Schedule
Janson Wu
Opening Keynote: Marriage Equality
10:00am/Ames Court Room
Dignity declared, yet still denied: The U.S. Supreme Court’s marriage equality decision in Obergefell last June was not only historic, but instructive for the future of the LGBTQ movement. While dignity may now be declared by the highest court in our land, it is still denied for too many. Hear from the Executive Director of GLAD, which has led the progress for LGBTQ rights for almost four decades, as he describes the scene from the courtroom on the day of the Obergefell decision, to the critical battles ahead.
Janson Wu
GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders
Cei Lambert
Marc Dones
Ayala Livny
Twiggy Pucci Garcon
Mandy Lussier
Homelessness
11:10am/Ames Court Room
Many shelters are overcapacity, making it difficult to provide adequate services to the homeless populations the shelter serves. When individuals among this population identify as LGBTQ, then the ability to deliver services is further crippled. This leads to a frustrating experience between the shelter and the individual seeking services. We have some of the most talented experts on LGBTQ homelessness to weigh in on the issue of homelessness among LGBTQ populations. In addition, we will spend time focusing on youth and transgender populations to better understand the root causes of homelessness.
Cei Lambert
Transgender Program Patient Advocate, Fenway Health
Marc Dones
Senior Analyst, Health Policy, Center for Social Innovation
Ayala Livny
Advocate & Independent Consultant
Twiggy Pucci Garcon
Senior Program Officer, True Colors Fund
Mandy Lussier
Program Coordinator, Youth on Fire, AIDS Action Committee
Mihai Patru
Misha Friedman
Vanessa Calva Ruiz
Amit Dixit
John Wambere
A Global Perspective on Equality: Challenges and Opportunities
11:10am/North Room
Many activists are increasingly impatient with the progress made by the Equality movement in the U.S. and other countries where the rights of LGBTI people are legally protected, yet the challenges appear to becoming more dire in other regions—potentially as backlash against the progress witnessed elsewhere. It is undeniable that LGBTI rights and inclusion of sexual orientation and gender identity and expression are beginning to be expressed during deliberations about pressing global challenges, from forced migration to economic distress and poverty to lack of access to health services. This panel brings together speakers from a variety of sectors--diplomacy, journalism, civil society--to talk about effective responses to continued (and increased) violence against and persecution of LGBTI people. The panel discussion will explore opportunities and the positive developments in the global movement for Equality.
Mihai Patru
Human Rights Fellow, Johns Hopkins University
Misha Friedman
Independent Documentary Photographer
Vanessa Calva Ruiz
Member, Mexican Foreign Service, Embassy of Mexico in the United States
Amit Dixit
Founder and Executive Director, South Asian Arts Council, Boston
John Wambere
Ugandan Gay Rights Activist
Robyn Ochs
Mid-day Keynote: Non-binary
12:20pm/Ames Court Room
Beyond Binaries: Identity and Sexuality - This program explores the landscape of sexuality, and how we “map” sexual orientation. How do we assign labels to our complicated and unique experiences? In this interactive program, we will conduct an anonymous survey of those present and look together at the data. Where do we fall on the sexuality continuum; how do we understand our sexuality over time; how do we label? We will explore different experiences of identity, the interplay between gender and sexuality, the complexities of attraction, and more. www.robynochs.com
Robyn Ochs
Activist and Educator
Brittany Charlton
Sean Cahill
Mark Schuster
Allegra Gordon
LGBTQ Health: Destructive Disparities
2:00pm/Ames Court Room
Did you know that sexual minorities are more at risk for a teenage pregnancy than their heterosexual peers? Or that LGBT youth are more than 2-3 times as likely to attempt suicide as their heterosexual peers, often related to isolation, lack of acceptance, and bullying at school? Or that gay, bisexual, and other men (particularly those identifying as African American or Hispanic) who have sex with men account for most new HIV infections among youth and a substantial number of all new HIV infections in the US annually? With a moderator and panelists from the Fenway Institute, Boston Children's Hospital, and Harvard University, this panel will discuss ways to combat such disparities.
