About the Host

Kent State University is committed to the creation and nurturing of a diverse community of individuals through inclusive excellence. The mission of the Center for Study of Gender and Sexuality is to advance the interdisciplinary scholarly exploration of gender and sexuality and to create and share knowledge with students, scholars and the Northeast Ohio’s Fourth Annual public. The Center supports the undergraduate minors of LGBTQ Studies and Women’s Studies and also offers coursework in Gender & Sexuality. The mission of the LGBTQ Student Center is to advocate for and foster diversity, equity, and inclusion related to , , and by providing support, programs, educational opportunities, and leadership development for the University and greater community.

About the Conference

Northeast Ohio’s Fourth Annual Conference is a collaborative product of Community AIDS Network/Akron Pride Initiative (CANAPI), Community Endowment Fund of Akron Community Foundation (GCEF), Gay, & Straight Education Network of Northeast Ohio (GLSEN NEO), Kent State University's Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, the Akron Chapter of PFLAG with additional support from Equitas Health.

Special thanks to the GCC 2017 planning committee: Matthew C. Barlet, CANAPI Ken Ditlevson, KSU Jeff Bixby, GLSEN NEO Alyssa Hameister, CANAPI Julie Boylen, CANAPI Molly Merryman, KSU Rebecca K. Callahan, CANAPI Karen Tollafield, GLSEN NEO Gary DiBianca, GLSEN NEO David Robinson, University Circle Inc. Sarah McBride Keynote Speaker

Sarah McBride is the National Press Secretary for the . In 2012, Sarah made national headlines when Featured Sponsor she came out as while serving as the student body president at . A native of Wilmington, Delaware, Sarah serves on the Board of Directors of Equality Delaware, the state’s primary LGBTQ-advocacy organization.

In that capacity, Sarah helped lead the successful effort to add Community AIDS Network (CAN) was founded in August 1996 through the merger of Summit AIDS Housing gender identity and expression to her state’s nondiscrimination Corporation (SAHC) and the Northeast Ohio Task Force on AIDS (NEOTFA), two long-standing AIDS service and hate-crime laws. organizations. SAHC began as a collaborative effort of support service providers in the community who realized the provision of housing was lacking to those in the HIV/AIDS community. In April, 1990 the group appointed a In 2008, Sarah worked for Governor (D-DE) and, in director to build upon its significant history in providing quality housing programs. The Akron Pride Center was 2010, for former Attorney General (D-DE). Prior to founded in 1998. Its role is to advocate for the well-being of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and questioning coming to HRC, Sarah worked on LGBTQ equality at the Center people in Akron and its surrounding communities. In January of 2010 CAN and The Akron Pride Center combined for American Progress and interned at the , the their efforts and became Community AIDS Network/Akron Pride Initiative (CANAPI). CANAPI’s vision is to first out to do so. empower an inclusive community through education, awareness and outreach while eliminating stigma and HIV transmission Sarah became the first openly transgender person to address a major political convention when she poke at the 2016 Collaborator Democratic National Convention in .

Equitas Health is a not-for-profit community-based healthcare system founded in 1984. It serves more than 45,000 individuals in Ohio each year through its diverse healthcare and social service delivery system focused around: primary and specialized medical care, behavioral health, HIV/STI prevention, advocacy, and community health initiatives. Its expanded mission will make it one of the nation’s largest HIV/lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and /questioning (LGBTQ) healthcare organizations. Contributor As the largest civil rights organization working to achieve equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer Americans, the Human Rights Campaign represents a force of more than 3 million members and PFLAG Akron is a support and advocacy group for all LGBTQ people and their supporters nationwide — all committed to making HRC's vision a reality. HRC envisions a world where lesbian, families, friends, and allies, providing group and interpersonal conversations that are gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people are embraced as full members of society at home, at work and in offered in a supportive, loving, and compassionate environment. Through sharing every community. our stories we learn of the incredible diversity in identity, which in turn transforms personal attitudes and allows us to be an advocacy to the LGBTQ community. The Human Rights Campaign Fund was founded by Steve Endean in 1980 as one of the first gay and lesbian political action committee in the . The Fund’s mission was to provide financial support on behalf of the gay and lesbian community to political candidates who supported gay civil rights legislation. Vic Basile served as the Fund’s first executive director. The Fund quickly rose to prominence – after its first election cycle in 1982, the Fund was the 17th largest independent political action committee in the United States.

In 1995, under Executive Director Elizabeth Birch, the organization dropped “Fund” from its name and expanded Major Support From its reach far beyond political lobbying work. Programs such as the Workplace Project and the Family Project became part of the newly created educational arm, the Human Rights Campaign Foundation. All of HRC’s research, communications, marketing and public relations functions were greatly expanded. It was a key transformation that paved the way for the powerful organization that it is today.