LGBTQ venture capitalist, activist praises progress, embraces task ahead
Densil Porteous laughs when he recalls his plans for 2020 back when the year began. Before COVID-19, the ensuing economic recession and coast-to-coast demonstrations against police violence and systemic racism, he had just left his job at the Wexner Center for the Arts. He thought he’d focus on his nonprofit consulting business and take it easier for a while.
Now, he’s busier than ever.
On June 1, the 39-year-old Kenyon College graduate was named CEO of Pride Fund 1, a Columbus-based venture capital effort that backs businesses headed by LGBTQ entrepreneurs. On June 16, he was hired as interim executive director of Stonewall Columbus, the city’s LGBTQ community center. And on July 1, he was appointed by Mayor Andrew J. Ginther to serve on a working group that will develop plans for a civilian review board to oversee the Columbus Division of Police.
Porteous, a native of Jamaica who grew up in New York and Atlanta before making Ohio his home, spoke with Columbus CEO about the issues he’ll face as he tackles the new roles.
What are some of the biggest issues facing LGBTQ people in our country today?
Racism, transphobia, the numerous laws across states that continue to allow the legal discrimination against the LGBTQ community. This civil rights fight is far from over. In Ohio, organizations like Equality Ohio are helping fight against discrimination through support of the Ohio Fairness Act. At the federal level, the Human Rights Campaign continues to push the Equality Act that would make sweeping changes to ensure equal protections for the LGBTQ community.
What impact do you expect from the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision that bars employment discrimination against LGBTQ people under provisions of the 1964 Civil Rights Act? Do you think it's a bigger ruling than the Obergefell decision on marriage equality?
I do think the Bostock ruling has more weight behind it than the Obergefell decision. While the Obergefell decision made marriage the law of the land for same-sex couples, it didn’t protect us from being fired from our jobs the day we returned to work after getting married to our same-sex partner. I believe the Bostock decision will propel individuals within the LGBTQ community to come out, to bring their full selves to the workplace, to consider stepping into more forward-facing roles in companies. I think companies will find ways to celebrate their LGBTQ employees beyond the month of June. The Bostock decision quite honestly may help change the faces of business.
Columbus often scores high marks in surveys of LGBTQ-friendly communities because of local laws and the policies of its major corporations. Do you, as a gay man, feel you live that equality in your daily life?
That’s a little tricky to consider. I think as a gay man living in Columbus, I feel fully supported by the city to ensure that my rights are considered and respected. However, I don’t live a singular existence, and so my intersectional identity as a Black gay man in Columbus isn’t an equally welcoming experience as I perceive it to be for my white gay male counterparts.
What disparities exist that Pride Fund 1 hopes to address with its focus on venture capital investment in businesses started by LGBTQ entrepreneurs?
The disparity we aim to address is the lack of out LGBTQ representation in the business ecosystem, which includes the venture capital space. (Very few) venture capital (dollars) go to LGBTQ-identifying entrepreneurs or associated ventures. We are finding diversity within diversity because the LGBTQ community comes from a variety of backgrounds, all with a variety of business ideas. It is pretty amazing when you consider the vertical.
Stonewall Columbus is still trying to address issues raised after the arrest and convictions of Black Lives Matter protesters during the 2017 Pride parade. How do you move forward?
We are moving forward. I think, however, there are moments when we must recount our past to ensure we don’t repeat the bad parts. That’s accountability. I believe that the community will see the work we have done, the work we are doing. And they will elect to be a part of the forward movement, or they will stay behind — recounting a history we cannot change, unable to be a part of the positive future we hope to create in partnership with the community.
Bob Vitale is a freelance writer for Columbus CEO, a sister publication to The Dispatch. Read the full profile of Densil Porteous atcolumbusceo.com/features.
Densil Porteous
Title: CEO, Pride Fund 1, and interim executive director, Stonewall Columbus since June 2020
Age: 39
Experience: Founder, DePorteous Consulting; previously director of marketing/communication and outreach, Wexner Center for the Arts; chief admissions officer, Columbus College of Art & Design; admissions roles at Stanford University and Kenyon College; director of college counseling, Drew School
Community involvement: Chairman, Create Columbus Commission; national board member, Human Rights Campaign; board member, Legacy Fund of the Columbus Foundation
Education: Kenyon College, bachelor of arts in the psychology of gender; University of Phoenix, MBA
Personal: Porteous is partnered and engaged. He and his partner are foster parents for a 3-year-old girl and live in Victorian Village.
