Creating Change 2023 Program

Fifty years of advancing freedom, justice and equality for LGBTQ people.

Fifty years of building a future where everyone is free to be their entire selves in every aspect of their lives.

Fifty years of training and mobilizing millions of activists to deliver a world where you can be you.

2023 schedule-at-a-glance

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 16 4:00pm-10:00pm

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 17 7:30am –

SATURDAY,

8:15pm – 9:30pm Opening Plenary, Carmen Vázquez Award for Excellence in Leadership on Aging Issues and Creating Change Immigration Award

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 19

1:30pm – 2:45pm

Session 2

of the Movement Plenary, Gun Violence Panel Discussion

Sessions 3 5:00pm – 6:00pm

3:00pm – 4:30pm

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 20

7:30am – 6:00pm Registration

9:00am – 10:30am Workshops Session 4

9:00am – 1:00pm Exhibits and Bookstore Hours

10:45am – 12:15pm Workshops Session 5

1:30pm – 3:00pm Workshops Session 6

3:15pm – 4:45pm Workshops Session 7

5:00pm – 6:30pm Closing Plenary & Leather Leadership Award

7:00pm – 8:00pm Caucus Sessions 3

8:30pm – 10:30pm Creating Change Film Festival

8:30pm – 12:00am Gayme Night

9:00pm – 12:00am Everybody Dance!

9:00pm – 12:00am Open Mic Variety Show

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 21

7:30am – 1:00pm Registration

10:15am – 11:45am Radical Future Forward Farewell: Coffee, Sweet Things and New Orleans!

Dear Creating Change Conference family, friends, and colleagues, Welcome to San Francisco for Creating Change 2023!

magical experience – so much more than an annual “conference” - where thousands of us, whether we’re activists, advocates, allies, troublemakers or a bit of each, get to come together to engage, discuss,

and celebrate the work we are doing to create a world where we

After we left Creating Change in 2020, we had no idea that we wouldn’t have an opportunity to reconvene for three years. This alone is worthy of celebration, but this year is very special for another reason. 2023 is the National LGBTQ Task Force’s 50th anniversary and Creating Change turns 35! For these reasons, Past, Present, and Future is the perfect theme for this year’s conference. I look forward to joining you on this journey as we honor our past, acknowledge the state of our movement right now and plan for the future.

There are thousands of you with us this year and this may be the first time many of you are attending a gathering of this size since the pandemic. The excitement will be overflowing but it’s also perfectly understandable if you feel a bit overwhelmed. In addition to a three-year pandemic that left us less able to connect in ways that have been historically or culturally affirming and healing, we have also faced an unprecedented number of attacks. We have witnessed an all-out campaign to decimate our access to information and health care, our right to vote and protest, and the opportunity to survive and thrive. So be kind to yourselves as you reacclimate to navigating the force that is our Creating Change community. Use Creating Change as a chance to recharge and reinvigorate for the year ahead. Celebrate and affirm your colleagues, classmates and friends. Let yourself mourn for all that we’ve lost, and give yourself permission to dream, hope and plan for the world we all deserve.

It wouldn’t be Creating Change without strategy sessions, skills building workshops and off agenda conversations that will undoubtedly catalyze new partnerships, projects and campaigns. My wish for you is to also take advantage of being present with each other in this beautiful city. Forge new relationships and reconnect with old friends. Take the time to breathe and revel in the moving, magical, challenging and powerful moments on the stage, on the dance floor and in the hallways. Share a meal with chosen family. Reconnect with your purpose and maybe even share with others why you have committed do this hard, glorious work for equity, justice and liberation.

I’m eager to see so many faces I missed seeing in person, and I can’t wait for all the inspiring impromptu conversations to come. Have a great conference and as always, know that the National LGBTQ Task is here for you. Sees you. Loves you. So BE YOU!

With love and gratitude,

Kierra Johnson Executive Director

I am overjoyed to be with you for this

debate

can live openly, freely and fiercely.

My wish for you is to also take advantage of being present with each other in this beautiful city. Forge new relationships and reconnect with old friends.

2023 CONFERENCE SPONSORS

ADVOCATE $25,000+

ORGANIZER $5,000+

MENTOR $2,500+

creating change 2023

A SPECIAL THANK YOU

We thank and appreciate these organizations and people who helped make Creating Change 2023 a great success!

AIDS United AIDS Memorial Grove and AIDS Memorial Quilt

The American LGBTQ+ Museum

American Library Association

Alex Breitman

Andy Garcia

Aredvi Azad

Art Studio Space: Rae Senarighi Avenue Travel

Ben DeGuzman

Cards Against Humanity

Cecilia Saenz Becerra

Charlotte Gamers Network

Chrissy Lasater

Cryptozoic Entertainment

Daniel Isaac

David Bohnett Foundation

Deaf Queer Resource Center

Denson Design: Audrey Denson

Domenic Gallelli

Doyle Printing

Drago Renteria

Jennifer Emerson

Jerard Kelley

Encore Global Fabulosa

Firefly Partners

Glenn Magpantay

Gloria Delgadillo

Hilton San Francisco Union Square

Ignacio Rivera

Jack Harrison Quintana

Jaime Grant

Julio Fonseca

Justin Lemley

Lambda Literary

Left of Center Productions: Linda Lewis and Melissa Donovan

Lucky Break Public Relations

Marc Behar

Mariah Moore

Matt Foreman

melissa kelley colibri

Michael Bongiorni

Michelle Meow

Mija

National Black Justice Coalition

National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance (NQAPIA)

National Religious Leadership Roundtable Parc 55 San Francisco Hotel

PheedLoop, Inc.

Russell Roybal

Ruth Eisenberg: Harmon, Curran, Spielberg & Eisenberg, LLP

San Francisco AIDS Foundation

San Francisco LGBT Center

Amy Schneider

Site Services: Julie Augustine

Tanya Domi

The Harrington Agency

TurnOut SF

Tymber Hudson

Virginia Apuzzo

We Are Rally

CONFERENCE POLICIES

WELCOME TO #CC23

You and Your Badge

We are so happy that you are part of our family at Creating Change 2023! We ask you to visibly display your registration name badge when attending plenary sessions, workshops and caucuses, receptions and evening events; your badge is your “ticket.” Wearing your badge is a friendly thing to do because it makes it easier for folks to call you by name. As well, the wellbeing of all of us is a top priority: your name badge means you are part of our Creating Change family. Please wear your badge. Creating Change registrants without badges will be asked to retrieve them; or to purchase a new badge at Registration for an administrative fee of $5. Save yourself the inconvenience. Wear your badge. Thanks!

Protest Policy

Political expression is an essential principle of democracy and in our LGBTQ movement for freedom, justice and equality. We welcome debate and dialogue as key elements of the Creating Change Conference. While some participants may want to engage in nonviolent protest, the Task Force discourages the disruption of conference sessions,

plenary sessions, meetings or exhibits that result in attendees not being able to fully participate in learning and educational opportunities available at Creating Change. We ask that this core principle of free exchange of ideas be respected as essential to the mission and spirit of the Creating Change Conference.

