're gonna dive into understanding, you know, your personal mission and advocacy so that you can find that place that calls to your heart. 'cause Contribution is the biggest human need. And oftentimes, I find whenever I'm sitting with people, and we're gonna talk about this with our guests today, is that whenever they're feeling lost, stuck, not enough, is that they've left to the side of their own, becoming the ability to help others and to guide others, and to become that contribution of their life into another container of another human and possibly an entire community. And so, I wanna tell you about our wonderful guest to Tammy.
(00:56):
She has just followed her heart and her becoming, and we're going to share her story and her journey today. And I know that you're gonna walk away with some valuable takeaways. So again, thank you here. So, Ms. Tammy Wallace, she's the co-founder and president, and CEO of the Greater Houston LGBTQ plus Chamber of Commerce. Her passion for economic inclusion focused on the Plus Q community has become a driving force of her power and influence here in Houston. And we're gonna talk about that and why it's important to all of us to follow her lead, follow her curiosity, follow her passion. And she is not only a leader within the LGBTQ plus community, but more than that, she holds a container of our beloved city. And she's gone to the national level too, in recognition of what it means to create safe spaces, to feel included, to allow our voice and our wants, and our desires and our questions to come to the table. So it doesn't matter your background, it doesn't matter, you know, your race or what part of humanity you are finding yourself in. It's all beautiful. What is here today is how can you create more impact and be of favor and help to humanity in its entire essence. So tmi, thank you so much for being our guest today.
(02:23):
Oh, Tina, what a beautiful introduction. That that's gotta be the best I've ever had <laugh>. And thank you. I love your, I love your passion. And just say to, for me to say it's an honor to be on the show. Today is an understatement. I appreciate the invitation.
(02:38):
Thank you. I appreciate this time together. We exist, the podcast exists Light Your Life, which is transforming and delight your leadership. It's finding a different identity just because there's, there's different conversation in our world where leadership really is at the essence of who we are as far as growth. You know, every single one of us no matter our background, you know, our education, our career, what we're doing as a passion, there's this seed inside of everyone that we want to grow. We wanna become more. And I think that that's because we've got this shadow darkness behind of us, behind us going, yeah, we're not enough. Right? And whenever we're not enough, it drives this, who are we becoming? And I find that a, a wonderful sense of conflict that I, I embrace as opposed to saying, I'm not enough and, you know, can people now value me? Instead, I go, if I'm not enough, where am I being asked to show up? So what I love about yourself is that you have found where you show up, and I've been able to witness you <laugh> and watch you show up. And it's just so magnetic and energetic. And I thank you from my heart and soul for what you've built, especially here in Houston.
(03:47):
Thank you. I appreciate that.
(03:49):
So, I wanna know about Tammy prior to launching the Chamber. I mean, there was a Yeah. Lot of you back then, you know. Yeah. So what have you been, take us into a bit of your journey, the highlight reel, so to speak.
(04:02):
Well, so I've been in you know, we go back just a little, little ways. I, I've been in Houston actually since I was 17. People are always astounded when I tell them this little nugget. But what brought me to Houston is I came here to go to Bible school. I, I thought I was going to be a missionary's wife and go to another country and do this. And you know, with the universe had other, definitely had other plans for me. Definitely. So, but you know, it's, it's, it's one of those things that that journey here for, for that particular, what I thought was my life path is what brought me to where I am today. 'cause I wouldn't be in Houston. And interestingly enough, there was a Bible school with a particular religious group I was involved with.
(04:46):
There was a Bible school. I grew up just outside of Memphis, across the state line in Mississippi. There was a Bible school in Jackson, Mississippi. So, you know, you might think, well, that would be the natural, you know, not, not too far from home. But but I had a friend who had come to Houston, to the Bible School here the summer before came to visit with her parents. And I said, oh, well, I'm going to Houston. You know, and I, I think back to that journey down 59 mm-Hmm. <Affirmative>. And how could I have even understood how life-changing that would've been for me, a a across those miles to make my way to Houston, first to visit her, and then to come here to go to Bible school. So, wow. Yeah. And you know so, and there were for me I, I had no family here.
(05:30):
Really no security blanket, but there was a tug that was keeping me in Houston. I didn't really understand it at 17, 18 years old, but I knew that Houston was, was where I needed to be. And and so I was able to start, you know, building building my career in a lot of ways. And finally figured out I actually funded my my undergrad education myself and figured out, oh, I could go to school part-time. All of these things that I didn't even realize would be actually within reach for me at 17, 18 years old. But through that process, I was working for some great companies, and my career was definitely growing. Mm-Hmm. <Affirmative>. And, you know, that's, that's where I bring so much of my business background from working. You know, some of our particularly our native Houstonians will remember fingers furniture.
