User:Jonrosstrevino/Kris banks

Kris Banks is a GLBT political activist in the greater Houston area. He is currently working as a compliance manager for Neighborhood Centers Inc. In addition to a full time career, Mr. Banks also dedicates his time as the president of the Houston GLBT Political Caucus, a nonprofit, bipartisan organization serving the community by endorsing GLBT-friendly politicians.

Childhood
Kris Banks was born and raised as a Southern Baptist in Alvin, Texas, a town 30 miles south of Houston. His grandfather who ran for Justice of the Peace in 1984 influenced Mr. Banks’ political interests beginning at an early age. Mr. Banks believes his background as a conservative Christian helps him in understanding GLBT discrimination while his homosexual orientation facilitates advocacy for GLBT rights.

Education
After high school, Mr. Banks attended the University of Texas and majored in journalism, hoping to write for music magazines such as Spin. At UT, Mr. Banks wrote for the UT newspaper The Daily Texan about contemporary events as well as editorial pieces concerning social issues. From his experiences at The Daily Texan, Mr. Banks grew to enjoy column writing. He graduated from the University of Texas in Austin in 2003. After his undergraduate years, Mr. Banks sampled a variety of journalistic jobs before moving on to other interests.

Kris Banks eventually went to the University of Houston Law School, where he held a position in Outlaw, a student association for GLBT concerns. He decided in a law degree with the idea of doing policy work in association with social rights afterward. At this time, Mr. Banks helped establish the Houston Stonewall Young Democrats, an organization advocating political action on behalf of the GLBT community. In 2008, the same year he graduated from the University of Houston Law School with a juris doctor, Mr. Banks was elected to the Houston GLBT Political Caucus’s board of directors as well as the Houston Stonewall Young Democrats’ secretary. In January 2009, Mr. Banks succeeded [[Jennifer Pool] as the president of the Houston GLBT Political Caucus becoming the first president of the organization born after the organization was founded .  In 2010 Kris Banks retained his position as President of Houston’s LGBT Political Caucus for the upcoming year.

Social Activism
As president of the GLBT Political Caucus, Mr. Banks acts in a variety of public relations roles between the GLBT community and the rest of Houston. He raises awareness of hate crimes committed against members of the GLBT community as well as works with the media in proper reporting of such incidents. Mr. Banks collaborated with the Houston Chronicle in recognizing the murder of Ms. Myra Ical, recognizing her as her identified female gender rather than her stated male gender. Mr. Banks also meets with politicians in order to discuss GLBT relevant policies such as amendments to the ENDA (Employment Non-Discrimination Act) and Don’t Ask Don’t Tell to include the transgendered population. He also works with politicians to provide endorsements to political candidates.

In his presidency, Mr. Banks would like to reinstate the nondiscrimination act in Houston that was repealed in 1985. According to Mr. Banks, Houston’s lack of a nondiscrimination act seems very backwards, especially considering the recently elected openly gay mayor Annise Parker. He believes the GLBT Political Caucus to have great organization skills, and he wishes to strengthen that aspect of the union. Also acknowledging that the Political Caucus needs to bridge the age gap between its current members and the youth, Mr. Banks would also like to put more effort into recruiting younger people. Through the new recruits, Mr. Banks hopes to bring in fresh ideas and liaisons for the organization. Some members of the organization feel that he is taking the organization more toward political advocacy, thus weakening the organizations ability to be a political force.

For the future, Mr. Banks would like to advocate for other important social issues. He currently has interests in higher education promotion as well as immigration reform. Mr. Banks believes in investing his free time in volunteering for political advocacy purposes, and hopes to continue in serving his community this way.