Please abide by these guidelines and this information:

• Protests that occur on the plenary stage may not exceed 5 minutes. Anything longer than that is disrespectful to those we’ve invited as plenary speakers, whose voices are often the most marginalized and silenced in society.

• Protests within the hotel must be nonviolent “moving protests,” that is, they proceed in a walking formation to avoid violations of Fire Code regulations regarding impeding the movements of others through the hotel and blocking doorways to meeting rooms.

• Hotels are not public spaces. The Hilton San Francisco Union Square can report any protest to local law enforcement at their discretion.

• Violations of this policy may result in being asked to leave the Creating Change Conference in San Francisco, CA, and risks participation in future conferences.

The National LGBTQ Task Force reserves the right to determine whether a demonstration is disruptive and/or detrimental to the conference programs at Creating Change and to take action accordingly. We seek to provide avenues for political expression while also balancing this with the needs of attendees, presenters, and exhibitors.

For those who may be organizing protests within the The Hilton San Francisco Union Square during the Creating Change Conference, we ask you to inform

Values Of The National LGBTQ Task Force

the Conference Director (dlinden@thetaskforce.org; 202-639-6306) and designate a contact person for your protest.

No Guns at Creating Change!

The National LGBTQ Task Force joins with the millions of people working to end gun violence. We ask, in the interest of everyone’s comfort and wellbeing, that no guns be brought into our conference spaces, sessions, and gatherings. We do not want guns or other deadly/dangerous weapons at Creating Change! If any attendee is observed carrying a gun while participating in the Creating Change Conference, you will be asked to remove it from the premises.

All participants at Creating Change are expected to uphold the values of the National LGBTQ Task Force. These are some of our values:

Our Values

We also oppose:

• Ableism

• Ageism

• Anti-Semitism

• Classism

• Heterosexism

Grassroots Power

• Homophobia, Biphobia, Transphobia

• Islamophobia

• Racism

• Sexism and Misogyny

• Hatred or prejudice of any kind, including hate speech

We are excited to be in San Francisco for

Creating Change Conference 2023!

We invite you to join in this extraordinary conference experience in the spirit of radical welcome: love, curiosity, and respect for each other and our LGBTQ family. The Creating Change Conference convenes people of varying and diverse political opinions and strategic focus. Our individual and collective capacity to hold multiple perspectives, even when we disagree, is a valuable movement-building tool. The Task Force welcomes you to our conference community of activists, organizers, and advocates as we work to build the strongest possible LGBTQ and allied movement. As we gather together this year to learn, connect, and persist, we feel enormously proud to host you –– our beautiful, diverse LGBTQ and allied community! Creating Change is a movement space where vibrant differences in race, socio-economic class, geography, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression is welcome. Some Creating Change attendees are not accustomed to sharing space with so many different people who identify as living with HIV, or talk about surviving sexual abuse, or discuss their sobriety, or gender identity, or religious beliefs, or immigration status as openly as some people will at our conference. The Task Force works hard to create an engaged, inclusive, and safe space for all of our attendees. Thanks for you for helping us make the magic!

Practicing Radical Welcome at Creating Change

A core value of the National LGBTQ Task Force is Radical Welcome. Thank you for your help in ensuring that Creating Change is an environment where all participants feel welcome, comfortable and celebrated as members of the Creating Change

family. We are committed to being a welcoming space for the LGBTQ community and our allies. We want everyone to learn a lot, meet fabulous new people from all over the country, and experience full and authentic connections in order to build a stronger, more inclusive, LGBTQ movement. You are welcome here— This is a place filled with new people and movement sages and we want you to contribute to what makes this community special. Please join us in creating a warm and friendly space for all. Catch up with dear old friends and make some new ones. Know that you are free to introduce yourself, share your pronouns, and be curious about who you meet. Be radical by being you!

Access— Please be mindful of how physically accessible public spaces are and join us in supporting our friends who may need wider space to pass. Additionally, work with us and each other to support language justice in our workshops and plenaries. It really helps when we all slow down.

Intentional about Power and Privilege— Be intentional about your privilege and show up for folks who may be vulnerable. Recognize how much space you are taking up (either with words, actions or your stuff) and think about how to create space for others.

Consent— Many Creating Change attendees create and build social and sexual relationships while at the Conference. We flirt! We celebrate! Please be mindful that consent is essential.

Practice wellness— This should be a place to create change, not create flu. Be mindful of how others may be put a at risk by catching cold or flu, wash your hands, cover your mouth when you cough, and respect others that don’t wish to share food or drinks.

CREATING A POSITIVE ENVIRONMENT

Creating Change is committed to creating a positive environment for the LGBTQ community and our allies. We want everyone here to learn a lot, meet fabulous new people from all over the country, and feel good about talking and connecting with each other as we build a stronger movement.

To that end, we want to remind everyone of guiding principles that are essential to maintaining respectful and positive space for each other.

There are two fundamental principles to the Creating Change Conference: human rights and solidarity. Sexual harassment and other forms of violence strike at the heart of both. Harassment, violence, bullying and bigotry create feelings of fear, uneasiness, trauma, humiliation and discomfort. They are expressions of perceived power and superiority by the harasser over another person. Sometimes, even when our actions are not intentionally hurtful, what we say and do can hurt others or make them feel uncomfortable.

Sexual Harassment

Sexual harassment is a form of discrimination and potential violence and refers to any unwanted attention of a sexual nature, including:

• Unwanted flirtations or advances

• Offensive written or visual depictions like graffiti or degrading pictures

• Touching someone without their permission (groping, grabbing, hugging, petting, biting)

• Unwanted sexual demands, pressure, propositions, or requests for sexual activities

• Graphic comments about an individual’s body or dress

• Verbal abuse, including sexual insults and name calling

• Rewards for granting sexual favors or the withholding of rewards for refusing to grant sexual favors

• Sexual assault, rape, and sexual violence

Many Creating Change attendees create and build social and sexual relationships while at the Conference. We want to remind you that, if you are thinking about hooking up, consent is essential. Please be sure that all involved have similar expectations. And please play safe!

Creating Change is proud to host a beautiful and diverse LGBTQ and allied community where vibrant diversity in sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression is welcome. It is all our responsibility to ensure that each member of our LGBTQ and ally family feels welcome and affirmed.

Thank you for your help in ensuring that Creating Change is an environment where all participants feel safe, comfortable and celebrated as members of the Creating Change family. If you experience sexual harassment or violence or feel threatened, please ask to speak with the Conference Director Danny Linden at dlinden@thetaskforce.org or 202.639.6306.

Hate Speech Is Not Welcome At Creating Change

The Task Force supports free speech. Hate speech will not be tolerated at Creating Change. With all of the hate speech directed at others in politics, society, and communities across the country, we seek a Creating Change Conference space in which we are not expressing hate speech towards each other. Hate speech is defined as abusive or threatening speech or writing that expresses prejudice against a particular group. This includes words, phrases, and chants that target specific groups and are widely recognized as racist, anti-Semitic, Islamophobic, transphobic, bi-phobic, homophobic, ableist, ageist, classist, sexist and misogynist, or attacks a person or a group on the basis of other protected attributes.

