Adams Tutor Appointed Liason on Gay Issues

An Adams House tutor will serve as liason to the city of Somerville's gay community, Mayor Dorothy Kelly Gay announced Tuesday.

Theodora R. "Dorie" Clark, a Bisexual, Gay, Lesbian and Transgender and religion tutor in Adams--and also a Somerville resident--said she will begin her new job immediately.

It is an upaid position, requiring at least 10 hours of work each week, Clark said. She does not plan to leave her Harvard tutorship.

The mayor's press secretary, Sean Fitzgerald, said that two factors led to the city's conclusion that Clark was "head and shoulders" above all other candidates for the position: her educational background and her role as a local political activist.

Clark , who received her master's degree in theological studies from the Harvard Divinity School in June 1999, said she has a history of working for gay political candidates.

She volunteered for the campaign of State Rep. Jarrett T. Barrios '90 (D-Cambridge), and last fall, she served in his office as a legislative intern.

Somerville--the most densely populated city in New England--has a "fairly sizable" gay and lesbian population that represents a "politically active constituency," Clark said.

High on Clark's agenda as gay liaison is to work with Somerville High School to make sure "that gay students there feel supported." She said she has already set up meetings with community activist groups to pursue possible plans of action.

Clark decided to focus on the high school after her meeting with Gay, who, as a member of the Somerville School Committee from 1986 to 1993, instituted an AIDS curriculum and a program making condoms available at Somerville High School.

The high school will be the site of an official reception on Feb. 3, when Gay will introduce the community to its new gay liaison.

In appointing Clark, Gay is continuing a position instituted by U.S. Rep. Michael E. Capuano (D-Mass.) in 1996, during his tenure as Somerville mayor. Gay replaced Capuano after winning a special mayoral election last May.

Clark wouldn't say whether her new position indicates that a career in elected office is in the works.

"I'm not ruling anything out," she said, "but in the meantime, I'm not smoking any marijuana."