Community Partner: FreeState Justice Intern: Anthony Boutros Site Supervisor: Mark Procopio
What is FreeState Justice? FreeState Justice is a social justice and legal advocacy organization that works statewide to improve the lives of LGBTQ Marylanders and their families through legal services, policy advocacy, outreach, education, and coalition-building. Our work brings to the forefront the experiences of youth, communities of color, low-income individuals, and transgender and gender non-conforming people.
" Waking up at 8:00 a. m. to catch an 8:30 a. m. public bus just so I can walk four blocks in the smoldering temperatures of a Baltimore summer heat wave sounds like hell.
And it would be … especially for a morning-hating, alarm-snoozing, pillow-clutching, sweat-loathing person like me.
Yet, at the expense of sounding like a hopeless romantic, it became one of my favorite journeys because of the passionate, driven, hilarious, kind( and I can’ t forget extremely competitive!) co-workers and friends on the other side.
The summer has become a collage of memories: Jen hurling her body from the conference room chair to the floor in a game of Head’ s Up during the first annual FreeState Justice Game Night Extraveganza TM; Mark allowing me and the million jittering butterflies in my stomach to accompany him to an event with Mayor Pugh and Senator VanHollen; Laura explaining the nuances of Maryland law relating to gender and name changes for transgender people.
Yet the result of this summer is undeniable: I have a FreeState family."-Anthony
• Nonprofit management
• Grant writing
• Policy research
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