The Task Force reserves the right to address instances of hate speech that may occur at Creating Change in ways it deems appropriate, including asking people to not participate in some or all of the conference. If you have experienced hate speech at the conference, please ask to speak with the Conference Director Danny Linden at dlinden@ thetaskforce.org or 202.639.6306.

Policy Violations

The Task Force reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to determine if the above policies have been violated. Violations of this policy may result in being asked to leave the Creating Change Conference in San Francisco, CA, and risks participation in future conferences.

The National LGBTQ Task Force and the Creating Change 2023 organizers and host venue strive to make Creating Change welcoming and accessible for attendees with disabilities. In the spirit of learning how our communities can be inclusive of and accessible to all people, we offer these guidelines for creating a community where people with disabilities are valued and respected.

Understand that the lives of disabled people are neither inspirational nor pitiful because of our disabilities. Rather our disabilities are ordinary and familiar parts of who we are.

Ask and wait for an answer before you try to help someone. What you assume is helpful may not be.

When you encounter someone using a service/assistance or guide dog, do not pet, offer food to, or interact with the animal in any way. Do not comment on the dog’s presence i.e. “and who do we have here?” They are working hard; you are supporting the independence and autonomy they provide by not distracting them.

To be understood by as many people as possible, speak

CREATING ACCESSIBILITY

at a moderate volume and pace. Practice active listening by asking and responding to questions and giving both verbal and nonverbal cues that you are still engaged in the conversation.

When you are speaking to someone using an ASL (American Sign Language) interpreter, address the person you are speaking with, not the interpreter.

ACCESSIBILTY

“Just because you are, doesn’t mean you know” - there is always more to learn about how other people move through the world and what they need.

Here are a few changes and improvements on Accessibility that have been implemented during the past six years.

• Improved mobility by offering scooters and other mobility devices and e-readers.

• Improved access for Spanish speakers with the addition of interpreters

• Improved access for deaf/ HoH people who need ASL by providing interpreters

• Committed to negotiate with and select accessible conference venues.

Many people here have disabilities that affect the ways that they learn, understand, and/or communicate. Practice patience with those who learn and/or communicate at a different pace or in a different way than you do. Don’t make assumptions based on atypical speech patterns, body language, or eye contact. If you are having difficulty communicating with someone, try a different form of communication, like writing or demonstration instead of talking. Flashing lights can trigger seizures or other conditions. Avoid wearing or carrying decorative flashing lights and don’t take photographs using the flash on your camera in public spaces.

There are seats set

CREATING ACCESSIBILITY

aside for people with varying disabilities, both up front and scattered throughout in the plenary space and in the meeting rooms. Please be prepared to move chairs to make room for people using wheelchairs, wherever they may wish to sit at plenary sessions and workshops.

To make it easier for everyone to move around the conference freely, please don’t “clump” in the middle hallways. Be aware of the people around you when navigating tight, crowded public spaces, and leave room for people to pass safely; and please hold heavy or inaccessible doors open for others.

Becoming scentfree is an important step toward access for people with disabilities and/or chronic illnesses and is a skill you can practice everywhere. If you are not accustomed to going scent-free, think about the products you use in your day. You can either not use shampoo, soap, hair products, perfume, essential oils, skin lotion, shaving cream, makeup etc., or use fragrance-free alternatives. If you must use scented products, please sit or stand as far away as possible from areas designated “Scent Safer” areas. During plenary sessions,

scent-safer spaces are designated in the ballroom. If scents and chemicals present a barrier for you, please know that Creating Change is not yet a scent-free conference.

If you smoke, please do so only in the designated areas and away from entrances. When inside please sit or stand as far away as possible from those areas designated “Scent Safer” areas.

Challenge your assumptions. Some disabilities are less visible than others. Everyone has a right to use the accommodations they need without being criticized or questioned.

LANGUAGE JUSTICE

“For us, language justice is about building and sustaining multilingual spaces in our organizations and social movements so that everyone’s voice can be heard both as an individual and as part of a diversity of communities and cultures. Valuing language justice means recognizing the social and political dimensions of language and language access, while working to dismantle language barriers, equalize power dynamics, and build strong communities for social and racial justice.

No single or static definition for language justice exists. We expect that our understanding of the concept of language justice and its implications for movement-building will continue to change and deepen as the movement grows”

- Language Justice from Communities Creating Healthy Environments (CCHE) Language Justice Toolkit

The Accessibility office is staffed at most times during the Creating Change Conference. If you have questions, concerns or need assistance regarding access, please stop by the Accesibility

Table adjacent to the registration area in the Yosemite Foyer on the Ballroom Level (Tower 1, 2 & 3):

• Electric scooters and wheelchairs.

• Viewing a large print grid schedule of events.

• Assisted Listening Devices for use during the conference.

• Magnifiers

CREATING ACCESSIBILITY

• Readers

• Step stools

Conference attendees utilizing ASL interpreting services can meet interpreters at the Accessibility Table adjacent to the registration area on the first floor.

Listen to the needs and stories of disabled people when they are volunteered; yet please respect people’s privacy and boundaries by not asking unnecessarily intrusive questions. Many disabled people

HEARING IMPAIRED

Please erase “hearing impaired” from your mind AND do not start an interaction with a deaf person by asking if they can read lips, these are the two quickest ways to piss off a queer deaf person.

deal with daily curiosity about our bodies and find it exhausting. Educate yourself through books, web sites, and at the disabilityrelated workshops at Creating Change. Then, please join the many hardworking allies who are working to respond appropriately to ableist situations.

Thanks for helping to make Creating Change a truly accessible event for all.

Reach out to CreatingChangeASL@gmail.com for ASL access during the conference. Do not assume interpreters make decisions, on our behalf, ask us directly.

WORKSHOPS & CAUCUSES

WORKSHOPS & CAUCUSES

Listing is tentative and subject to change. Please refer to the Creating Change

CC23 WORKSHOPS

• Oy Gay! Creating a Jewish Affinity Space

• #Ready2Run: Campaigns and Candidacy

• 69 Ways to Use Saran Wrap: Safer Sex Tips for Queer, Non binary & Trans People

• Abortion Is a Queer Issue: Considering Community Needs in Pregnancy Referrals

• Adventures in Emergence: Practical Skills for Shared Leadership and Self-Management

• Aligning Your Organization’s Values With How You Hire Staff

• All Bi Ourselves in HIV Prevention: An Intersectional. Community Engaged Perspective

• Are you ready to tell your story? ¿Quieres contar tu historia?

• Art for Social Change: Creativity, Production & Performance as Activism and Advocacy

• Best Practices for Asexual Cultural Competency

• Building Body-Inclusive Practices

• Building Intergenerational Bridges with LGBTQ+ Elders & Older Adults

• Building Local Advocacy & Movement Projects

• Building Transgender Economic Justice

• Building a Queer Asian Community and Movement

• Building and Running Great Volunteer Programs

Conference

app for dates and times.

