The Mautner Project

The Mautner Project was founded in 1990 following the death of Mary-Helen Mautner in 1989 of breast cancer. Shortly before her death, Mary-Helen asked her partner, Susan Hester, to start an organization that could help other lesbians facing the overwhelming challenges of life-threatening illnesses.

The Mautner Project provides direct services for lesbians; it provides technical assistance and capacity building for lesbian and lesbian friendly health projects nationwide; the Mautner Project provides lesbian focused health education and outreach to a variety of audiences; and it serves lesbian health advocacy through health coalitions, education and training.

The Mautner Project improves the health of lesbians and their families through advocacy, education, research, and direct service. We envision a healthcare system that is guided by social justice and responsive to the needs of all people. Some of the ways they accomplish these goals are:

• Conducting primary research about lesbian/WPW health;
• Providing direct services, offering support and support groups to lesbians/WPW with cancer and other life-threatening illnesses;
• Advocating for public & private sector research on lesbian health;
• Promoting lesbian health advocacy and activism at the national, state and local levels;
• Educating lesbians about important health issues;
• Educating health-care providers about the needs and concerns of their lesbian clients;
• Advocating for complete lesbian/LGBT inclusion in mainstream health initiatives;
• Teaching and mentoring the next generation of LGBT health advocates, policy makers, and providers;
• Working in coalition with other health organizations on lesbian health;
• Offering various support groups: for cancer clients, caregivers, those grieving a loss, as well as health & wellness groups, including: smoking cessation, nutrition, etc.
• Educating policymakers, the press, and the general public about lesbian health.

Because lesbians are less inclined to seek preventative health care in the face of discrimination and homophobia, the Mautner Project educates lesbians about their health and trains health-care providers about their lesbian patients, providing tools and insights on how to achieve better health outcomes for lesbians.

As the only national lesbian health organization, the Mautner Project continues to develop strong national, regional and local visibility as it increases its advocacy, education, research, training and support-services.

For more information on the Mautner Project, visit their table in the vendor tent or check out their web page at: http://mautnerproject.org.

Each year hundreds of volunteers contribute hunderds of hours to make events like Atlantic Stampede happen. Planning the schedule, set up of the rodeo grounds, selling tickets, processing applications for the evening's entertainment, cleaning up the trash, and even this program that you hold all have the work of a volunteer behind them. Our volunteers not only help to organize and put on the rodeo but also are there throughout the year to help promote and educate people about Atlantic States Gay Rodeo Association. They are present at Pride events, trail rides, bar nights and planning meetings for these events.

Numerous individuals give freely of their time and talent in tasks too numerous to name to make events like Atlantic Stampede a seamless weekend of fun for all. Though you may not know the name of each volunteer nor recognize their faces, as they are often working behind the scenes, the Atlantic States Gay Rodeo Association would like to recognize them by dedicating this year's program to all our volunteers. Without the tireless dedication of these individuals an idea for events like Atlantic Stampede would never become a reality. Atlantic States Gay Rodeo Association greatly appreciates every person who lends a hand to help make our events happen.

Thank you, volunteers.