In memoriam: Christina Santiago, 1981–2011

Christina Santiago, 1981–2011 When I met Santiago at a benefit earlier this year, I felt an instant warmth. In this business, you get accustomed to corresponding remotely, rarely having face-to-face time with a source. But even with someone she’d just encountered, the project manager of Howard Brown’s Lesbian Community Care Project for the past six years exuded radiant energy. It’s terribly sad to think a tragic accident—the August 13 stage collapse at the Indiana State Fair that killed Santiago and six others—took that away. The void she leaves for girlfriend Alisha Brennan, who was injured in the accident, and her friends and colleagues is vast. But given that LBT women’s health isn’t covered extensively in the press, it’s one part of Santiago’s lasting, meaningful legacy that she was there to keep us in the loop.