(06:23):
Yes. I used to, yeah, I used to work for fingers. That's, that's kind of where I cut my teeth in the credit department. They loved to hire the Bible School students. We were really dependable. And, you know, we'd worked at 12 to nine shift. Yeah. So that was great. But, you know, I mean, starting my career in getting, getting involved in, you know, I, I, I did things like work for the credit bureau, but then I got into financial services, and that's really where Mellon Bank bank of America did a, did a lot of work there. So all that work from corporate America informs everything that I do right today with the Chamber as we work with our, what we call our impact partners, which are our large companies, but also small business. So but, you know I, I mentioned I went to school undergrad, you know, undergrad, and I was doing that part-time at night, working during the day.
(07:14):
So my career is really on a, on a real growth trajectory, and I'm trying to balance school with all of this. But finally, you know, I, I'm able to finish up and then I'm like, well, I've got all this time on my hands, what am I gonna do with it? That's when I really got involved with the LGBTQ plus community. Mm-Hmm. <Affirmative>, I volunteered on some campaigns anise Parker, our former mayor. I was volunteer on one of her campaigns and got to know people in the community. But also that opened up for me to see, you know, started to understand the disparities for our community. Mm-Hmm. <Affirmative>, the discrimination that we face, understanding that more than just from a personal level, but from a community level. And that drew me in to, you know, I've been active in the LGBTQ plus community for well over two decades.
(08:02):
And founded founded an organization called the Houston Equal Rights Alliance. We did a lot of work on voter identification, identifying voters that would vote against, at the time, a state constitutional amendment to ban gay and lesbian marriage. And so you know, then that's where I started to understand the, the connection with the political aspect of this Mm-Hmm. <Affirmative> that got, that got me connected to our, our former state representative Ellen Cohen. I, I was her chief of staff in the state legislature. So, you know, so you, you can see I'm building on all these different aspects right. In different ways that I've, I've been involved. But I worked for Ellen for a number of years. She was a terrific, terrific boss. She decided to run for city council, and I said, you know, I love you, but I really only care about trash and recycling when it's my own.
(08:57):
Don't quite wanna, you know, deal with that every day. But I appreciated that she did. And she, yeah. You know, she was my actual city council member, so she, she kind of gave me her blessing. And I went to work for kepp Public Charter Schools at the time, serving as their chief growth officer, helping to figure out where we put schools, how we engage community, oversaw marketing, fundraising, a lot of different aspects. So that gave me that whole lens into particularly minority communities and and kids that don't have access to good education. You know, again, that all threads back to this economic piece, right? Understanding if we can't get kids a good education if we don't have an educated workforce. So that's what all swirls around my head. But unfortunately with kipp, I got there was a big, in 2011, the state legislature cut about $5.4 billion out of education.
(09:51):
So so I got, you know, caught up in a layoff along with a host of others 'cause Skip just had to cut. And I said, you know, at that point, I'm gonna go out on my own. I did, I started my own consulting firm working on governmental relations, community engagement, project management. This is actually what led me to co-founding the Chamber. Mm-Hmm. <Affirmative>, because I read, I launched that in 2012 around 2015, I read an article about an L-G-B-T-B-E certification for L-G-B-T-Q on businesses. Yeah. And I'm like, wait a minute. That's me. I could get certified. That led me to the national LGBT Chamber of Commerce, which is the certifying body for this particular certification. And the way they work with what we call affiliate, what they call affiliate chambers, is if you're a member of your local regional chamber, that certification fees way. So what did I do? I went to look, and I'm like, well, wait, we don't have a chamber in Houston. Right? Yeah. So yeah. And
(10:50):
This was 2012.
(10:51):
So that's this, this was actually 2015. Okay. And we launched the chamber in, in 2016. And I'll tie all that in to say, you know what, what has happened for me in 2016, I knew we had a gap. We had to have, our businesses had to have representation. We needed a seat at the table. Right. So all of this understanding business aspect, the political aspect, all the work that I'd done leading up to this, what I didn't expect to find was my passion around addressing economic inclusion for our community. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative>. And that's exactly where I'm at today. And at the intersection of business in the LGBTQ plus community, that's exactly what the chamber's doing. And it definitely is what gets me up every day to do this work.
(11:32):
That's amazing. I, oh, I love hearing your journey. This is just like, so fascinating. And what I love is that it's evidence that when you follow the threads of what I, what I hear is that you were following where your energy and your curiosity even, you know, coming from Memphis and you know, the potential of going to a, a Bible school in Jackson, Mississippi, but by the way, I am from Mississippi. And then, you know, landing in Houston, not having any safety nets or, you know, right. Friends here, you just followed that, that, that the threat, I think I'm supposed to be here, which it sounds like it was highly instinctual.
(12:08):
Yes, yes. Very much so. And I didn't even understand that. Sometimes I think about, like, it was amazing. I was 17 or 18 with no safety net that, I mean, the natural thing would've been to bolt, you know, and just go back home where that safety was. And I did do that for, for a week after I left the Bible school. But you know, within a week, I'm like, what am I doing here? I mean, I'm like literally sitting at my mom and stepdad's house, and this is going through my mind. What, what am I doing here? And my boss had fingers, she was like, why are you leaving? You're so great. You need to stay, you know? Ah,
(12:42):
Yeah. That's awesome. Question I have is that, that early version of yourself, I mean I'm gonna be 55 this year. That's
(12:50):
Fine.
