ANDREA
HOUSTON
Advocacy | Fundraising | Media
ABOUT
Andrea is a passionate fundraising and development professional with a background in journalism, professional communications, and politics.
She is a former managing editor of Torontoist. She also developed the Queer Media course at Ryerson University’s School of Journalism, where she teaches.
At Queen's Park, Andrea served as executive assistant to MPP Cheri DiNovo, Ontario's first LGBTQ critic, where she worked on legislation to make the province safer and more accepting for queer and trans people, such as Bill 77, which banned medical conversion therapy for LGBTQ youth.
Andrea is a former Pride Toronto “Honoured Dyke,” two-time Inspire Award nominee for LGBT Person of the Year, and was recently named Role Model of the Year by the Canadian Centre for Gender and Sexual Diversity.
As a journalist, Andrea has covered a range of issues affecting LGBT people on local, provincial, national, and international levels. She has written for the Toronto Star, the Peterborough Examiner, The Globe and Mail, NOW Magazine, and Xtra, Canada’s gay and lesbian news.
Fundraising and Development
Rainbow Railroad Spring Campaign
Currently working with Rainbow Railroad on their spring campaign: Journey To Freedom. This is the first email piece I created for them, sent out April 5, 2018.
The email to donors featured an interview I did with Elena Milashina, the Russian journalist who broke the story of the anti-gay crackdown in Chechnya.
On the one-year anniversary of the crisis, I remind donors that the purge continues and the stakes remain incredibly high.
Click image above to open email letter
Crowdfunding
Essay examining the question of whether crowdfunding can save journalism. I looked at a number of news outlets, such as Canadaland and The Tyee, using crowdfunding, with varying degrees of success.
The Case for Support
For Rainbow Railroad's #60in60 Campaign, an ambitious campaign that aimed to raise enough to get 60 queer refugees to safety in 60 days.
Prospect research
Don Lang, executive chairman for CCL Industries Inc. and board member at Sunnybrook Hospital
Direct mail package for Oxfam Canada
Appeal letter and thank you letter (right)
Outside and inside envelopes and reply form (below)
Click below to open letter and reply
Click on the envelope to open slide show
 |  |  |
|---|---|---|
 |
Fundraising events
Stewardship event for the Canadian Lesbian and Gay Archives on April 12. The theme was "A Tribute to Legends"
Below are the invitations and some pictures from the event.
Day Plan
The day plan for the Canadian Lesbian and Gay Archives stewardship event at the Arts and Letters Club in Toronto.
Volunteering at a fundraising event for Pride Toronto featuring drag queens from RuPaul's Drag Race.
#ENDhatelaws
Fundraiser at the Gladstone Hotel for expenses as the group geared up for WorldPride in Toronto.
#ENDhatelaws was founded with a specific purpose: to put anti-gay laws front and centre as the international spotlight is turned on Toronto.
Just weeks ahead of WorldPride, a number of activists in the Ugandan delegation announced that they were denied visas to enter Canada.
Using media, social media, and galvanizing support, we successfully pushed the Harper government to reverse their decision. It would simply not be WorldPride without the Uganda delegation.
Teaching
Queer Media
I developed and teach Queer Media in the School of Journalism at Ryerson University in the Faculty of Communication and Design.
It is the first ever LGBTQ media course at any journalism school in Canada.
Media coverage of Queer Media — Click pictures below
Speaking to Ryerson Journalism students about how to cover news and fight for social justice in the age of Trump.
Click the image to read the story.
Historica Canada
On March 8, International Women's Day, I was asked to deliver a keynote to an auditorium full of high school youth from across the GTA on a Canadian LGBTQ trailblazer. I chose black trans singer and activist Jackie Shane.
Advocacy
I am a founding member of Dignity Initiative, a collective of international LGBTQ activists working to improve the lives of LGBTQ people around the world by fighting legislative barriers and discrimination, and advocating for equality and liberation.
As Executive Assistant for Ontario's first LGBTQ critic, MPP Cheri DiNovo at Queen's Park, I helped pass laws and public policy that protect LGBTQ people, such as a ban on conversion therapy and updating the laws surrounding queer parenting.
My appearance on TVO's The Agenda discussing international human rights and anti-gay laws to mark the Canadian premier of Stephen Fry's documentary series Out There. Watch it here.
I am the author of the Pink Agenda, a foundational position paper for the Canadian Centre for Gender and Sexual Diversity, which is a national LGBTQ advocacy and support organization.