Brittany Charlton
Instructor, Harvard Medical School and Boston Children’s Hospital
Sean Cahill
Director of Health Policy Research, The Fenway Institute, Fenway Health
Mark Schuster
Chief of General Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School and Boston Children’s Hospital
Allegra Gordon
Research Fellow, Harvard Medical School and Boston Children’s Hospital
Beck Bailey
Susanne Fortuna
Nick Goad
Ethan Bernstein
Employer LBGTQ Policy
2:00pm/East Room
"We spend a significant portion of our lives at work – for some of us, the majority of our waking hours are spent cultivating a career. Not long ago, social norms unanimously prevented non-heterosexual and transgender individuals from fully expressing themselves in the work place. Today, many companies and industries have come far, while others retain the stifling manacles of bygone days. Join our panelists, who have broad perspectives on employer policy and inclusion initiatives, to learn and discuss how to shape the future of a truly supportive and integrated workplace for LGBTQ individuals."
Beck Bailey
Deputy Director of Employee Engagement, Human Rights Campaign
Susanne Fortuna
City Co-director, Lesbians Who Tech
Nick Goad
Partner & Managing Director, Boston Consulting Group
Ethan Bernstein
Assistant Professor or Leadership and Organizational Behavior, Harvard Business School
Daniella Zalcman
Danny Ballon
Bishop Joseph Tolton
Rabbi D'vorah Rose
Sacred Struggles: Faith, Politics, and the Future of LGBTQ Equality
2:00pm/North Room
Religion and social change are mutually constitutive, with religious belief and practice evolving in response to ever-changing historical circumstances and theological debates often serving as proxy battles for forms of social and political contestation. This has been especially true for the global movement for LGBTQ equality, as religious authority from almost every major religious tradition has animated and legitimated prejudice, discrimination, and violence against LGBTQ individuals all over the world. This panel brings together scholars, activists, faith leaders, and journalists to talk about the ways LGBTQ people of faith and allies around the globe are fighting back, to reform religious doctrine and religious institutions, and in the process advance the cause of dignity, justice, and equality for all.
Daniella Zalcman
Independent Photojournalist
Danny Ballon
Master of Theology (2016), Harvard University
Bishop Joseph Tolton
Bishop of Global Outreach, The Fellowship of Affirming Ministries
Rabbi D'vorah Rose
DL Rose Consulting
Tyrone Hanley
Ty Hinson
Mike Cox
Entrapment: Criminal (in)Justice in the LGBTQ Community
3:10pm/East Room
An American criminal justice system designed to protect too often disproportionately affects aspects of the LGBTQ community. This panel forcuses on some of the disparities LGBTQ individuals face across enforcement, sentencing and institutionalization.
Tyrone Hanley
Policy Counsel, National Center for Lesbian Rights
Ty Hinson
Formerly Incarcerated Leader, Black and Pink
Mike Cox
Formerly Incarcerated Leader, Black and Pink
Richard Gadsden
Natara Gray
Jenae Moxie
Ariel Eckblad
Safe Spaces: Continuing An Increasingly Important Conversation within LGBTQ Communities in Schools
3:10pm/North Room
The LGBTQ community is made up of an extremely diverse array of individuals. Of of the many things that make the LGBTQ community special is the vast number of subcultures that exist within it. Within the LGBTQ community, safe spaces that reach out to specifically sub-cultures within the community are increasingly becoming a topic of conversation. Ranging from communities that service just one letter of the community acronym, to communities that serve populations at the intersection of the LGBTQ community and other communities such as race or religion, safe spaces have become an important part of the conversation. Join this panel made of up of students and administrators at Harvard as they discuss their own personal experiences with safe spaces and continue the conversation about safe spaces within the broader LGBTQ community.