(12:51):
And just turned, yeah. Happy birthday, <laugh> there. You know, in my memory, <laugh>, it wasn't safe to let people know of preferences. It wasn't safe at all. And it wasn't only that it wasn't safe, it was almost like if I were to journey into the truth of who I am authentically and what I desire and what I want, that not only would it not be safe physically, but it's not safe. Almost like I'd be absolutely alone. Mm-Hmm. <Affirmative>. And, and that is one of the bigger fears. It's not a physical safety. I mean, it's almost like physical harm we can heal from. Right. Emotional, spiritual harm is, it stays with you. Right? Yes. And so I'm curious about the younger version of yourself. Did you let people know of your LGBT you know, background whenever you went to fingers? I can understand working for the, the people you work for in politics, they, they came from our community, right? Right. They were of our community, but at fingers, and then dealing with customers, and then even going into kipp, I was just curious about that earlier version of yourself, because it does peer into what our current community members are experiencing or could be experiencing. And I'd like to have that conversation. So if you could take us back to where you were there.
(14:13):
Yeah. So in terms of, you know, my sexual orientation, so I, I identify as a lesbian. And, but I didn't really understand that. I didn't come out until I was 25 mm-Hmm. <Affirmative>. And it was a very painful process coming out. I grew up again in this deeply religious family. So everything that I heard, I mean, when I say a fundamentalist religion, it's an understatement. So you know, I was regularly hearing from the pulpit that these people, you know, go down the list are going to hell. And then, you know, homosexuals. Mm-Hmm. <Affirmative>. So so I didn't even begin. I, I didn't have anyone to talk to. I, I knew that I was, was attracted to women. Mm-Hmm. I found myself friending women regularly. And, but, and I knew there was something different, but I just, I absolutely could not understand that.
(15:04):
So, so my teenage years were I, I tried to hide so much if anybody would even make a reference or like, you're not dating Right? Or, you know, I never see you with a boy. All those things I would just recoil. Right? Yeah. And so of course that just pushed me, you know, further further into the closet and then layer on this whole level of, of religion. And this is, you know, this in this particular case, is what fundamentalist religion did, right? Mm-Hmm. <Affirmative>. And it, and in, in some ways, Tina, I will tell you, it robbed me of my, my childhood, my teenage years. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative>. And this is what, this is what being closeted does. It, it steals those, you know, those authentic moments, people can't be themselves. Right. And it's very painful. Yeah.
(15:49):
Yeah. And, and getting to know ourselves, right? Yes. getting to know who we truly are, and then being loved and seen and valued at that authentic level and not shamed or judged or cast away. Yes.
(16:01):
And, and to know that you know, that there's a whole world beyond the closet. Mm-Hmm. <Affirmative> that's what started opening, opening up for me. When I first started coming out. I still wasn't overly out. So I certainly wasn't, you know, and didn't really even understand when I was at fingers and when I was at fingers, I was still trying to figure out a way to step away from the religion. So that was a whole process for me, right? Mm-Hmm. <Affirmative> from a mental, emotional spiritual perspective just how I completely separate from the religion. But then, you know, I mean, fast forward yes. You know, I worked for Ellen. She was one of the first elected officials to come out and say, you know, at the state level that she supported L-G-B-T-Q marriage. So, you know, clearly she knew, but there was still, you know, it, it, there, there's still this armor that we as LGBTQ plus people put on, you know, I often say like, every day, like, I got up this morning, I figured out, what am I gonna wear?
(17:00):
This sweater's gonna look great on air, you know? Yeah. <Laugh>. But, you know, for LGBTQ plus people, there's a whole second layer because we have to go out into a world that we don't know if it's gonna recognize us, accept us. We have to vet every word, right? Yeah. So I spent a lot of time putting on that armor. And when I was in corporate America, particularly Bank of America, I remember when we did the merger with I worked for Nations Bank. We actually acquired Bank of America, bank of America, west Coast Bank. They were, you know, they were pretty progressive on lgbtq plus issues at the time. Nations Bank, not so much. And so, even with seeing that progress, I was very, very concerned. But, you know, then working for Ellen, obviously I can, you know, be, be who I am.
(17:46):
You know, my partner at the time was very involved in things we were doing. But it is so interesting you bring up Kip. So fast forward to Kip. Mm-Hmm. <Affirmative>. It's not that I was quote, closeted a lot of people knew, but I still didn't you know, there wasn't this is why things you know inclusion in the workplace matter so much. I didn't see, you know, supportive policies. I didn't see, you know, somebody, you know, these days you'll see flags where I'm an ally, I'm a strong ally, all these, you know, types of indicators that, you know, it's a safe space. Right? I didn't, I didn't get that at kipp. And the interesting story there is, as part of the executive leadership team, one thing we would do once a month as one of the executive leaders would be chosen to basically share their life story through a PowerPoint, you know, and pull in interesting pictures. Yeah. And all of it, I mean, really to help the team connect with one another. I avoided that, like the plague.
