Meet Daphney Poyser | Certified Matchmaker, Date and Relationship Coach

We had the good fortune of connecting with Daphney Poyser and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Daphney, what matters most to you?
The value and principle that matters most to me is fairness and that is why I work with a diverse group of clients, people and organizations.

What should our readers know about your business?
My business primarily focuses on the LGBTQ+ community and being in such a tight niche market is sometimes a good and bad thing. As a matchmaker, there are not a lot of people doing what I do and it often surprises people when they find out what kind of business that I own. For some reason there is this idea that not everyone deserves equality, fairness and acceptance but that is one of the main reasons why I do what I do for work. I believe that everyone should be accepted and loved for who they are, especially when it comes to people of color, transgender folks and everyone who is brave enough to live out loud in their truth.

It hasn’t been easy breaking into this industry and not conforming to the typical hetero ways of seeing love and relationships, however that is probably one of the most rewarding parts of our work is that we can be creative in a way that works for the cultures of the people that we serve and not have to worry about fitting into some box that doesn’t suit the community of people that we work with on a daily basis.

I think that the best and worst parts about what we do everyday is that we get to fight for fairness and equality for people who truly deserve it, myself included. It’s not always easy being different but it is not at all bad either and if I have learned anything over the years is that I along with the people that I work with are unique in our own rights and we have the right to live and love in our truth.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
That’s such a hard question! If I was having a friend visit from out of state, and we didn’t have the most time I would definitely recommend some of the following. I’m sure that they would have their own agenda in mind too, and I want to honor their own vision for the visit but these are some of our favorite places in San Francisco, excluding all of the amazing spaces outside of the city!

The Bay Area has such a rich and deep rooted Asian history, culture, expression, etc. (as does a lot of California-for better or for worse) which I think is very specific to the region, especially in comparison to some of our neighboring states. There’s so much to do in SF, but that lineage certainly influenced by to-do list.

Stay
Kimpton Hotel Enso

Places To Eat/Drink

Food
Gracias Madres (The best vegan Mexican cuisine I’ve had in the US! Albeit I haven’t tried them all haha, but this one takes the cake.)
Gai Chicken and Rice (Gai is a traditional Hainanese dish, and it’s so incredibly simple so it’s often very easy to get it wrong, haha but I think the simplicity makes it all that more special and less common naturally.)
Arisicault Bakery

Coffee
Home coffee roasters
Blue bottle (Safe choice that isn’t Starbucks :,])
Coffee bodega

Drinks (All of these are different Japanese listening bars! Again, I think it’s a very unique thing to be able to experience for music lovers, especially Jazz or Vinyl specific fanatics.)
Harlan’s Records
B-side
Le fantastic

Places To Visit/Things To Do
Stern Grove Festival (The amphitheater alone is gorgeous in the Summer, but to make it even better, who doesn’t love a free concert?)
Rooftop Gardens in FiDi
Haight-Ashby (A must see to explore Queer culture in the city!)
ICA SF Museum + for the Biri Bibi food pop-up for Hyderabadi cuisine (July 20th!)

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I believe that it takes a village in order to run a successful business and my village is my team. They are the engine that keeps the train moving, so to speak. We started with two people and now we have a full team of people who make the dreams happen everyday.

Website: https://www.fernconnections.com/

Instagram: http://instagram.com/fernconnections

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/fernconnections

Twitter: http://twitter.com/fernconnections

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fernconnectionsmatchmaking

Youtube: https://youtube.com/@datingwithdaphney

Other: tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@fernconnections

Image Credits
Photos of Daphney Poyser by Julie Ulstrup Other images licensed from AbodeStock