Watermark’s Most Eligible – Tampa Bay: Claire Elisan

Age: 34

Hometown: San Diego, California

How you identify: Lesbian

What’s your sign: Taurus

Claire Elisan’s dedication to the LGBTQ community is clear from the moment you meet her.

“My passion is helping other people. That’s what makes me happy,” she says of founding the not-for-profit Project No Labels. Now in its third year, the organization seeks to “unite the LGBTQ+ community with our straight allies in Tampa Bay through positive activities and events while promoting volunteerism and activism.”

No Labels’ creation was spurred by a void she saw in the community. Initially, she created a group focusing primarily on lesbians, but opted to move toward the entire LGBTQ spectrum in an effort to be more inclusive.

“Since I started Project No Labels, it inspired other organizations to start and I know because they’ve approached me,” she says. “Organizations are now doing positive things for the community, and these groups come up and say ‘how do we do this? How do we start?’ Guiding them through that is really cool.”

For Claire, meeting face-to-face is essential, even in a time when people are constantly meeting online. To help with that, she’ll be launching a woman’s event with entertainment in St. Petersburg called “Underground.”

“I want to encourage people to step out of reality TV per se, and to just step into reality. I would really like to see people meet outside of just online, because you don’t know what you’re getting there. Come out and meet your community in person,” she says.

Claire considers herself open-minded, drama-free and outgoing, adding that she’s “pretty much down for whatever.”

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