Leaders of state-based equality organizations—from Equality California to Equality Maine—and key national partners, will convene at Equality Federation’s 20th annual Leadership Conference in Alexandria, Virginia July 26-29.
Rebecca Isaacs, Executive Director of Equality Federation, said this year’s conference is especially consequential: “As our movement resists an extraordinarily hostile Administration and continued attacks on our freedoms at the state-level, it’s crucial that we come together to strategize and reinvigorate our movement for equality.”
Celebrating 20 years, Equality Federation now represents 42 organizations in the state-based LGBTQ movement to secure fully equality in every community. “We’ve come so far,” said Isaacs. “A solid majority of Americans now support the fairness for LGBTQ people and our families, and the visibility of our community is unprecedented. Still, we have so much work ahead of us—banning conversion therapy, ending the violence and discrimination against transgender and gender nonconforming people, and securing nondiscrimination protections, to name a few.”
The conference workshops and plenary sessions reflect the work ahead, and the organization’s commitment to working across movements including HIV criminalization, rapid response communications, racial justice, and building integrated voter engagement programs.
Sara Burlingame Public Education Coordinator of Wyoming Equality said, “This conference provides a wealth of information and time well spent connecting to other movement leaders and being reminded that not only are we not alone, there is power and joy and progress being made. Now,more than ever, we need the reminder that we are part of a community that is committed to bringing equality to the places we call home.”
