Hello.

I'm John Lindner. I live in Northern California, under the care of a feline creature and a loving husband.

I'm 43 years old. I'm an elementary school teacher by profession.

I was elected in November 2004 election to the governing board of the Franklin-McKinley School District in east San Jose and am currently the board vice president. Please visit my campaign website.

Along with a growing interest in computers, I became part of GLAAD/San Francisco Bay Area's South Bay Chapter. I learned a bit about media monitoring, and we did some good things regarding getting a local hate radio duo to tone down the worst of their morning rants regarding women, minorities, and GB folks (LT folk didn't really enter into their routine). GLAAD/South Bay also organized to get the San Jose Mercury News to include committment ceremonies on their wedding page (which they will now routinely do).

One of the best things that came out of my GLAAD involvement though was connecting with Jessea Greenman and the then-Project 21, now the PERSON Project, which like the Schools list, focuses on promoting educational equity for LGBT youth. Jessea really knew how to activate/organize an electronic mailing list and Jean Richter carried on that tradition until just very recently.

I continue to be active on the PFLAG-Talk list.

In between, I've learned a bit about web weaving, making my own web page and my former school's website.

Religiously, I'm a former Roman Catholic recently received into the Episcopal church; after a recent letter from the Vatican and the election of Pope Benedict XVI, it's hard hearing the Church which nurtured my spirituality and religious faith refer to me and my life partner as "evil" and to suggest that barring me from working with children can be considered a form of "just" discrimination.

I attended Catholic schools from first grade through high school, although some like to say the last four years at a Jesuit college prep weren't really Catholic, given the liberal leanings of "the Society". I would say a lot of my activist bent is based in Ignatian spirituality, especially as it relates to service "for others".

I'm also a member of the Boy Scouts, first as a youth member, now as an adult volunteer and chartered representative on a troop committe and a merit badge counselor.

In high school and college, I taught Sunday school, first to preschoolers, then to grade school age kids (first and fifth graders). I regularly attended the local Newman Center, which is also a parish in the Diocese of Oakland. Newman is an institution of the Paulist Fathers (who some say make those liberal Jesuits of my high school days look downright conservative). I was active in Alpha Phi Omega service fraternity.

After college (1984 - 1986), I was part of the Jesuit Volunteer Corps for two years here in California. I worked at an emergency food locker in Sacramento and as a driver/therapeutic aide at a day treatment center for emotional disturbed/learning handicapped youth in Santa Clara. I lived in community during those two years and gained my last dog, Willard.

After leaving the JVC, I went back to school at Santa Clara University for my teaching credential and began teaching. I was also gradually beginning to come out to myself (say, in my mid-20's). Looking back, I can now see gobs of indicators that I was gay and was just ignoring the potential for it. Ain't hindsight wonderful? :)

I helped begin the Bridges-Across Project and am the webmaster of PLAG-Talk's website.

I was formerly a board member of Youth Guardian Services, which sponsors the Schools mailing list.

Take care,

John