Chris Bartlett (born March 29, 1966) is an American gay activist, feminist, educator, and researcher who lives in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

, PA, and is the Executive Director of the William Way Community Center.

Life and works

Bartlett grew up in

Cheltenham Township, Pennsylvania Cheltenham Township is a home rule township in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. Cheltenham's population density ranges from over 10,000 per square mile (25,900 per square kilometer) in rowhouses and high-rise apartments along Chel ...

and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Classics from Brown University in 1988 and a second Bachelor of Arts in Literae Humaniores from New College, Oxford in 1991. He was director of the SafeGuards Gay Men's Health Project in

from 1991–2001, where he developed innovative programs addressing the broader health needs of

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...

and bisexual men beyond HIV and AIDS. In his early research, he directed a survey of over 1400 gay and bisexual men in the

region in order to assess their risk for

HIV The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of ''Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the immune ...

, STDs and other health challenges. In 2003, Bartlett joined forces with gay activist

Eric Rofes Eric Rofes (August 31, 1954 – June 26, 2006) was a gay activist, educator, and author. He was a director of the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center in the 1980s. In 1989, he became executive director of the Shanti Project, a nonprofit AIDS se ...

to create the Gay Men's Health Leadership Academy, a national center for excellence for leadership development of gay and bisexual men and their allies based at the White Crane Institute. The Academy hosts biannual retreats on the East Coast (Greenwich, NY) and the West Coast ( Guerneville, CA) of the United States, and also works with organizations and governments to strengthen their cadres of gay leadership. Since Rofes' death, the program has been co-facilitated by Kevin Trimell Jones of Philadelphia, PA; Fred Lopez of San Francisco, CA; Scott Pegues of Denver, CO; and Kaijson Noilmar of Seattle, WA. In 2005, under the leadership of Michael S. Hinson Jr., he directed the LGBT Community Assessment, an assessment of the broad health related needs of LGBT populations in the Philadelphia region. The City of Philadelphia and Philadelphia Foundation subsequently funded an LGBT Youth Assessment, which he also directed. In 2008, Bartlett received a grant from the Arcus Foundation to create the

LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term ...

Leadership Leadership, both as a research area and as a practical skill, encompasses the ability of an individual, group or organization to "lead", influence or guide other individuals, teams, or entire organizations. The word "leadership" often gets vi ...

Initiative, a convening of thinkers in the United States about the strategic leadership needs of

communities in the United States. His leadership interests include intergenerational communication and connection, as well as mentorship of younger leaders. In the November, 2008 Instinct Magazine he was named one of the "Leading Men of 2008." He has created an on-line

Wiki A wiki ( ) is an online hypertext publication collaboratively edited and managed by its own audience, using a web browser. A typical wiki contains multiple pages for the subjects or scope of the project, and could be either open to the pub ...

to document the deaths of gay men from AIDS between 1981 and the present. The site acts as an on-line AIDS quilt, on which community members and families can document the lives of their friends and loved ones. Bartlett is also a long-time leader in the Gay Men's Health Movement, both nationally and internationally. He has participated in each of the Gay Men's Health Summits and LGBTI Health Summits as an organizer and presenter, as well as presenting at the Warning Gay Men's Health Summit in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

, in 2005. His work has shown a continuing interest in

participatory democracy Participatory democracy, participant democracy or participative democracy is a form of government in which citizens participate individually and directly in political decisions and policies that affect their lives, rather than through elected repr ...

, starting with his early participation in ACT UP Philadelphia. His current work focuses on the role of

social media Social media are interactive media technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, interests, and other forms of expression through virtual communities and networks. While challenges to the definition of ''social medi ...

, including

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Mosk ...

, and other tools in developing on-line communities that can participate in effective social change. Out of his engagement in social media work, he hosted the

TEDx TED Conferences, LLC (Technology, Entertainment, Design) is an American-Canadian non-profit media organization that posts international talks online for free distribution under the slogan "ideas worth spreading". TED was founded by Richard Sau ...

conferences in Philadelphia on November 18, 2010 and November 8, 2011. In 2014, he presented his own TEDxPhilly talk, "How To Make the Neighborhood You Want", which shows the city planning lessons that Philadelphia's Chinatown has for its Gay neighborhood. He is a member of the Philadelphia circle of Radical Faeries. During his tenure at the

William Way LGBT Community Center The William Way LGBT Community Center is a nonprofit organization serving the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender population of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and nearby communities, located at 1315 Spruce Street in Philadelphia in the Gayborhood ...

, he has focused on community building through arts and culture, technological innovation, and intergenerational approaches. He has been a leader in the effort to build housing that is friendly for LGBT seniors. In 2013 under Bartlett's leadership the community center has received grants to fund the nation's first LGBT Jazz Festival (2014) and a city-wide exploration of LGBT history in Philadelphia (2015)Crimmins, Peter, Newsworks, May 7, 2014,
"Nation's first gay jazz festival, OutBeat, will debut in Philadelphia"
/ref> His writings include
Levity and Gravity
, in Mattilda Bernstein Sycamore's

; and "Choosing Faerie" in Mark Thompson's ''The Fire in Moonlight: Stories from the Radical Faeries: 1975-2010''.

References

External links

Video of Chris Bartlett's 2017 talk on the importance of solidarity with African LGBTQ organizingVideo of Chris Bartlett's 2016 talk: "Queer Generation" at Washington CollegeVideo of Chris Bartlett's 2014 TEDxPhilly talk: "How to Make the Neighborhood you Want."WRTI's Meridee Duddleston interviews Chris Bartlett about Outbeat, the nation's first LGBT jazz festival.Video of Chris Bartlett's talk on personal brand: Being @harveymilk. Video of Chris Bartlett's presentation: Social Networks for the DeadA short movie created for Chris Bartlett's 40th birthday by Peter Lien and Matty HartThe Gay History WikiThe Gay Men's Health Leadership Academy Chris Bartlett's writings for the Lifelube Blog
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bartlett, Chris 1966 births Living people American feminists American LGBT rights activists American health activists Brown University alumni Alumni of New College, Oxford Political activists from Pennsylvania Activists from Philadelphia Members of ACT UP Radical Faeries members Male feminists People from Cheltenham, Pennsylvania LGBT people from Pennsylvania Gay feminists 21st-century LGBT people