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ALEX WAN
Until last year, Alex Wan was known mostly for his work with Joining Hearts and for co-founding For the Kid in All of Us. Then he was the first openly gay and Asian-American man elected to the Atlanta City Council. Wan has found a way to balance his City Council duties with his charity work though, and he remains one of the most involved gay citizens in the city.
How would you define your role in Atlanta’s LGBT community?
In my community work, starting as early as my involvement with Joining Hearts in the 1990s to my founding For the Kid in All of Us, I have always sought opportunities to bring people together to make a difference – both within the LGBT community and outside. Now that I serve on the Atlanta City Council, I see an even greater urgency to continue in that capacity, understanding that as an elected official, I am now a more visible representative and voice for the LGBT community and must continually find ways to move us toward equality.
What do you forecast for Atlanta’s LGBT community in the next 5 to 10 years?
I believe that we will begin feeling impact of various court decisions from across the country on issues like marriage equality, adoption, employment discrimination, etc., and I hope that we will see opportunities to start really moving the needle forward within our city and state. There may be tough battles ahead for us, but I am hopeful that we will find more and more fair-minded individuals, leaders, and legislators to help us in these fights.
We learn from all our experiences, both good and bad. Tell us about a negative life experience you’ve had that you learned a valuable lesson from.
I am a firm believer that you should always try and take something constructive from a negative experience. The one that comes to mind was losing my first run for political office in 2004 after throwing everything I had physically and emotionally into the campaign. But inasmuch as the loss was incredibly difficult, I was able to learn some very positive things – establishing new relationships and contacts; having new community involvement opportunities open up; understanding that the stars must align not only from the candidate side, but also from the office side; and seeing better ways to run a campaign – that I was able to translate into a successful run for City Council.
How has being LGBT shaped your outlook on life?
As a proud member of the LGBT community, I, like my brothers and sisters, have faced my share of challenges – stereotypes, prejudices, discrimination, etc. – in my everyday life. But I firmly believe that weathering those negative forces has made me a stronger person and has given me a deeper awareness of my own tolerance and acceptance of others. I believe that if I expect others to embrace me and others in the LGBT community, then I must expect no less from myself, and consequently, I am always pushing myself to be as open-minded as possible.
And, of course, I think my LGBT “upbringing” has made me demand a little more flair and “fabulousness” of myself in anything I do!
Tell us a little more about yourself. What are your hobbies? What are your goals?
Last year I took up beekeeping out of a fascination with honey bees and colony collapse disorder. Although I’ve harvested many gallons of honey, I’ve also lost three of my four hives, not to mention having been stung nearly 10 times! But I’ll keep doing it to try and help keep up the bee population (not to mention the honey!). Also, when I have time, I enjoy running and have completed two full and two half-marathons. I’m hoping to get one or two more in, if I can just figure out how to squeeze in a training regimen into my crazy schedule.
Professionally, I have thoroughly enjoyed working with Jerusalem House and see myself continuing in the non-profit sector, perhaps one day in an Executive Director role with a charity.
And, of course, I will continue to strive to be an effective Council member and represent my communities and District well in my first term.
If you were stranded on a desert island, what’s the one book you would want with you?
I’m going to cheat here and say the entire Harry Potter series (rather than just one of them). I have read each book at least twice, and each time I discover something new. I truly admire J.K. Rowling’s creativity and the depth of her storytelling, but also really enjoy the escape into that fantasy world – helps me balance out some of the realities I face on a day-to-day basis.