Richard Gadsden
Student, Harvard Law School
Natara Gray
Coordinator for Student Diversity and Inclusion, Harvard Kennedy School
Jenae Moxie
Student, Harvard Law School
Ariel Eckblad
Student, Harvard Law School
Kylar W. Broadus
David Jay
Jacob Tobia
Robyn Ochs
It's a Spectrum! Embracing Gender and Sexuality Beyond the Binary
3:10pm/Ames Court Room
In an LGBT movement that focuses so heavily on oppositional identities (straight v. gay/lesbian, man v. woman, cisgender v. transgender) how do we embrace those whose identities fall between or outside of the current paradigm? This session, featuring leading genderqueer, asexual, bisexual/pansexual, and transgender voices, will share strategies for talking about sexual and gender diversity beyond the binary.
Kylar W. Broadus
Trans People of Color Coalition
David Jay
Founder, asexuality.org
Jacob Tobia
Writer, Speaker and Advocate
Robyn Ochs
Activist and Educator
Sue Fulton
Brynn Tannehill
Blake Dremann
The “T” isn’t Silent: Military Service and Transgender Americans
4:20pm/Ames Court Room
The repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” left standing policies that bar transgender men and women from serving in our Armed Forces. Thanks to the work of LGBT veterans and service members, that barrier is falling. SPARTA’s president will join trans veterans to tell their stories, debunk myths about trans people, and outline the remarkable path toward lifting this ban. In the process, we will address why this issue matters to the larger community, and what makes a good trans ally.
Sue Fulton
President, SPARTA
Brynn Tannehill
Director of Advocacy, SPARTA
Blake Dremann
Active Duty Service Member, United States Military
Being an Ally Across Identities: A Panel Driven Conversation
4:20pm/East Room
How we navigate being an ally as a straight person, a cisgender person, and an LGBTQ person is an important conversation that needs to be had. So, lets have it! We also need to go beyond that as we understand intersecting identities across sexual orientation, gender identity, race, ethnicity, ability, etc. What does it mean to be a gay man who is an ally to trans women? What does it mean to be a white transgender person who is an ally to black genderqueer people? These are some of the questions we aim to answer as well as: What does it mean to be an ally and what is their role? What are the challenges of being an ally? How can we recruit and work with allies? Our facilitators and panelists will share their stories as LGBTQ folks and allies and there will lots of room to ask questions and force the dialogue.
Polly Laurelchild-Hertig
Sean Martin
Global Narratives: The Experiences of LGBTQI Asylum Seekers in the United States
4:20pm/North Room
Since 1994, the U.S. has allowed individuals persecuted because of their sexual orientation or gender identity to seek political asylum in the U.S. These LGBTQI asylum seekers face significant challenges: they cannot legally work upon arrival, they infrequently have protected legal status, and they face the complex U.S. legal system. Unlike other countries, the U.S. provides no legal, medical, or housing support for asylum seekers, and U.S. federal law prohibits any private or state organization receiving federal funding from assisting them. In collaboration with the Massachusetts-based LGBT Asylum Support Task Force, this panel shares stories of both asylum seekers and of those who advocate for them.
Raffi Freedman-Gurspan
Closing Keynote: Raffi Freedman-Gurspan
5:30pm/Ames Court Room
Raffi Freedman-Gurspan is an Outreach and Recruitment Director for Presidential Personnel at the White House. She is the first appointee in the Obama White House who is openly transgender. Raffi previously worked at the National Center for Transgender Equality. Prior work includes Legislative Director for former state representative Carl Sciortino in the Massachusetts House of Representatives; LGBT Liaison for the City of Somerville, Massachusetts; advocacy work with the Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition; and research assistance work at Boston University’s Women’s, Gender & Sexuality Studies Program. A graduate of St. Olaf College in Minnesota, Raffi was adopted from Honduras and grew up in Brookline, Massachusetts.