(18:46):
Oh, I could have just feel the anxiety in your system,
(18:50):
The idea, and it would come up. And, you know, the person that led that, she's like, Tammy, are you ready to go next week? Oh, oh, I can't next. You know, or this month can, can we do it next month? The, that's the kind of stress that we deal with. And you think, well, that's just a simple question. Will you, you know, will you present to your, to, to, to your colleagues? But it wasn't that easy. Mm-Hmm. <Affirmative> it absolutely wasn't that easy. So so I, you know, I, I'm, you know, I understand we even have businesses that won't join the chamber. 'cause They're not, they're not out either personally or professionally. And so it, it's a journey. It's a
(19:25):
Journey. It is a journey. And, you know, there's, there's a, it's a two-sided coin. One, I'm glad we're living during this time, that it is a conversation. I'm glad we could even have this conversation and that this go out into the world through social media, you know, on the web, it's going to go into the ears and hearts and souls of people. Right. I love that we can have this conversation and not fear, you know, people coming to our door or labeling us Yeah. Or, you know, discounting us, you know, in any way. And then the other side is that it's painful that we're having this discussion because we would hope that humanity is of, of the nature where we receive and see each other despite colors of skin, sexuality, countries, we come from religious beliefs. And, and the truth is, we are not.
(20:16):
And so that gives me you know, the next question is, you know, what had you found, I think we, we touched on it, but what had you and your co-founder really found the greater Houston LGBTQ plus Chamber of Commerce? And, and what did you see at the beginning? Like, take us back to 2015, you know, there was the, the beginning parts of that, and you've come so far in such a short time. Congratulations. Thank you. But at that beginning, was it something that felt like, you know, you're on an island by yourself even though you know that there's a need for it, you take us to where you were when you were launching.
(20:53):
Yeah. So so, you know, I mentioned that, that seat at the table when, I mean, first of all, when you just look and you see, okay, there's chambers, there's LGBTQ plus chambers in Austin and Dallas and San Antonio, and you look at it, there's a big gap, right? You know, clearly No. Yeah. You go, wait, what's, you know, we should have reputation.
(21:12):
Well, that's interesting that by the way Yeah. We had these other cities in Texas, by the way. That's right. Everybody listening from around the globe. Yeah. We're in Texas. I'm just reminding you this, so Texas has been its own country. Texas has its own identity and definite deep belief systems. And so what you're hearing Tammy share is that there's these other cities in Texas that are regarded smaller <laugh>, and they had chambers, and we didn't, we're the fourth largest city in the United States, sometimes third, but definitely fourth. And we did not have a chamber in this regard to have people's voice be heard or valued.
(21:47):
And, and that just underscores the gap. I mean, it's like gap with a capital, you know, it's really capital letters gap. Yeah. I mean, I'm looking at this going, how can we not have a chamber? Now, we did have a chamber decades ago. But it was, it was really a more or less insular group of people that just wanted some connection amongst some businesses in Montrose, more or less. Ah, okay. And, and, and, you know, it, it had long shut down. So, you know, that, that, that was decades ago, but nothing like we see in, in the Chamber that we're running today. But when you know, I remember when Gary and I started talking about this, Gary Woods, the other co co-founder, and I, I told him, I said, look, if we're gonna start a chamber, which I definitely believe we need representation here if we're gonna just do networking and coffees and a happy hour and here and all that, that's great.
(22:41):
I think that's Mm-Hmm. <Affirmative> admirable. And I'll write a check and support it through my business. But if we are gonna do impact work, I am all in, I am all in 150%. I didn't even understand what impact work meant. Right. And sitting at that table in 2015, to the extent that I obviously understand it today. Absolutely. So, but, but we also saw a landscape in Houston where the, the lgbtq plus community was seen through an activist lens. And we certainly have been, we've had to be some of the loudest voices in the room just to get recognition and, you know, rights or a voting block. We're gonna come, you know, elected officials will vote for you, and when after that, we'll see you the next election. Right. But no business representation. And so key leadership you know, key influencers in the city, electeds, nobody thought of the community in terms of, oh, there's LGBTQ plus owned businesses. They do now. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative>. And we're still working to grow that. Right. To understand that we are an important part of the economic fabric of, of this city. Right. Not just as a community, but also as a business community. And so that's why we, we said we're gonna launch the chamber.
(23:53):
That's awesome. And we're growing, by the way, and I, I'd love to know you know, you probably have a lot more connection to the data than I do, so I hear things, right. But I hear as far as the communities across the United States we're the fastest L-G-B-T-Q growing community you know, you know, people tend to think San Francisco, right? Mm-Hmm. <Affirmative>, you know, anybody in California. But then they also say, okay, New York, but, and then even Miami. But whenever you think of Texas, you know, people go, Texas is on the map for this. I mean, one of the most conserv, not most conservative states, but, you know, we were pretty, we're pretty, you know, rooted in our conservative Mm-Hmm. <Affirmative> background here as a state. But is it true that we're, we're growing exponentially?