• Bully to Bae: Examining LGBTQ+ Couplings in Media

• Centering Black Women, Femmes, and Girls in Advocacy

• Centering Race, Queer, and Trans Identities: Lessons from a decade of collaboration

• Climate Adaptation and Resilience for LGBTQ+ Communities

• Coalition Building with the API Community

• Combating HIV Stigma Togethr

• Coming Out of the Green Closet: Stories, Strategies and Safety

• Coming Out, An Act of Love: A Guide for LGBTQ+ Individuals and their Familias/ Comunidad Latina

• Connect, Accept, Respond, Empower - Suicide Prevention in the LGBTQ Community

• Conversion Therapy Bans: Our Path To Success

• Creating Culture Change...One SACReD Story at a Time

• Creyendo en nuestro poder personal, confianza y auto-estima

• Decentering Cis-ness: Supporting the T as LGB Activists

• Decolonizing Our Desires

• Decolonizing Spiritual/Faith-based Exploration and Formation

2023

mobile

WORKSHOPS & CAUCUSES

• Delivering LGBTQI+ Equity in Federal Forms and Surveys

• Demystifying Foundation Fundraising: What You Should Know About LGBTQ Philanthropy

• Desire Mapping

• Destigmatizing Sex Work

• Dismantling Ableism to Create Vibrant Accessibility in Queer Spaces

• Disrupt Aging in the LGBTQ+ Community

• Ending Biphobia with Bi+ Philanthropy

• Entering the Protactile Zone: Experience Real Talk with DeafBlind Black and Brown LGBTQ People

• Equality California’s Safe and Supportive Schools Survey

• Existing Within and Between Binaries

• Expanding LGBTQIA+ Youth Organizing in Rural North Carolina

• Fabricated Scarcity: Unintentional harm within nonprofits

• Families Matter: Helping Diverse Families to Affirm LGBTQ Youth

• Fat & Sexy

• Fighting With and For the Elders that Fought for Us

• Finally Enough Love: Creating Safer School Environments for Transgender Students

• Financial Health Tools and Strategies for Activists

• Gendered Islamophobia: Lessons from Young Queer Muslims

• Getting a Seat at The Table: Transgender Advocacy Week

• Going Beyond Roe: Young People & Abortion Access

• HIV Education & Advocacy Centering Transgender & Gender Expansive Communities

• Hate Violence, Trauma, and How to Be an Upstander

• Healing from Spiritual Violence as QTPOC People of Faith

• Holistic Support and Capacity Building for LGBTQI+ Refugees

• How to Throw a Play Party!

• ID Documents and You: Name and Gender Marker Change Basics

• If Our Streets Could Talk: QTPOC Reclaiming Community Cultural Wealth

• In The Divine Image: LGBTQ+ Liberation Through Judaism

• Intersex Not Invisible

• LGBTQ+ CAREGIVING: Prepare to be a fierce caregiver!

• LeT’s ParTy: Safer Drug Use and Harm Reduction Practices

• Lessons from 30 years of Organizing in the South: A SONG History

• Let’s Talk About Pizza: Queer Sex Ed for Queer Youth

• Livin’ la Vida en Vogue: Afrolatinxs in Ballroom

• Lobbying 101: Be Bold with the Task Force and Bolder Advocacy!

• Major Gifts Fundraising for LGBTQ2SIA+ Equality

• Maximizing Relationships for Faith Organizing

• Mentoring Together: A Look at Collective Mentorship Programming

• Missing and Murdered Indigenous 2-Spirit, Women and Children... MMIWC2-S

• Mommy says “We aren’t a Monolith”: Embodying Our Blackness Joyfully.

• Moving Towards Decriminalization: Sex Worker’s Journey in Passing SB 357

• My Body, My Bible, My Choice: Faith and Reproductive Justice

• Non-partisan Voter Registration for Building Queer Power

• Nondiscrimination Protections – State and Federal

• Operationalizing Love In Our Movement Building and Social Justice Work

• Please Rewind: Impact of HIV on 80s & 90s Pop Music

• Professionally Trans: Making Money Through Educational Workshops

• Project Visibility: Sharing Our Stories

• Queering Church: A Conversation on Church and LGBTQ Identity

• Queering Relationships: An Aro and Ace Perspective

• RACKS (Risk Aware Consensual Kinky Sex) on Racks

• Seahorses and Unicorns: Trans Fertility For The People!

• Sex as 3ibada

• Sexy Survivor: A Decade of Healing, Skills Building, & Connection

• Stud, Stem, or Femme: Exploring Gender Expression and Presentation

• Supporting LGBTQ+ Survivors of Intimate Partner Violence

• Tackling TERFs: Spotting and Stopping Transphobes in Their Tracks

• Taking Care of TGNC Organizations on the Road to Liberation

• Teaching LGBTQ+ History – Reclaiming Our Past

• The Censorship of Sexual Freedom

• The Future of the LGBTQ Community –Democracy Legislation and Policies

• The Innies and Outties of Sex Education for LGBTQ+ Youth

• The Power of A Few (or Two)

• The Power of Virtual Space for Bi+ Community

• The Trans Sounds of Black Freedom:Ballroom Has Something to Say

• Think Fast: The gift of ADHD

WORKSHOPS & CAUCUSES

• This is Home: A Need for LGBTQ Resource Centers in Rural America

• Trans Athletes: How to Win Inclusion

• Trans Seminarian Alumni Network

• Trans Siblings in Their Spiritual Journeys

• Wake It Up: Black Queer Feminist Organizing for the Future

• Aces in Play: Supporting Non-Vanilla Aros and Aces

• An Exploration of Queer and Trans Ministry: A Panel with the Transgender Seminarian Leadership Cohort

• Bold, Loud, and Joyful: Raising LGBTQ+ Young People in Faith

• The Legal Assault On Trans Youth & How to Fight Back

• Where The Line Resides: Surviving The Cycle of Sexual Harm

• Who is Your Family? The Importance of Inclusive Family Definitions

• Mobilizing Data in the fight for Justice

• DeafBlind Culture

• Protected & Served? A Decade Later: Fighting Against Government Misconduct

• Queer Boards 101: Exploring Board Service to Support LGBTQ+ Nonprofits

• Let’s have a Kiki: A Digital Engagement Strategy for Queering the Vote and Democracy (session 1)

• Let’s have a Kiki: A Digital Engagement Strategy for Queering the Vote and Democracy (session 2)

• Mingling Waters: Understanding this political moment and joining the intergenerational movement for intersectional queer liberation

• Direct Action 101 Training

CC23 CAUCUSES

• “Is there room for the transgender and disability experience in the LGBTQ community?”

