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OutStanding People
Mike Thompson Works to Put
Equality Utah on the Offensive
(OutStanding People is a new QSaltLake
column
profiling interesting and prominent
people in Utah’s GLBT community)
 Standing at a podium with his own image projected on three giant monitors in front of about 800 people, Mike Thompson told attendees of Equality Utah’s Sept. 21 Allies Dinner that each person can make “a ripple” of change. Referencing a local conservative radio talk show host and others who stood up for equality, Thompson encouraged the crowd to make their own ripples of change in their lives.
Thompson is hoping to make a few ripples of his own in Utah. Less than two months on the job as the new executive director for Utah’s preeminent political action committee, Thompson says he wants to help EU grow from a reactive organization to being more proactive. He says for the first four years of its existence, EU found itself mainly reacting and responding to the latest political firestorms. Now, the organization needs to work more aggressively to promote its own agenda.
“Behind the scenes right now, we’re focused on examining the organization and asking, ‘How can we be more focused on our approach to state, county and city government, instead of promoting a broad message of equality?’” Thompson says in an interview a few days before the event. EU has been good at getting some gay and gay-friendly people into office, he says, but they could be better at continuing an open line of communication with the officeholder after he or she is elected. In addition, he says the organization needs to be better at communicating with the gay and lesbian community about what EU is and how people can get involved.
Thompson brings to the task a breadth of experience, ranging from non-profit management and fundraising to corporate marketing. He’s worked for major oil companies, a special needs school and numerous non-profits, including the Don’t Amend Alliance during 2004’s campaign against Amendment 3. “What I hope to bring is strategic thinking on how to build this organization’s infrastructure, which will help further their activities,” he says.
But it’s his personal attributes, particularly his spirituality, which may help Thompson the most as he maneuvers through the murky political waters of Utah, where religion and politics bleed together. Thompson grew up in a Southern Baptist environment and says he spent a long time reconciling religion with his sexuality. At about age 30, Thompson left his corporate marketing job to attend a bible study school, immersing himself in a period of inner reflection. “I thought my calling was to serve people as a minister. What I learned was that my calling was to serve people, just not religiously,” he says. He sees his job at EU as part of that mission of service.
Thompson hopes to reach out to all parts of the queer community, helping make the fight for equality a collaborative effort between organizations. “For the Allies Dinner, I’ve tried to contact as many organizations as I can—sWerve, Utah Bear Alliance, Utah Progressive Network, others—and invite them personally to the dinner.”
He counts building bridges within the community as one of the major challenges facing EU. “What I want most from my life is meaning. What I invest my time in is going to impact someone’s life,” he says. “I remember hearing in cub scouts ‘you leave the campground better than you found it.’ That’s what Equality Utah is doing—saying to the community, ‘Hey, you are valuable and have something to contribute in this effort.’”
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