Meet Our Team: Alyssa Lawther

Meet Our Team: Alyssa Lawther

By: Funders for LGBTQ Issues Staff on June 12, 2023

The last few months, Funders for LGBTQ Issues has been getting caught up with different members of our team. This month, we’re excited to feature Alyssa Lawther (they/them), our Senior Research Officer! 

We asked Alyssa a few questions to get to know them better. 


What do you do at Funders?
I started at Funders in September 2021 as a Research and Communications Officer, and am now Senior Research Officer. The main project that I work on is our Resource Tracking Report, which is an annual report examining trends, gaps, and opportunities in foundation funding for LGBTQ communities and issues. I also provide ad hoc data and research support to our organization and our partners.

 

What strengths do you bring to your work?
I have a strong background in data coding and analysis, a lot of curiosity, and the occasional tendency to hyperfocus on minutiae, which all serve our research program well. I adore working with data, but also recognize its limitations, and am very cognizant of how “data-driven” approaches can silence already marginalized voices and uphold white supremacist structures and ways of thinking.

 

What are you interested in that most people haven’t heard of?
Linocut! This is a type of printmaking where you essentially carve stamps out of pieces of linoleum, then ink and press them to create prints. It’s a process that I’ve been interested in since we did the child-friendly equivalent of it in middle school, and I came back to it as an adult a few years ago. I’m actually setting up a dedicated space in my apartment for it now, which is really exciting – having a regular art practice is great for my mental health.

 

If you could have any one superpower, which would you choose?
I fully acknowledge that teleportation would be the more practical superpower, but I would prefer the feeling of flight.

 

What’s a topic you wish you knew more about?
I wish I were an astrology gay, because I have a lot of friends who get a lot out of it, and the bits and pieces that I’ve picked up are fun to consider!

We’re so grateful for your thoughtful work and leadership, Alyssa!

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