(24:43):
Well, the state is definitely growing without a doubt. You know, I mean, it has been a business friendly, friendly climate. It's interesting these worlds that are colliding with what our state legislature is doing, for example, attacking the LGBTQ plus community and minority communities any day of the week. I mean, that is not good for business because you have, you have so many lar, you know, businesses and companies, and they understand that diverse, a diverse work workforce inclusive workforce is good for business. It is good for business today. And it is good for attracting talent that is gonna take those companies into, you know, the, the next decade. And so they understand that they have to be inclusive and supportive. And so we see this, we've got 55 corporate partners, right? They value their engagement with the LGBTQ plus community.
(25:38):
But what we also see is those attacks that are happening on the LGBTQ plus community, particularly our, our trans community. Yeah. And so we're actually seeing families that are choosing to move out of the state of Texas because they don't feel safe anymore. They don't, they don't feel safe for, as a family or certainly safe in some of the, these laws that have passed that's very much targeted towards these children is, you know, it's, it's detrimental to their wellbeing. So they're actually picking up and moving out of the state, and we're losing, you know, valuable talent. We're lo losing a tax base, we're losing, you know? So when all these social issues get connected into what should be a focus on business, right? We always say, let's keep it, let's keep it about business. But unfortunately, where the Texas legislature is, it's, it's not about business. It's not about our economy. It's not about what's best for the Texas. It's about the next election cycle. And that is hurting our state on many levels. And it certainly is hurting the LGBTQ plus community. And in, you know, in particular the trans community in many ways.
(26:51):
Is there any particular place that you believe you know, just the po the, the political atmosphere needs to be enlightened about lgbtq plus, I mean, there's probably different many facets, but is there anything that, you know, something inside of me saying, you know, people need to start relaxing. I mean, why is our sexuality of interest to people whenever they're making decisions? And so I'm curious about your Stan, 'cause you've been in front of, you know the Texas Congress and you've been there representing us. Thank you so much. Mm-Hmm. <Affirmative> is there a fear that's coming up that you see most common that they need to have an answer to?
(27:33):
It's actually, it, it is kind of two facets in my opinion. One is, it is fear-based, right? So there's a lot of people that they think they don't know an LGBTQ plus person, and they are scared of us because they've been fed tons of lies, whether it's through, you know, religion or whatever aspects right. About our community. That's why storytelling and getting to know one another is so important. Because when people can put that human element and connect and go, oh, well this is, this is just a person. I've had this happen so many times throughout my life, whether it's coworkers or, or whatever. But there is the element of, of politics in this country, and that is when we've seen this, you know, repeatedly where you have elected officials and they'll come out and attack our community and they've got a, a, a gay son, for example.
(28:26):
Mm-Hmm. <Affirmative>. Right? Right. And, and the truth is, for most, they don't believe most of this, but they're using it because they know this is what gets their base, their voting base it gets them energized, gets them voting for them. It's a fundraising tool. And so it's pure politics, which then really does bleed over into it's fear, but it's also power, right? It's about how do we retain power as a party in our state or at the, you know, in congress, at the federal level. It's, it's those kinds of things that are, are playing playing out right now that we're seeing. And the lgbtq plus community, like the immigrant community and other marginalized communities are we're we're the wedge issues and we're being used, right? Mm-Hmm. <affirmative> to, to completely gain votes. Votes, yeah. To gain, to gain votes, and to gain power. And and it really, it, I mean, these policies that have been enact, enacted these laws by the the Texas legislature, make no mistake. They hurt not only LGBTQ plus Texans, but they hurt Texans as a whole.
(29:34):
Yeah. Let's speak to that. 'cause Our listeners here are from every background. Mm-Hmm. <Affirmative>, right? So if, if we just consider the marginalized communities LGBTQ plus being one of them, right? Right. whenever we, as a human community marginalize or separate one from the whole, what effect is that to us?
(30:03):
I think it takes the human element out. So, you know, when we can, we can just refer to those group of people, right? But understand that everybody has an aur, has a journey. We're all human. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative>. And so, you know, what is lacking these days is people trying to take the time. They're just to, to understand. So someone might be just squarely against immigration. And look, I I, there's tons of issues with immigration in our country that that need to be addressed. But people don't just generally pick up and leave their home country, right? Unless there's a story, something there. You know, there're being persecution, whatever that looks like. What we're missing is connecting with people and understanding that there are all those stories and we're focused on and believing what, you know, the media says, the false narratives. And unfortunately, that's what's overtaking so much of the dialogue now as we're seeing play out, play out in this country. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative>. So but it's one reason why at the Chamber, you know, we have, we have L-G-B-T-Q on businesses, but we have allies. Mm-Hmm. <Affirmative>. And we invite people in all the time, because I know when we can connect with other communities, and I understand you, you understand me, and we can do this all over business, right? Right. We get to know each other. Right. We can add that human element. And that's what's missing.