• Aces and Aros Caucus

• Advanced Polyamory/Nonmonogamy Caucus

• Youth Service Providers Caucus

• Youth Activism Caucus

• Caucus for Latinx survivors of Spiritual and Religion-based Violence (Spanish-English)

• Caucus for Mixed BIPOC LGBTQIA+ Folx

• Caucus for Rurality & Queer Identities

• Familias con Seres Querides LGBTQ+ Caucus

• Enhancing Equity and Inclusion Through Decisive Data Collection

• ERA - Sex Equality Caucus

• Growing Housing Justice in the U.S

• Gun Violence Prevention and LGBTQ+ Data Surveillance

• Family Pride: Creating Supportive Community for Parents of Queer Students

• Education as Radical Activism

• Music to My Queers: BIPOC & QTPOC Talent Showcase

• Masculine of Center Caucus

• Navigating the Crossroads of Being Trans and Disabled

• Lesbian Caucus

• Pasifika Caucus

• National LGBTQ Immigration and Asylum Caucus

• LGBT Filipinx Caucus

• Pride at Work Labor Caucus

• Polyamory/Nonmonogamy for Beginners Caucus

• LGBTQIAA+ Suicide Prevention Professionals Caucus

WORKSHOPS & CAUCUSES

• LGBTQ+ 50+

• The Future of Black Kink

• Topping While Black and Trans

• Transgender and Gender Non-Conforming (TGNC) Youth Caucus: Future Leaders

• Sex Workers Making Change

• Spiritual Justice from Vedic Literature

• The Consent Forum

• Talking/Healing Circle

• Survivors of Sexual and Domestic Violence

• BDSM Safety for Fat Bodies

• Atheists Caucus

• Queer Abolitionist Unite!

• Trans BIPOC Arts Caucus

• Queer and Trans API Power Building

• Queer people of Faith and Spiritual Futuring

• Queering Cannabis: From Legalization to Decriminalization and Liberation

• Intersectionality of the #BlackTrans Child (Making of an Ally)

• Autistic Caucus

• Florida Caucus

• Two Spirit Caucus

• Healing Through Recovery

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 17

GAYME ROOM & NIGHTS

Friday, February 17, 9:45pm – 1:00am

Saturday, February 18, Sunday, February 19, and Monday, February 20

8:30pm – Midnight

Franciscan A&B

For non-alcoholic fun come to Creating Change 2023 Gayme night! We are excited to welcome Amy Schneider and the Charlotte Gaymers Network to Gayme Night. Saturday’s Trivia Night is hosted by Amy Schneider, and our daily arcade is courtesy of Charlotte Gaymers Network featuring drag BINGO, prizes, and four days of fun! Oakland’s superchamp Amy Schneider is the most successful female contestant in Jeopardy! history with a record-breaking 40-game winning streak and the winner of the 2022 Tournament of Champions. Amy holds the No. 2 spot on the all-time consecutive wins list behind Ken Jennings, who has 74 wins.

The Charlotte Gaymers Network (CGN) was founded by friends Jonathan Barrio and Zach Smith, who identified a need in the LGBTQ+ community to stay connected to one another during a world-altering pandemic. Founded on July 6th, 2020, CGN strives to create an inclusive environment of folks from all walks of life who are united in our passion and love for all things gaming.

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 18

OPENING CRUISE

Saturday, February 18, 10pm-1:00am

Continental 6 – Ballroom Level

What’s the connection you won’t forget at CC23?

The Sexual Liberation Collective and the Creating Change sex track organizers are delighted to bring you the Opening Cruise. Whether you’re looking to find a new friend, a sexy hook-up, or a love of your life, the Opening Cruise is the place to be! We cordially invite you to come and indulge in some flirty fun while meeting other arousing conference goers. The Opening Cruise is extremely sex-positive and extravagantly welcoming for everyone who wants to delight in the delicious diversity of available, brilliant, and adventurous Creating Changers. Your fun and frisky hosts will help move you through a modified speed greeting with prompts and icebreakers, so

SPECIAL EVENTS

you can meet more cuties. Participation is flexible, and everyone is welcome to attend, inclusive of all identities and life experience. You’ll have a chance to name what you want and who you are, so let your imagination go wild. Come on! Be brave! Have fun! There has never been a better time to practice your flirtation skills. You never know what might come of it!

ART SPACE STUDIO - A QUEER CREATIVE SPACE

Saturday, February 18, 9:00am-5:00pm

Franciscan C & D Room

Welcome to a space where we can independently and collaboratively explore our place in the LGBTQ+ movement through creativity and self-love. Bring your awesome artistic selves on by to weave some queer magic or just relax and have fun.

LEONARD LITZ LGBTQ+ FOUNDATION RECEPTION

Saturday, February 18, 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM PST

CityScape Lounge at the Hilton Union Square

333 O’Farrell Street | Tower 1, 46th Fl, San Francisco, CA 94102

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 19

AGENTS OF CHANGE MASQUERADE BALL

Sunday, February 19

Doors open at 8:00pm

Event time 9:00pm-1:00am

Grand Ballroom Salon A

The house/ballroom community stems from a place of resilience, strength, and survival of LGBT BIPOC in the US. During the 1940s Harlem Renaissance, elaborate pageants featuring Black and Latinx LGBT community members gave rise to what is known today as the house/ballroom community. In the 1970s & 80s shaped greatly by economic, social and political forces, the first houses were created. Their structure stems from what we know best, families; mother, father, and of course, the children, each with their own talent, gift and personal struggle. Join us as we bring to life and give LIFE to the ballroom community at the “Agents of Change - Masquerade Ball” on Sunday, February 19 at 9:00pm (doors open at 8:00pm). All ages and gender expressions are welcome. Please keep reading and shadyness to a minimum. The message is LOVE. (SEE AD ON PAGE 24)

SPIRITUAL GATHERINGS INTERFAITH

SERVICE

Sunday, February 19 9:00am-10:00am

Continental 4

As one of the closing events of Creating Change 2023, the Interfaith Service has become a highly anticipated event for people of faith and seekers of spiritual truth. All are invited to this celebration of inter-religious collaboration. In today’s polarized world, the quest for the sacred and the divine is even more essential. Come join clergy, lay leaders and practitioners of a myriad of faith traditions who draw strength from spirituality and community. All conference attendees are welcome. Organized by Interfaith Service Committee.

ART SPACE STUDIO - A QUEER CREATIVE SPACE

Sunday, February 19, 9:00am-5:00pm

Franciscan C & D Room

Welcome to a space where we can independently and collaboratively explore our place in the LGBTQ+ movement through creativity and self-love. Bring your awesome artistic selves on by to weave some queer magic or just relax and have fun.

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 20

ART SPACE STUDIO - A QUEER CREATIVE SPACE

Monday, February 20, 9:00am-5:00pm

Franciscan C & D Room

Welcome to a space where we can independently and collaboratively explore our place in the LGBTQ+ movement through creativity and self-love. Bring your awesome artistic selves on by to weave some queer magic or just relax and have fun.

CREATING CHANGE EPIC VARIETY SHOW!

Monday, February 20, 9:00pm-12:00 midnight

Yosemite B

Creating Change 2023 Epic Variety Show! All CC23 attendees are welcome to participate. We are all talented! Performances can be a song,

drag, burlesque, poem, comedy, secret talent, cheerleading, acrobatics, liberation themed, political theater, and more. Hosted by the fabulous Ariel Vegosen (Trixie Lamonte). All acts are 3 minutes long. Sign up in advance and here’s the LINK. We welcome the audience to come with an open mind, an excitement to cheer, and a desire to be entertained.

