Sometimes, I sit back and think to myself, "How did I get here?" If ten years ago someone had said to me, "Jodi, you'll be doing public health research," I would have responded with the same question that my family asks me again and again: "What does public health research mean?" (I'm still working a brief answer to that one, by-the-by.) And if you had told me that I would be focusing primarily on the health of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and trans gender (LGBT) populations, I would have never believed you. That's something that one puts her volunteer efforts toward—not something you are paid to do, right? But through a series of experiences and by taking advantage of opportunities, here I sit, on the seventh floor of the Boston office of JSI, doing just that.

Jodi Sperber presents at a "brown bag" seminar on JSI's initiatives to improve health care access for LGBT populations in the United States.

Over the past four years, I have been contributing to a growing niche within JSI by working in LGBT health. By combining the functional strengths of the organization with the topical interests of some dedicated employees, we have been steadily increasing our portfolio of LGBT-related work. This effort has coalesced into a venture called the LGBT Integrated Community Health Initiative, with a mission of ensuring equal access to health care and social services for all people, including LGBT individuals.

We are currently working on a number of projects that include LGBT populations. For my part, I am working on three: an evaluation of a state-wide training of youth service providers that focuses on working with LGBT youth in Massachusetts; a state-wide community scan of the LGBT population in Rhode Island; and an investigation of the accessibility of quality home care services for LGBT elders. Each of these projects is innovative and exciting in its own way, and each contributes greatly to the growing literature on LGBT health.

Today, I am visiting the JSI/DC office for the first time. I am in the area for a conference on LGBT health and to do some education and advocacy work on Capitol Hill, and have stayed on to spend some time with the JSI/DC staff. A "brown bag" lunch has been arranged for me to introduce the DC-based staff to the LGBT work we have done from the Boston office. I give an overview of our work thus far, what we are doing currently, and how we can build upon this in the future. While the computer and projector remain completely uncooperative, people are interested and focused, and we have a thoughtful discussion.

In addition to sharing some of what I do up in Boston, I also take the opportunity to learn more about what happens in the DC office. This type of exchange is one of the things that makes JSI a unique place to work. It is one thing to read the brochures and talk with others while we are staffing the JSI booth at various annual conferences; it is another to walk into people's offices and see the day to day work that goes into making these projects happen. It is also nice to get a voice to go with the faces I see on the "Who's Who" section of the JSI Intranet! (Admit it, you do this, too!)

After the brown bag presentation, I meet with two DC-based staff to talk about an HIV-related project we are working on as a team. Due to distance, this has been done mostly through email and phone conversations, thus it is a special opportunity to sit around the same table and meet face to face.

When that meeting is over, I set myself up at a free computer, log in to the network, and go through all of the email messages I received while I was at the conference. I appreciate the opportunity to get this done before I get home, and silently thank the computer folks for keeping the network up and running so working remotely like this is even a possibility.

Two hours later, I get on the Metro and head for the airport. This has been a short and productive trip, and I am ready to be on my way.

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