CHICAGO, IL — The National LGBTQ Task Force has announced the award recipients for the 28th annual Creating Change conference—the nation’s largest LGBTQ advocacy conference—set to take place Jan. 20-24, 2016 at the Downtown Chicago Hilton.
“We are proud to announce our 2016 Creating Change award recipients—all of whom have made significant contributions to advance basic freedoms, rights and protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people,” said Russell Roybal, National LGBTQ Task Force Deputy Executive Director. “We’re thrilled to be hosting Creating Change in Chicago—which is expected to be the largest gathering to date. We look forward to welcoming, training and reconnecting with over 5,000 LGBTQ advocates and allies in the Windy City!”
During the conference, Barbara Smith will be presented with the Susan J. Hyde Award for Longevity in the Movement. Smith, a life-long activist in the LGBTQ, civil rights, and women’s rights movements, founded Kitchen Table: Women of Color Press and served two terms as a councilmember of Albany, New York. Marisa Franco, campaign director of the #Not1More campaign, will receive the Leadership on Immigration Award and Katherine Acey, who served as the executive director of GRIOT Circle as well as the Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice, will receive the SAGE Advocacy Award for Excellence in Leadership on Aging Issues. Additional award recipients include Bob Miller, Nick Sakurai, Kasey White, and Hilton Worldwide.
Creating Change is a unique four-day experience consisting of daylong institutes, dynamic plenary sessions, and over 350 skills-building workshops, presentations, and trainings. The conference also features networking sessions, film screenings, interfaith services, community caucuses, hospitality suites and special receptions.
To learn more about the awardees, and for more information about the conference, please visit: www.CreatingChange.org.