Ariel Vegosen (Trixie Lamonte) is the founder of Shine Diversity, a company that creates pathways to justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion through training and consulting. Ariel is a professional workshop facilitator, writer, educator, consultant, coach, performer, and public speaker. For over 20 years Ariel has facilitated trainings, workshops, and retreats for organizations, corporations, nonprofits, schools, communities, and faith-based groups. This work has taken Ariel all over the US (United States) and internationally. Ariel is the founder of Gender Illumination, a non-profit dedicated to gender liberation with a specific focus of healing, leadership, mentorship, and ritual in the trans and non-binary community. Ariel is an ordained Kohenet Hebrew Priestess and ritualist. Ariel is the co-founder of Gender Blender and is well known for organizing safer sex consent-based play parties that center marginalized people. Ariel has been attending and presenting at Creating Change for over 12 years and is excited to be MCing in 2023! Get in contact: avegosen@gmail.com.

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 21

CLOSING CELEBRATION: RADICAL FUTURE FORWARD FAREWELL: COFFEE, SWEET THINGS AND NEW ORLEANS!

Tuesday, February 21 10:15am – 11:45am

Imperial Ballroom

Join us for a fabulous farewell on Tuesday morning in the Imperial Ballroom! We will meet up for coffee and some of New Orleans favorite confections! Why New Orleans? Becuase, that’s where we will see you at Creating Change 2024 next January! Will there be King Cake and/or beignets? For sure there’ll be coffee, tea, laughs and hugs -- and maybe even a few tears as we say goodbye.

Listings are subject to change. Please refer to the Creating Change 2023 Conference mobile app for most current dates and times.

CREATING CHANGE FILM FESTIVAL

Sunday, February 19, 8:30pm

Yes, I Am: The Ric Weiland Story

Embarcadero Room, Parc 55 Hotel

Director: Aaron Bear

The story of Ric Weiland’s life and legacy can be measured in incredible milestones. Narrated by Zachary Quinto and starring Bill Gates, Yes, I Am - The Ric Weiland Story chronicles a queer pioneer and one of the founders of Microsoft. Ric helped focus and organize their early successes. It made him wealthy and influential at an early age. He never felt overly comfortable with his wealth - he did not feel that he deserved it. Other people had worked harder for what they had, he thought. So, to quiet the nagging doubt, he turned to philanthropy. Out and proud since the 70’s, Ric was a champion of gay rights. During his life, he donated more than 200 million dollars to fund more than 60 non-profit organizations. His efforts to establish representation and resources for the LGBT community still have a profound impact today.

Sunday, February 19, 8:30pm

BEING BEBE: The BeBe Zahara Benet Documentary

Market Street Room, Parc 55 Hotel

Director: Emily Branham

From Cameroon to Drag Superstar... A young man from a country where Queerness is criminalized becomes the very first winner of iconic reality show RuPaul’s Drag Race. A New York Times Critic’s Pick that premiered at Tribeca Film Festival, BEING

BEBE raises timely concerns at the intersection of LGBTQ+, BIPOC, and immigrant lives –paralleling BeBe’s fight to maintain the trajectory of his career alongside a deep connection with his traditional African roots and family.

SPECIAL EVENTS

Sunday, February 19, 8:30pm

No Straight Lines

Cyril Magnin 1 Room, Parc 55 Hotel

Director: Vivian Kleiman

No Straight Lines tells the story of five scrappy and pioneering cartoonists who depicted everything from the AIDS crisis, coming out, and same-sex marriage, to themes of race, gender, and disability. They tackled the humor in queer lives in a changing world, and the everyday pursuits of love, sex, and community. Their work is funny, smart, and profound, and provides a unique, uncensored window into LGBTQ lives from the 1970s onward, beginning at a time in which there was no other genuine queer storytelling in popular culture. Equally engaging are their personal journeys, as they, against all odds, helped build a queer comics underground that has been able to grow and evolve in remarkable ways.

Sunday, February 19, 8:30pm

Wonderfully Made - LGBTQ+R(eligion)

Cyril Magnin 2 Room, Parc 55 Hotel

Director: Yuval David

Discrimination against LGBTQ+ people is rampant. The source of much LGBTQ+ discrimination – of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation and other laws – is religion. To fight for greater LGBTQ+ acceptance, while overlooking or ignoring religion, is to miss the root of the problem. Eliminating or moderating intolerant religious attitudes can eliminate or moderate intolerant secular policies, too. In short, a focus on religion can lead to the change desired by the LGBTQ+ community. Wonderfully Made — LGBTQ+R(eligion) is a combined feature-length documentary and fine art project that together strike at the root of antiLGBTQ+ attitudes by exploring the challenges and aspirations of LGBTQ+ Catholics. The film focuses on the Catholic Church because it is one of the largest religious organizations in the world, and

Friday, Feb. 17 - Monday, Feb. 20

Open noon to midnight

1 Player 2 + Players

Start A Game

Presented by

How To Power Up

Dedicated game room, a.k.a. “The Arcade & Chill“.

1 0 video game stations courtesy of Charlotte Gamers Network (CGM).

T able top games courtesy of CGN.

gayme night

Game tables.

A lcohol free fun.

Q ueer Trvia prize game, hosted by Amy Schneider. Saturday night only.

How To Level Up

D rag bingo prize game, courtesy of CGN.

G ame prizes, courtesy of Cards Against Humanity and Cryptozotic Entertainment.

O nsite DJ, courtesy of CGN.

D ance party.

Sign up for queer trivia in the game room. Three players will be chosen at random. Bring your own games or choose from our game library. Dance party date and time to be announced.

Special Thanks

Special thanks to Charlotte Gamers Network, Amy Schneider, Cryptozoic Entertainment, and Cards Against Humanity.

because its anti-LGBTQ+ stance is well known and growing more hardline, at least in some circles. The film also highlights the factions who are fighting for LGBTQ+ acceptance and who often are criticized, silenced and attacked.

Monday, February 20, 8:30pm

America You Kill Me

Cyril Magnin 1 Room, Parc 55 Hotel

Director: Daniel Land

America You Kill Me is inextricably bound to Creating Change. The conference itself comes up in pivotal moments of our story. The subject, Jeffrey Montgomery,

SPECIAL EVENTS

had been a longtime attendee, leader, and presenter, bringing young activists to Creating Change year after year. Many of our most prominent interview voices are strong members of this conference (Sue Hyde, Carmen Vazquez, Ricci Levy, Curtis Lipscomb, John Allen, Jim Lessenberry, Sean Kosofsky, etc) and in fact some of their interviews were filmed at Creating Change in 2018 in D.C. That year the many sessions and discussions I attended taught me how much I didn’t know about the movement I had just spent half a decade trying to process as a filmmaker. The direct-action protest from DC appears in key visuals. We screened a rough cut (the first time anyone outside our team saw the film) at Creating Change 2019 in Detroit, and the postscreening conversations helped to profoundly shape the final edit.

HOTEL MAPS

TOWER 1, 2 & 3 / LOBBY LEVEL

TOWER 1, 2 & 3 / BALLROOM LEVEL

TOWER 2 / GRAND BALLROOM LEVEL SALON

TOWER 2 / GRAND BALLROOM LEVEL SALON

USED FOR A PARTIAL VIEW OF EVENT FLOOR

in

The Exhibit Hall at Creating Change 2023 will be open:

Friday, February 17, 2023 3:00 PM. - 10:00 PM

Saturday, February 18, 2023 8:30 AM. - 7:30 PM

Sunday, February 19, 2023 8:30 AM. - 7:30 PM

Monday, February 20, 2023 9:00 AM. - 1:00 PM

Please visit dozens of exhibitors for swag, information and inspiration!