(31:27):
That's beautiful. And so let's dive into what the chamber represents for the businesses here in the Houston area. And then if you're listening and you're interested in the chambers in your area, you know, this is what your chamber will serve for you as well as a business owner. So what does the Chamber do for our community? And, and, and why would a, a business owner want to be part of the chamber
(31:52):
Part? So we have several different kind of audiences in the chamber. Our first is our small businesses, which people typically think about when they think about a chamber. Mm-Hmm. <Affirmative>, a lot of times we'll get the question, do I have to be part of the community to join the chamber? Absolutely not. As I mentioned about, about a third of our members, I think we, we've guesstimated are allied on members. And you know what? They just wanna do business. We are a chamber of commerce. Mm-Hmm. <Affirmative>. But they also wanna support the community, many of them. So and, and that is, you know, a big draw for them. So small businesses, we're helping our businesses get L-G-B-T-B-E certified, for example. We're helping them with, you know, workshops, training, network connection, all of these pieces to help these businesses grow and thrive.
(32:41):
You said it when at the top of the program, we're giving a safe space. So when you walk through the door as an LGBTQ plus entrepreneur, you can just take all that armor off. 'cause You know what, you know, it doesn't matter. And you can just relax and interact and connect. You're not thinking about all that. Whereas another event, you might be thinking, Mm-Hmm, <affirmative>, should I say my wife? Should I say, you know, will I do? Exactly. And that's one thing that's been, yes. Yes. And so that's been one thing that's been so evident for us, as people have said, I love this chamber. And, you know, and just repeated this when we started it and I started asking, well, what is it about the chamber? And they're like, it's just so welcoming. People are here to help. It's not about gimme your business card, but I think at, at a deeper level at the core, it goes to that safe space and people can just bring their whole in authentic selves.
(33:28):
And certainly for our small businesses, you know it does that. We have helped our small businesses connect with those 55 corporate partners, impact partners now that I mentioned. Because they have product and service that they want to sell. These companies are looking to support L-G-B-T-Q inclusive businesses as part of their supplier diversity efforts, or maybe their employee resource groups, which that is specifically, we have an LGBTQ plus Workplace Alliance program. We work with our impact partners and connect to those employees across those companies across the region, which is a growing program for us this year. And then kind of the third lug is third, you know, third I guess leg of the stool here is is community. I mean, we, at the, at the intersection of business and the lgbtq plus community, we are very much focused on the whole of community economic inclusion.
(34:21):
We host, host an annual food and supply drive. We help, you know, raise food and funds, supplies for Tony's place to help LGBTQ plus youth, which is actually another part of our membership base. And that is our nonprofit members. So we are working to elevate the work they're doing in the community and supporting. So so it's exciting, exciting work when we can connect all these dots. But last but not least is our advocacy work. And you've, you've again touched on that we are at the state legislature, we are at city council, we are at Commissioner's court. We are work facets to make sure that our elected leaders know that we're here. And working to push LGBTQ plus inclusive policies that quite frankly our, our, you know, from an economic standpoint are, are good for not only our community, but are good for our community as a whole. Right. Because when people can succeed, when everyone succeeds, we all succeed.
(35:20):
Absolutely. And that's what I, I love about understanding that there are still voices needing to be brought to the table. Yeah. And as, as opposed to, you know someone who's not part of our community believing that we're only holding up the rights of our community. That's one perspective. But the truth is, it's holding up the rights of human, you know, conversation. Yeah. And rights. Because if anybody can be marginalized, we all can be marginalized at some level. And, and that's just having us understand that we all have rights, we all have value. Each one of us deserves to be seen and heard and not judged or ostracized because of any element of our being. Right?
(35:59):
Yes. Absolutely.
(36:00):
And so you touched on the L-G-B-T-B-E certification. Could you give us a little bit more about what that is and why it's so important to our businesses?
(36:09):
Yeah. So there's a certification. If you're 51% or more LGBTQ plus owned you likely qualify for the certification. And that is the key, the initial criteria. Mm-Hmm. <Affirmative>. And think of other certifications when there's, you know, certifications for women-owned businesses, minority, veteran owned, disabled owned. So this is a certification that is right on par with these other business certifications. And so the national LGBT Chamber of Commerce, or the N-G-L-C-C is their acronym commonly referred to they're the certifying body. So we're an affiliate, completely standalone, but we work with them on this certification. And if you're a member of our chamber, that certification fee is waived. So that's one great way we partner with the Chamber. What this does just, you know, at face value the goal is to help get more LGBTQ plus businesses plugged into supplier diversity opportunities with large companies, with government, et cetera.
