Boy Scouts Withdraw Job Offer to Local Lesbian

On Sep. 19, Yasmin Cassani was offered a position as program director with the Boy Scouts Denver Area Council, but the job was rescinded once she informed the organization she was an open lesbian, she tells Out Front.

Yasmin has been working to improve the lives of kids since she was a teenager, working first as a camp counselor in Michigan. “I just fell in love with helping kids and being a positive influence and role model for them.”

She grew up in a single-parent home with a small income. Though Yasmin loves the outdoors, she didn’t get a lot of chances to pursue her passion. Then, through the kindness of a family friend, she was able to attend a basketball camp where she could indulge in her love sports and the outdoors.

Yasmin never forgot the importance of that opportunity she was given, and she is now the co-founder for the nonprofit, Create Play, which provides recreational equipment and opportunities for underprivileged kids. “That’s near and dear to my heart because as a kid, I didn’t always have those opportunities unless people were helping me, and I think it’s time to pay it forward.”

Yasmin moved to Colorado from Michigan in 2008 to intern for Denver Parks and Recreation where she fell in love with the Centennial State. For the past three and a half years, she has worked as a youth services coordinator.

“As an adult, it’s really important for me to help kids and show them they can tackle obstacles if their parents can’t afford to send them to camp.”

Earlier this year, Yasmin discovered the Boy Scouts Denver Area Council was opening an adventure center at the beginning of 2015, and they were looking for a center director.

“It was a huge step up from my job now and I was extremely excited about the position,” says Yasmin, who was eager to broaden her passion of the outdoors and for helping kids. “It would have been a great career move for me.”

Though she admits she had some trepidations about how the organization has treated the LGBT community in the past, she was confident her own sexual orientation would not be a problem as the Boy Scouts recently allowed openly gay youths to join.

Yasmin applied for the position and participated in the first round of interviews on Sep. 3. “It was a pretty intense process with a couple of different interview panels of people.” Yasmin was asked to return to a second round of interviews on Sep. 19, where she met with the CEO of the Boy Scouts of America Denver Area Council (BSADA).

She was then taken to lunch by David Whinter, the BSADA Program Team Leader, and was verbally offered the job — with one additional requirement.

“The day that they offered me the position, they told me I had to become a formal member,” says Yasmin, adding that becoming a member was never listed as a requirement for the job. “So once I reviewed the employee manual, I looked into the membership process and found out they do not grant membership to openly gay people.”

Yasmin emailed her contact, explaining that she was indeed an open lesbian and asked if that was going to be an issue. A few days later, Yasmin says that Dave Whitner called her and withdrew the offer, stating that she didn’t meet the minimum qualifications for the position.

“I did tell him that it was very unfortunate that this was the case because they obviously picked me because of my experience and my abilities and he agreed,” says Yasmin. “I was really upset; I was looking forward to that job. It was given to me, offered to me, I knew it was going to be the right career move for me.”

Yasmin adds that she could have taken the job without disclosing her sexual orientation, but she didn’t feel that it was the right thing to do. “I’m happy and proud of who I am. I’m not going to go to work and be scared I’m going to be fired every single day. I wasn’t okay with that.”

At every other place of work, Yasmin’s sexual orientation has never been a problem. “In my current place of employment it’s not an issue. I’m welcomed and everyone is so great and people don’t judge me for my sexual orientation. I’m so comfortable.”

Out Front reached out to the Boy Scout Denver Area Council, but the organization did not return multiple attempts for a comment. The organization did release a statement to FOX 31 that read, “As this is a personnel matter, we are not at liberty to discuss details. But, during the employment process, this individual brought it to our attention that she did not meet the requirements for employment.”

Despite the fact that Yasmin lost the job, she tries to find meaning behind it. “It’s really unfortunate that discrimination is still happening based on sexual orientation. But I also feel like this happened for a reason, and this is where I can advocate for change. That’s what I’m trying to do. I’m trying to move forward and trying to figure out how this will not happen in the future.”

Yasmin hopes her story will have an impact on others to stand up for who they are and not be afraid. “The only way we’re going to create change is to stand up and say discrimination based on sexual orientation, or anything else, is not okay.”