Located

the Yosemite Ballroom

PLENARY PROGRAMS

Opening Plenary: Honoring Our Past

Carmen Vázquez Leadership Award in Aging Creating Change Immigration Award

Saturday, February 18, 2023

8:15pm-9:30pm

Join us as we kick off the conference with our annual Land Acknowledgement and Welcome Ceremony. The opening keynote and 50th anniversary history presentation will be delivered by gay historian and author Eric Marcus and special guests will welcome us to their city with that famous San Francisco hospitality! Tying it all together with laughter, singing, and lots of love is our emcee, Sandra Valls, whom many may remember from our Creating Change 2021 and Creating Change 2022 virtual experience. You will not want to miss this kickoff to Creating Change 2023 that also includes the presentation of the Carmen Vázquez Leadership Award in Aging and the Creating Change Immigration Award.

Opening Keynote Speaker: Eric Marcus

Journalist and author Eric Marcus is the founder and host of the award-winning Making Gay History podcast, which mines his decades-old audio archive of rare interviews to bring LGBTQ history to life through the voices of the people who lived it. He is also co-producer of Those Who Were There, a podcast drawn from Yale University’s Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies. Eric is the author

and co-author of a dozen books, including: Is It A Choice?, Why Suicide?, and Breaking the Surface, the #1 New York Times bestselling autobiography of gay Olympic diving champion Greg Louganis. Eric is also a founding board member of the new American LGBTQ+ Museum.

Award Presentation: Carmen Vázquez Leadership Award in Aging presented by presented by Michael Adams, CEO, SAGE (Advocacy and Services for LGBTQ+ Elders): Barbara Satin, Barbara Satin’s 30 years of LGBTQ advocacy are deeply rooted in a commitment to her faith and the desire to have spiritual communities experience and affirm the integrity, beauty, and authenticity of LGBTQ people. Nearly 60 when she came out as a trans woman, she was drawn to the needs and expectations of

old queer folks like herself. In her 15 years of Faith Work with the National LGBTQ Task Force, she found time to focus on her aging peers in the LGBTQ community, working to find resources for them while also supporting training for those who would care for them in their dependent years. She played a key role in the development of LGBTQ affirming housing in Minneapolis – Spirit on Lake, a 46-unit, affordable rental facility, celebrating its 10th anniversary in 2023. Barbara has promoted the needs and concerns and expectations of old LGBTQ people from podiums and pulpits across the nation; she was recognized for her body of work when President Obama appointed

her to the President’s Council on Faith Based and Neighborhood Partnerships in 2016. Barbara’s aging efforts often connected her with SAGE – a relationship she has treasured over these years.

All plenary events take place in the Grand Ballroom located on the Ballroom Level of Hilton Hotel San Francisco Union Square.

Eric Marcus

Barbara Satin

Award Presentation: Creating Change Immigration Award presented by Mayra Hidalgo Salazar, Deputy Executive director of The National LGBTQ Task Force: Jennicet Gutiérrez

Jennicet Gutiérrez (she/hers/ ella) is a transgender immigrant Latina from Tuxpan, Jalisco. She is the co-Executive Director with Familia: Trans Queer Liberation Movement - a national trans and queer Latinx and immigrant grassroots organization organizing at the intersections

of trans and queer rights, and migrant and racial justice. The organization’s vision is to work at the national and local level to achieve the collective liberation of trans and queer Latinx folks, by leading an intergenerational movement through grassroots organizing, direct action and advocacy. Jennicet advocates for transgender rights and immigrant rights and prioritizes centering the voices of trans women of color in all racial justice work. Jennicet is determined to fight against all oppressive political and social

institutions that stand in the way of the rights and dignity of all people.

State of the Movement Plenary

with Kierra Johnson, Executive Director, National LGBTQ Task Force Mass Shootings and Hate Crimes Involving LGBTQ+ Victims - Panel Discussion

Sunday, February 19, 2023 1:30pm-2:45pm

2022 midterm elections, the Task Force leader will focus on both the challenges and opportunities ahead and lay out what is at stake for our democracy.

Mass Shootings and Hate Crimes

Involving LGBTQ+ Victims

facilitates a panel discussion on gun violence sharing survivor’s reflections and stories of activism. How does fear translate into anger and advocacy? Listen, and learn.

Moderator:

State of the MovementOur Present and Tools for Navigating Troubled Waters Task Force Executive Director, Kierra Johnson delivers the annual State of the Movement Plenary, emceed by Sandra Valls. After three years of life during a global pandemic and two years into the current administration, we have a lot to reflect on and still, a lot to fight for. In the wake of the overturn of Roe v. Wade and the

The massacre at Pulse Night Club, a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, was the second worst gun violence attack in American history. 49 people were murdered as they peacefully joined together in community and to dance. The shooter used an assault weapon with a high-capacity magazine. LGBTQ+ people are more than twice as likely to be a victim of gun violence than their cisgender and straight peers. Additionally, 1 out of 5 hate crimes are motivated by sexual orientation and/or gender identity bias and guns make these crimes more deadly. Moderator Becky Jones

Becky George

Becky George, Everytown for Gun Safety

Becky George has served as the Senior Advisor for Movement Building at Everytown for Gun

Jennicet Gutiérrez

Kierra Johnson

State of the Movement Plenary, continued Safety, Moms Demand Action, and Students Demand Action since 2019. Her current portfolio is focused on Everytown’s work to end hate-motivated violence against marginalized communities, prevent gender-based violence, and center LGBTQ and BIPOC communities. Becky started her career in violence prevention work in Texas and served as a board member for the South Asian domestic violence organization, Chetna. She spent nearly a decade in the reproductive justice, rights, and health field. Becky is a proud Texan, a proud child of immigrants, and a loud and proud queer. She currently lives in Washington, D.C. with her incredible wife, child, and dog.

Panelists:

Michael Anderson – Club Q

PLENARY PROGRAMS

Michael Anderson is a Club Q bartender who survived the recent horrific Club Q attack and subsequently testified at the Committee on Oversight Reform hearing that examined the rise in violence against LGBTQI+ people in the United States.

Nadine Bridges – One Colorado

Nadine Bridges is the first Black and female Executive Director of One Colorado, the state’s leading advocacy organization advancing equality for LGBTQ+ Coloradans and their families. She has dedicated herself to working with and advocating for vulnerable communities for over 20 years. Nadine has been a professor, director, counselor, mentor, volunteer, Peace Corps volunteer, and activist. She is committed to racial equity, social justice, and anti-oppressive movements. Nadine is an adjunct professor at the University of Denver’s Graduate School of Social Work. She professionally mentors’ former students and colleagues and serves on the Advisory Committee of Racial Diversity to the Dean at the University of Denver’s Graduate School of Social Work and is a Health Equity Commissioner for the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. In her free time, Nadine enjoys traveling, baking, cooking, watching The Great British Bake Off, and spending time with her wife, Liz, and her family.

