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<\/a> Joyce Marieb knew that with money comes political stature. The phrase \u201cmoney is power\u201d was an ideal she held close to her heart. And she felt this idiom could be used to improve the clout of the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender community — people whom she holds close to her heart.<\/p>\nShe was right.<\/p>\n
Her determined power-through-good-business mindset landed her the position as the fifth chief executive of the Greater San Diego Business Association in 2000. After nine years dedicated to increasing membership, programs, revenue and political power, Marieb has decided to retire.<\/p>\n
She felt it was the right time for her to retire because she accomplished the goals that she had for the organization, she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI really think it\u2019s time for someone else to bring new, fresh ideas and a new vision and really different talents to the organization,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
The GSDBA, also known as San Diego\u2019s Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, was founded in 1979 to promote interaction and support within the gay and lesbian business community. The association successfully published a business directory every year and became the third largest gay and lesbian business association in the country in only its second year. During Marieb\u2019s tenure, it grew to 800 members strong and is now the second largest gay and lesbian chamber of commerce in the country.<\/p>\n
An unpaid board of directors initially ran the GSDBA but with limited time, so it, therefore, had limited room to grow. In 1993, after realizing that a staff was needed, the board hired the first chief executive. Marieb became the first long-term chief executive.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are the business arm of the equality movement,\u201d Marieb said. \u201cThis is business with a cause. It is business to help LGBT people be competitive in this society.”<\/p>\n
The GSDBA is the umbrella organization that allows the LGBT business community to have a larger venue for getting information, networking and building relationships, Marieb said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think money is power,\u201d she said. \u201cPower used for the good results in equality.\u201d<\/p>\n
She has recently been recognized for her accomplishments \u2013 she won the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce Lifetime Achievement award in May.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s been a great CEO,\u201d said Jon Borgeson, the board chair for the GSDBA. \u201cShe\u2019s been out there fighting for our community for a long time and she\u2019s made a difference in the community and goes to people in the general market and general community and shows them the value of marketing to the LGBT market.\u201d<\/p>\n
Marieb has a background in business and education and a desire to intertwine the two. It was her eclectic experience in the education and business fields that made her viable to head the GSDBA.<\/p>\n
She grew up in Massachusetts and earned her undergraduate college degree in English and Journalism from Elms College, a small women\u2019s college in Massachusetts. She received her Master\u2019s Degree in theology from Marquette and Ph.D. in philosophical thought from Boston University. She taught philosophy and theology at three different colleges (one of which was Notre Dame) and taught English, speech and drama at three different high schools. Around 30 years ago, she said, she decided to move to San Diego because of the weather. And she insisted she\u2019s not planning to leave.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had one winter too many,\u201d Marieb said.<\/p>\n
While in San Diego, she and her partner owned a natural ice cream store called the Amazon Sweet Shop from 1978 to 1984. Then she worked for 7\/11 as a corporation representative for almost 10 years.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe brought a perspective as a former business owner herself, so she always did things with that in mind so that businesses involved with GSDBA would grow,\u201d Borgeson said.<\/p>\n
Marieb said part of her mission at the GSDBA was to offer programs that make a difference to small businesses, because they have a low success rate.<\/p>\n
The GSDBA offered many training and social events during her tenure, including business expo exhibits, consulting programs that offer one-on-one training, networking groups, social mixers and skills workshops for networking and social marketing.<\/p>\n
Marieb said the GSDBA didn\u2019t have much money when she first got on board, but she is proud to say she was able to create a healthy reserve so the association can rest easily and be able to try new things.<\/p>\n
She started the Affinity for Business Groups two years ago, which has been successful in providing in-industry support and professional advice. Additionally in her tenure, the GSDBA\u2019s Web site was revamped, the association\u2019s directory was published in full color, the \u201cFriends Do Business with Friends\u201d billboard and TV campaign was launched and the association won Chamber of the Year by the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce in 2006. She also was highly involved in the national LGBT equality movement and was the Western Regional Chair for the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce.<\/p>\n
She said that along with taking on new projects, she\u2019ll miss being a public figure and having the political power that came with the job.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve always been an activist,\u201d she said. \u201cThat\u2019s not going to stop until I stop breathing. I like to be involved in supporting causes that work for people\u2019s rights and for peace.\u201d<\/p>\n
She was an activist with the peace movement, the women\u2019s movement, civil rights movement and now the LGBT movement, she said. After leaves the GSDBA, she said she\u2019ll mostly be engaged in promoting marriage equality and ending the Don\u2019t Ask Don\u2019t Tell Policy.<\/p>\n
But she doesn\u2019t have a solid plan for her retirement. She said she\u2019s going to take at least six months to relax in her La Mesa house and find out who she is.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been working since I was 8 years old,\u201d she said. \u201cI want to see what it\u2019s like not working.\u201d<\/p>\n
Marieb will also pour more energy into her creative hobbies, which are wood carving, sculpting stone and writing poetry.<\/p>\n
But for the next couple of months, Marieb will be sticking around the GSDBA office to ensure the new chief executive, Tom Luhnow, has a smooth transition into his new position.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am thrilled that Joyce will be staying on for a couple months to train Tom,\u201d Borgeson said. \u201cThat\u2019s something that\u2019s hugely appreciated. It shows how much she cares about the mission of the organization.\u201d<\/p>\n
Being passionate about the GSDBA\u2019s mission is shared by Marieb and Luhnow, both of whom said they have a lot of qualities in common.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve heard nothing but praise about everything she\u2019s done,\u201d Luhnow said of Marieb. \u201cI hope I can live up to those big shoes and carry the organization on.\u201d<\/p>\n
Luhnow worked in the nonprofit industry, wrote screenplays and, for the last 12 years, was the executive director of Flying House Productions, home of the Seattle Men\u2019s Chorus, which became the largest gay men\u2019s chorus in world and one of largest community choruses in America during his tenure.<\/p>\n
Luhnow was the only applicant recommended for the chief executive to the board of directors by the GSDBA\u2019s search committee, and the board voted unanimously to hire him.<\/p>\n
He said CEOs must have an eclectic set of skills to be successful.<\/p>\n
\u201cI like to work at strengthening an organization and also I\u2019m good at enlarging outreach to others outside of the organization,\u201d Luhnow said. \u201cI really am passionate about keeping the vision and mission of the organization so you don\u2019t go astray.\u201d<\/p>\n
And a large part of that mission is to strengthen the LGBT community\u2019s muscle.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think that through the GSDBA, the community can have economic clout that gets political action; and it\u2019s important that we use that,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Marieb said it\u2019s exciting to have played such a big role in increasing the power and support of the LGBT community.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s exciting, of course, because so much of this is new,\u201d she said. \u201cNot only is it just the fact that we have great numbers now and more numbers involved in the movement, we have a level of acceptance in society that we never had before. The rate at which change is happening is very inspirational.\u201d<\/p>\n
She has herself to thank.<\/p>\n
Amanda Strouse is a freelance journalist in San Diego.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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