Meet Daniel Basil Hamilron the Director of Operations at the LGBT Community Center of Greater Cleveland
Daniel Basil Hamilron is from Columbia Station Township, Ohio. They graduated in 2021 with a Master of Public Health with a concentration in Health Policy and Management. This year Daniel also graduated with a PhD in Anthropology. The dual degree program presented an excellent opportunity for them to broaden their skill set, learn new theories, and gain diverse perspectives. After pursuing education in both the humanities and the sciences and medical fields, Daniel gained a more comprehensive and interconnected learning experience. This has proven valuable as Daniel now works as the Director of Operations at the LGBT Community Center of Greater Cleveland.
Learn more about Daniel’s experience through the questions below:
What motivated you to pursue a dual degree program and how has it shaped your educational journey? After completing my undergraduate degree in Spanish Language and Literature, my advisor and mentor at the time suggested that I explore anthropology. At the time, I thought that meant digging up bones and artifacts and didn’t really pursue that, thinking instead I would eventually go back to school for education or continue my studies in literature. I ended up moving out to Massachusetts, which at the time was one of the few areas where I could legally get married. I began working in the Boston area first at a domestic violence shelter and later at a rape crisis center. During this time I served as a mentor to a number of students who had concentrations in community social psychology and public health. I was intrigued by the fact that I was doing the very work they were seeking degrees for without those same credentials. When marriage equality was expanded nationally my spouse and I felt secure to return to our home in the Cleveland area. It was after returning that I decided to return to school. I began searching for community social psychology programs, and stumbled upon the public health and anthropology dual program at ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½ and my undergraduate advisor’s suggestion returned to me. I applied for the program and was accepted.
Can you share any examples of how your dual degree has given you a competitive edge in your field or industry? It has allowed me to make connections both in medicine and academia, which has opened a number of research opportunities. I have engaged in a series of research projects with local hospitals and medical professionals. I have also had the opportunity to teach at several local colleges and universities on subjects related to my research and focus on queer and transgender medicine. The intersections between the lived experiences of queer and transgender individuals and communities and the interactions with medical systems and systems of care is an area of great interest to me and requires a bridging of humanities and social sciences with the practice of biomedicine. I feel the dual degree program has situated me to be able to address this unique perspective at a time when queer and transgender medicine is being heavily debated in the US.
Can you describe a typical day or week in your job, and what are your main responsibilities? My job is expansive at the LGBT Community Center of Greater Cleveland. I serve as the Director of Operations, which for the Center means that I oversee administrative functions, facilities, finance, and human resources. My days are very busy and requires me to be attentive to the needs of a wide constituency including community members, Center guests, and staff. I am also attentive to the needs of the property. I describe my role as stage crew, as I handle most of the systems that support the outward facing work of the Center in their mission to advocate, celebrate, educate, and support the diverse LGBTQ community in Northeast Ohio.
What do you enjoy most about your job? I absolutely love the ability to be my full authentic queer self at work and to engage in work which is both global and deeply personal. I have faced a lot of discrimination due to my sexual orientation and gender identity in my life, and if I can be part of the change that makes things a little better for those to come after me, then I am called to do so. Within my role I can support the positive change that I wish to see and be in my community.
What is your favorite secret or hidden gem in Cleveland, and why do you love it so much? Dean Rufus House of Fun is a hidden gem for me. It is a small boutique unabashedly queer and gay shop on West 29th street in Hingetown. It is located in an area which was crucial to my coming-out and entrance into queer community. Many of the queer locations I remember from this area, Man’s World, Toolshed, Club Cleveland, and Bounce are gone. Dean Rufus House of Fun brings back those memories of exploring the clubs, bars, and baths for me. The store is charged with gay liberation, queer sexuality, and community building and keeps that energy that has been moving from Hingetown to make way for apartments and trendy restaurants and shops.