(37:08):
So that's with any, any certification with this particular certification. What's great about it is that the M-G-L-C-C is offering so much support at a national level Mm-Hmm. <Affirmative>, whether it's education workshop, connecting with certified businesses, and along with what we're doing on a regional level to support certified businesses. So we have specific programming just for our certified businesses as well. So I often say, look, if you, if you're selling product or service, and you think, well, I'm never gonna do business with United or Comcast or, you know, right. But everything that comes with a certification is such a value in the way you can connect any, and the way you can plug the way, you can also use it as a marketing tool, if that makes sense for your business. Right. To, to, to promote that you're L-G-B-T-B certified businesses as consumers look constantly to find L-G-B-T-Q, inclusive, inclusive businesses because they wanna spend their money where, you know, they know they're valued
(38:07):
And it creates social impact, you know? Yes. In that value. So what would you say to a business owner that may be listening and is, you know, part of the LGBTQ plus community Mm-Hmm. <Affirmative>, and they're sitting on the fringes and wondering, is this really gonna serve me? And why would I become some, why would I join forces or join this community? Whereas they've just become really accustomed of doing what they do, how they do it, and staying quiet. Right. sometimes staying invisible, right? Yeah. What would, what would you invite to them?
(38:42):
Well, first of all, you know, I firmly believe, as we were talking about coming out, that's a journey. And I think for business owners, lgbtq plus business owners, it's, it's, it's, it's a second layer. It's a second coming out process. And for some business owners that's gonna make sense. For others, maybe not. What we're hoping we are creating at the Greater Houston lgbtq plus Chamber is a space and a place where they can find clients and customers that align with their values and that value them so they can have the courage to, to come up, come, come out. But we understand if that's, if that's not the case, Mm-Hmm. <Affirmative> and you know, I've, I've talked to business owners as I mentioned, and they said, I'm just not comfortable coming out yet. And I, I very much, very much respect that.
(39:25):
But it's a hard, it's, it's, it's hard. It's painful when you can't, you know, when you're sitting in front of a client and they might ask you about your weekend and you have to say, oh, well, a friend of mine and I, we went to dinner, or we had a vaca, we took a vacation. You know, whatever that looks like. Yeah. so but what I hope they will do is come if you're in Houston, certainly come visit us at the Chamber. See what Tina, you've experienced, right. This, this network of people that have arms wide open to support them as a chamber here to help their businesses grow and thrive, and very much valuing them as an LGBTQ plus owned business. And maybe that's something that they've not quite owned themselves. And so when they can get into the room and find other people that have also experienced some of the challenges in the coming out process too.
(40:15):
Absolutely. And how it's benefited, you know. Yeah. So some, some unconscious benefits that I've realized over the last year as being a member inside of the the Chamber is that I have a relaxation now that is inherent Mm-Hmm. <Affirmative> in my, just how I conduct business. Where I can definitely tell you before, and I didn't even, I wasn't conscious of it, because sometimes whenever you have an anxiety or a fear or something that you're putting up with, you are unconscious to it. 'cause It, it is just your normal, right? Yeah. So what happened for me is that I'm like, I'm going to just make this part of my conversation. I'm not going to hide these things. I'm going to have this be something that people e either can pick up subliminally in the context of being in our office, or, you know, they can I don't have to worry about saying my wife, you know, my wife and I, or I don't have to, you know, whenever people would say, you know, when I'm wearing my wedding band, they'd say, you know, how long have you been married to your husband?
(41:20):
And I just gracefully say, thank you. I've been married to my wife for 10 plus years, and you know, there's this, there's this dance that we're currently doing, <laugh>, I call it the dance that people go, oh, I'm so sorry. I didn't know. It's like, it's okay. You don't need to be sorry. We're all becoming more aware. But I can tell you that it's relaxed. The conversations here it's had me feel more authentic inside of my skin. So that part isn't a question mark anymore. And I'm, I'm, yeah. I feel more relaxed and, and authentic in how I conduct my business. And that's been a freedom that I didn't expect.
(42:01):
Okay. You're gonna make me tear up <laugh>, because what you just said is, while we do the work we do, so you can be your full and authentic self so we can give you the support, right. Everything that you need to grow not only as a business owner, not from the specific business aspects, finding more clients. Yes, we hope that happens, but giving you support and wrapping our arms around you right, as a chamber to know that you are valued as an L-G-B-T-Q-M business and the people that are in the room with you when you are at any one of our events values you equally as much. So that, that, that is, that is beautiful. That is so beautiful.
(42:40):
Thank you. Thank you for, for building this for all of us. And so I want to direct your attention. Our dear listeners, thank you for sharing your time with us. It's been, it's, even though we can't see you, we feel you. And thank you for staying to the, to the conclusion of this wonderful podcasting conversation with Tammy Wallace. We want you to dive over into their website and find out all the resources that are here. If you are an LGBTQ plus business owner, if you would love to become an impact partner, you're part of an organization that e either has that currently in your consciousness and a container for your employees, where you want to have this as a, a conversation, a container for your employees, and, and wanna have guidance in how to envelop that and, and develop that inside of your organization.
(43:25):
Or you're a nonprofit that serves the community or wants to also be an ally. So all allies are also invited because this is a conversation not just for LGBTQ plus, you know, members, it's for humans that want to, you know, help bring down the walls of the separation that is, that are currently inherent in our society. Like it or not, we still have divisions. And so if you're curious about how to embrace the community and understand how to help those conversations flourish within your employee, your workforce, and your staff, and with your customers. 'cause I guarantee you, if you're a business owner, you're gonna have <laugh>, an LGBTQ plus customer, and you wanna know how to connect and, and, and, and find service there. We're all humans at, at our essential core. And, and then we have these other identifying layers on top <laugh>. So yeah, go to the website, houston lgbtq chamber.com, Houston lgbtq chamber.com and learn more, dive in, become a member, and see how it will bring absolute freedom to you in ways that you could not have expected.
