Waitzkin, Rich

Interviewer

Kristen Cates
Emma Donnelly

Files

Description

Rich Waitzkin is a 69-year-old social worker originally from Akron, Ohio residing in Portland, ME. Waitzkin came out as a gay man in his late twenties after moving to Maine. He holds two Masters degrees in both education and social work. Waitzkin has years of experience working both in administration and in the home health care field providing therapy to the LGBTQ community. During the AIDS epidemic, Waitzkin worked as a social worker helping to guide clients on resources and even preparing some for death. Waitzkin also helped establish Portland’s first LGBTQ community center known as the Equality Community Center. Waitzkin has been involved with the political sphere by serving on an advisory board for former Governor John McKernan and fighting the AIDS epidemic in the 80s.

Citation

Please cite as: Querying the Past: LGBTQ Maine Oral History Project Collection, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer+ Collection, Jean Byers Sampson Center for Diversity in Maine, University of Southern Maine Libraries.

For more information about the Querying the Past: Maine LGBTQ Oral History Project, please contact Dr. Wendy Chapkis.

Publication Date

Fall 11-18-2017

City

Portland, ME

Keywords

AIDS Crisis, Employment, Social Work, Education, Equality Community Center, Bar life in New England, The AIDS Project, Charlie Howard

Disciplines

History of Gender | Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Studies | Oral History | Women's Studies

Recommended Citation

Cates, Kristen and Donnelly, Emma, "Waitzkin, Rich" (2017). Querying the Past: LGBTQ Maine Oral History Project Collection. 28.
https://digitalcommons.usm.maine.edu/querying_ohproject/28

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.