{"221131":{"#nid":"221131","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Advocating for Acceptance Is Priority for Ingram","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThis Memorial Day weekend, Danny Ingram wasn\u2019t lounging poolside or grilling out in Piedmont Park \u2014 he was in Washington, D.C., speaking for veterans everywhere.\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cOn May 31, I participated in one of three panels that testified before the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights,\u201d said Ingram, a senior technical analyst in the Office of Information Technology (OIT). \u201cMyself and the other veterans were asked to speak on a variety of issues in the military \u2014 ranging from religious issues to benefits for same-sex couples.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIngram spent Memorial Day honoring fellow veterans at Arlington National Cemetery. (To view the testimony, visit \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/c.gatech.edu\/11IXgZR\u0022 title=\u0022http:\/\/c.gatech.edu\/11IXgZR\u0022\u003Ehttp:\/\/c.gatech.edu\/11IXgZR\u003C\/a\u003E.) \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBut Ingram\u2019s role in advocating for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights \u2014 especially the rights of those who were in the military \u2014 goes back to the early 1990s. About halfway through his six-year military career, Ingram decided to go public with the fact that he is gay. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI\u2019d met some remarkable people who had the courage to come out,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd I finally decided that I couldn\u2019t let them take all the heat for me.\u201d \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIt was 1992 (a year before Don\u2019t Ask Don\u2019t Tell became a law) and since there was only a policy in place prohibiting gays in the military (rather than a law), Ingram decided to write a letter to his commanding officer. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor the next year, Ingram waited as his case worked its way through the system. Ten days before the end of his military commitment, Ingram received an honorable discharge. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cEver since, I\u2019ve worked with the organization, American Veterans for Equal Rights advocating for LGBT veterans,\u201d said Ingram, who is now president of the organization. \u201cEven though I was discharged, I love and honor the military. And the goal of this group is to provide a place where LGBT vets can honor pride in our service and our sexual identity.\u201d \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ERead on to learn more about Ingram and his time at Georgia Tech.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EDid you intend to end up in this career?\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003E \u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr \/\u003EActually, no. I intended to become a Catholic priest and majored in psychology, religion, and English at Emory University. I really just fell into my job at Tech. I was working in the cashier\u2019s office at Emory when a former co-worker (who had accepted a job at Tech) told me I should take a job here. So in 1984, I came to the Institute, first working in Information Services, which was absorbed by OIT. My job was to work as the liaison between people on campus and the computer programming staff. And after moving around over the years, I\u2019m now in a similar role.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ETell us about your job.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003E \u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr \/\u003EI help people across campus explain their technology project needs to our programmers \u2014 I consider myself a bit of an interpreter. For example, I\u2019m currently working with the Bursar\u2019s office to help them develop an online tool that will improve efficiency. I will help them write the design specifications and will make sure that the programmers meet their needs.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat is your greatest challenge?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe hardest part about my job is having to research customers\u2019 problems with OIT\u2019s web applications, because there are so many complex variables involved, including operating systems and security settings.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat is the most satisfying part of the job? \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EWhen I\u2019m able to solve a problem for someone. But sometimes it\u2019s just as satisfying to be able to direct a person to someone who can help them if I\u2019m unable to.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat are a few things that all faculty and staff should do while working at Tech?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr \/\u003EWork out at the Campus Recreation Center (that is my go-to stress reliever), and attend events that feature our students. I\u2019m always so impressed when I see what they can do.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThis Memorial Day weekend, Danny Ingram wasn\u2019t lounging poolside or grilling out in Piedmont Park \u2014 he was in Washington, D.C., speaking for veterans everywhere.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"This Memorial Day weekend, Danny Ingram wasn\u2019t lounging poolside or grilling out in Piedmont Park \u2014 he was in Washington, D.C., speaking for veterans everywhere."}],"uid":"27445","created_gmt":"2013-07-08 15:59:16","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:14:30","author":"Amelia Pavlik","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2013-07-08T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2013-07-08T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"221081":{"id":"221081","type":"image","title":"Danny Ingram","body":null,"created":"1449243508","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:38:28","changed":"1475894888","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:48:08","alt":"Danny Ingram","file":{"fid":"197261","name":"ingram.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/ingram_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/ingram_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":4241928,"path_740":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/ingram_0.jpg?itok=RPXcIt-V"}}},"media_ids":["221081"],"groups":[{"id":"1259","name":"Whistle"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"}],"keywords":[{"id":"69171","name":"Danny Ingram"},{"id":"9299","name":"Office of Information Technology"},{"id":"4112","name":"oit"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:amelia.pavlik@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EAmelia Pavlik\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EInstitute Communications\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}