St. Pete is celebrated for its fabulous weather, beautiful vistas, world-class food scene, and thriving cultural atmosphere but the people of St. Pete truly make this city something special. In appreciation, each month Green Bench shines a light on one of the many people who make St. Pete unique.
This month we’re putting the spotlight on Nate Taylor. As the division director of community initiatives for Metro Inclusive Health, he’s usually ensuring that Metro’s message is heard throughout Tampa Bay. It was a pleasure to shift the virtual megaphone and give him a shout-out!
From Philly but Where’s Home?
Taylor’s family is from Philadelphia, but he is a proverbial “military brat,” having lived in a variety of places around the world during his young life. His family was posted in Japan during the time he was ages 14 to 17, and he grew to love it so much that he returned on his own after he graduated high school. For two years, he worked as a director of community activities in Kamiseya, coordinating activities and events to promote cultural awareness for service members and their families. He also taught English classes for Japanese nationals. When his two-year contract ended, he returned to the United States, settled temporarily in Virginia Beach, and entered college at Washington, D.C.-based Strayer University.
Helping Others Brings Him Home
For the next eight years, Taylor was not only a Strayer student, he also was an employee. He earned a master’s degree in business administration and management and rose from a student services officer to director of campus operation, concentrating on helping people access education, especially those who may have struggled with more traditional paths. His eight years at Strayer involved several relocations, including a short stay in Tampa, as work promotions took him to several of the university’s many U.S. campuses. When Taylor arrived in Tampa Bay, he remembers thinking: “This is home.” In 2010, as he decided to shift career paths and landed in St. Pete, where he returned to his roots helping provide career and educational counseling for military spouses and service members. After serving on Metro Inclusive Health’s volunteer board for four years, he experienced another career turn.
We are Family
From its inception as a small HIV and AIDS outreach organization in the 1990s to its current status as a flourishing 501(c)(3) organization, Metro Inclusive Health offered support for the community. Metro’s mission is simple: “We strive to promote a healthy environment for all and foster diversity within the community as a whole, regardless of race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, age or economic status.” Taylor’s goal as the division director of community initiatives is to make sure that message gets to anyone who needs it, internally and throughout the community. When he’s not spreading that message, he’s probably taking care of his 3-year-old daughter, Skylar, along with her two mothers, who are longtime friends of Taylor’s. When he does get the occasional night off, you might also find him on stage as Pheyonce Montrese at drag venues across the Tampa Bay area. After a lifetime of moving, Taylor has found a home and family in St. Petersburg.