(44:34):
Absolutely. And I, I will add, we've even got individual members and we started a young professionals group because you know, individuals are saying, look, I don't own a business, but I love what the chamber's doing. We wanna be part of it. And so again, at that intersection of business and the LGBTQ plus community, it's a great place to be. And we are here to support whether you own a business or not, we're here to support community and lift up the whole. So thank you for this opportunity.
(45:01):
Thank you. Any new things on the horizon that you want us to champion and hold space for, for the chamber itself or for the community at large?
(45:10):
Well, good question. We've got a lot planned for 2024 as we sit here in, in January. But we have, we're gonna be launching our show, your Pride campaign, which is a wonderful photo campaign that captures people Yes, yes, yes. That captures people with a beautiful pride background. And we ask people to give us what three words, what pride means to me, what, what pride means to you. And we showcase that on a, on a website. You know, what's beautiful about that campaign, that's not only a campaign for community and to support especially since we've been under attack in Texas for people to show their pride. But we use one of our L-G-B-T-Q owned businesses, women owned, minority owned businesses. Right. So it's a great collaboration there. Fast forward Pride Month is you know, it's, it's, it's like a whole holiday month for us, as you can imagine.
(46:00):
We are busy from everything with Pride Nights, with the sports teams, but our big signature event is Pride in Business, our Pride in Business Celebration. It's gonna be on Friday June the seventh. And we've got, we'll be announcing this soon, but I'll go ahead and share it. We're moving it to the Hilton Americas this year. Ooh. So that, that is going, going to be great. We expect six or 700 people for that. And we also give away 11 pride in Business awards, everything from L-G-B-T-Q on Business of the Year to impact partners. So it's a, it's an amazing celebration and brings community together and what a great connection around business, right. During Pride Month. So there's a, some highlights that we, we've got coming up.
(46:41):
That's fun. I love it. So I have this little playful thing called the Fedora, it's called The Hat and inside are some questions. And so I'm gonna ask a couple questions. And so I'm just picking from the hat. Let's see what happens.
(46:52):
Fun, fun.
(46:54):
<Laugh>, if you could have a serious conversation, <laugh> with one human, who would it be and what would you be talking about? <Laugh>.
(47:03):
Oh my goodness. There's so many people that come to mind, but Michelle Obama. Absolutely. Michelle Obama.
(47:10):
Oh yeah, me too. Yes.
(47:12):
If I could just sit in a room with her for an hour and just, you know, I mean, outside of hearing, you know, the, her journey, which we've all heard many if you've read her book and things like that. But, but I, you know, she's been a long time support of the LGBTQ plus community, and I would love to delve into like, where that started, what that looked like for her. And yeah, just, just to understand that frame. But yeah, I think she's a remarkable person.
(47:37):
That'd be fun. If you get that conversation, invite me. 'cause I'll be a fly on the wall. <Laugh>. <laugh>. Yeah. And then, then there's the next one. The last one. This is fun. When you're 90 <laugh>, what will you celebrate? <Laugh>?
(47:52):
When I am 90, what I hope to be celebrating is first and foremost a good long life because while I've had like everyone a lot of challenges, I am incredibly, incredibly blessed to do the work that I do. I often tell our team, how often do people get to wake up, have the impact that we have at the chamber, be able to do what we're doing, change lives, change businesses, help community, those kinds of opportunities don't come along. So I, I hope, and one of these days there'll be a time for me as a founder, co-founder to step away Mm-Hmm. <Affirmative>. But I hope when I'm 90 that I'll, I'll be able to look back and see, just with the story you shared today of what I I've been able to impact and how I've been able to give back to my community and ultimately to the world.
(48:39):
That is amazing. And, and I hope to be right alongside that in that celebration. I'm invited to the party. <Laugh>. Yeah. <Laugh>. Cool. So Ms. Tammy Wallace, co-founder of the Houston, the Greater Houston, L-G-B-T-Q Chamber of Commerce. There's a lot of letters in there, <laugh>. Yeah, it is. We are so grateful for all the work that you've done for us, for our community, for Houston, right. And it's not just for Houston, it's for Texas, and then it's for the nation to help us have awareness, inclusivity, understanding literally love, and then an economic impact and a valuation of that so that we all rise together. Thank you so much for the work that you've done and you continue to do. And so, again, I'm gonna give the URL, it's www houston lgbtq chamber.com. You wanna dive over there and just embrace everything that's on offer. And thank you again for being on the show. It's been such a joy.
(49:40):
Thank you, Tina. Joy is all mine, and you are such a blessing. Thank you for highlighting our work at the Chamber and me. I appreciate it.
(49:46):
You're welcome. And until next time.