Sharon Kaufman-Osborn papers, 1977-2002

Sharon Kaufman-Osborn grew up in Arizona. She graduated from Oberlin College with a B.A. in Psychology and received her Masters' from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1979. In 1982, she began working at Whitman College as a counselor in the Counseling Center. She quickly got involved in Women's/Feminist groups, hosted intermittent gay support groups, and acted as an advocate at discussion panels. In 1986, Eric Tooley '90 formed a more official student group with Kaufman-Osborn and professor Bob Tobin as advisors. The Gay Lesbian Association (later the Gay-Lesbian-Bisexual Alliance) was small, highly confidential, and funded through alumni donors to maintain independence and privacy. Until about 2001, Kaufman-Osborn was one of the advisors to the GLA/GLBA, and often served as the contact person and representative of the group. She also helped found the Coalition Against Homophobia in 1992, and the Jewish student group, Shalom. As a counselor at Whitman, she provided sensitivity training on sexuality and gender issues and identities, particularly for Residence Life and other community organizations. She was also involved in local organizations such as the local PFLAG chapter, Blue Mountain Heart to Heart, the local ACLU chapter, and the local Planned Parenthood. Sharon Kaufman-Osborn retired from Whitman in 2019.