Matthew Haynes – Club Q

Matthew Haynes owns several businesses in the aviation and real estate sectors as well as two gay bars, Club Q in Colorado Springs, and Affinity Bar in Brighton UK. Matthew is married to his husband Brandon and has adopted and raised two amazing children Gabriel and Kortney. 20 years ago, Matthew purchased a building and started a gay nightclub, Club Q. This venue became the lone hub for LGBTQI+ community in what was an extremely conservative town. Since the horrific events at Club Q, Matthew has been at the forefront in supporting the victims, employees, and community. Matthew has advocated against hate speech and assault weapons while testifying to the Congressional House Oversight Committee and in conversations with President Biden and other political leaders. Matthew feels strongly that murdered victims, Daniel, Derek, Ashley, Raymond, and Kelly, the 17 shot and the traumatized community must have a voice against hate and gun violence.

Michael Anderson

Nadine Bridges

Matthew Haynes

PLENARY PROGRAMS

State of the Movement Plenary, continued

X González - Activist, Survivor Stoneman Douglas High School (Parkland)

X González (they/them) is a gun-violence prevention activist born and raised in Parkland, Florida. A survivor of the Marjory Stoneman-Douglas High School shooting, X became a leading voice in the gun-violence prevention movement with their powerful speech “We Call BS”. In 2018, they were instrumental in organizing the historic #MarchForOurLives protest in

Washington D.C., the largest student-led demonstration in

American history. While in high school, X also served as the President of the Gay-Straight Alliance. X continues to be at the forefront advocating for gun violence prevention including intersectional issues such as racial justice and LGBTQ+ rights. In the wake of the mass shootings in Buffalo, Uvalde, and Tulsa this year, X spoke at March for Our Lives second rally in Washington D.C. Most recently, X graduated from New College of Florida with a major in activism.

Closing Plenary: The Future Is Now

Leather Leadership Award

Monday, February 20, 2023 5:00pm - 6:30 pm

This year’s closing plenary promises to be one of the best in the conference’s 35-year history and we will also present the Leather Leadership Award. Our guests will discuss their own LGBTQ+ advocacy efforts and personal stories while also discussing how the entertainment business and culture can be more inclusive and raise awareness of nuanced queer experiences promoting social change. Discussion moderated by Task Force Executive Director Kierra Johnson with Dyllón Burnside and Angelica Ross.

Dyllón Burnside

Performer, Songwriter, Activist

Dyllón Burnside is best known to audiences for his starring role as ‘Ricky’ on Ryan Murphy’s Emmy nominated FX series, “Pose.” He is currently reunited with Ryan

Murphy and can be seen in the record-breaking Netflix limited series “Dahmer” in which he plays one of Jeffrey Dahmer’s victims. In theater, Dyllón starred in the Broadway productions of “Thoughts of a Colored Man,’ and ‘Holler if Ya Hear Me’, a hiphop musical inspired by the music and lyrics of Tupac Shakur. He has appeared in NBC’s “Peter Pan Live!” and the HBO series “High Maintenance,” all while

completing his final year at the prestigious CAP21 Conservatory for music theater and The New School where he earned a bachelor’s degree in Media Studies and Writing.

As a singer/songwriter, Burnside has released three chart-topping solo singles, “Silence,” “Heaven” and “Superpowers” and he is finishing his debut album and has toured the country performing original music alongside folks like Stevie Wonder and Rihanna. Burnside is also passionate about producing quality arts content that promotes social change. He has been honored by GLAAD and the Human Rights Campaign for his continuing dedication to LGBTQ+ rights. Dyllón also hosted and produced “Prideland,” a onehour special and short-form digital series for PBS that received a Daytime Emmy and GLAAD Media Award nomination.

X González

Dyllón Burnside

Ross Founder & CEO of TransTech, Actress, Singer Songwriter & Human Rights Advocate

Angelica Ross is a leading figure of success and strength in the movement for human rights advocacy focused on Transgender and racial equality. A fan favorite on FX’s award-winning hit POSE plus both the ninth season of Ryan Murphy’s FX hit American Horror Story: 1984 and the double feature tenth season as The Chemist in Part 1 and Theta in Part 2. Angelica also returned to her love for music with her debut music video and single, Only You. Angelica’s acting breakthrough came in the form of Ryan Murphy’s award-winning FX hit series, Pose — which follows NYC’s Black and Latino LGBTQ+ and gender-nonconforming ballroom culture scene in the 80’s and early 90’s. Vanity Fair raved that, “Angelica Ross steals many of her scenes as ‘Candy’,” the brashest member of the ‘House of Abundance.’

Angelica Ross is the President of Miss Ross, Inc. and founder of TransTech Social Enterprises, an award-winning program that helps people lift themselves out of poverty through technical training, digital work creating a social

PLENARY PROGRAMS

impact, resource-sharing and bringing economic empowerment to marginalized communities with a focus on Black queer and trans.

Leather Leadership Award: Master Taíno presented by Juan Monsanto (aka Fuego)

Master Taíno is a Puerto Rican Leatherman who has been active in the Leather community for more than three decades. He has a Leather Family of 13 members including his slave, Paul. He founded MTTA, Inc., a non-profit organization that runs MTTA Academy and the Master/slave Conference. He was the Executive Producer of MsC (2004-2022) and director of MTTA Academy (2001-2019). He has been an educator on BDSM and Master/ slave relationships for over two decades in the US and abroad. Since 2015, he has been involved with the kink community in Costa Rica where he has a second residence. He has been honored with several awards. He has been a member of the Defenders LLC and SigMa, and an associate of Men of Discipline and ONYX Mid-Atlantic. He founded MAsT Washington in 1999, and is a member of MAsT San José, Costa Rica.

Plenary Program Emcee: Sandra Valls

Sandra is a comic, actor, singer, writer, and badass. She is best known for her Showtime hit comedy specials, The Latin Divas of Comedy (nominated for an Alma Award) and Pride: LGBT Comedy Slam! hosted by Bruce Vilanch. Her unique mix of physical comedy and brilliant story telling make it easy to see why the Los Angeles Times calls Sandra “Talented and Hilarious”! Curve Magazine included her in their Power List as One of the Most Influential Queer Women in the Country and voted her one of the Top 10 Funniest Lesbian Comics. Latina Magazine voted Sandra One of the Top 33 Bad Ass Comics with Latinx Roots and Go magazine has named her One of the Top 100 Women We Love.

Sandra is also a favorite onstage as an emcee. Her hosting credits include TEDX Women, Women in Medicine: Lesbian Health Fund Conference, San Antonio LGBT Chamber of Commerce Coming Out Day, Equality San Antonio - Spirit of Texas Brunch, Latino Institute at Creating Change, La Femme Film Awards, Power UP 10 Amazing Gay Women and Men Gala, and GLAAD Awards and London Lesbian Film Festival.

Angelica

Angelica Ross

Master Taino

Sandra Valls

Day Long Institutes • February 17 & 18

DAY LONG INSTITUTES

February 17 and 18

The API Institute: Back in Community!

Friday, February 17

The API Institute is an intimate gathering for LGBTQ+-identifying Asians and Pacific Islanders attending Creating Change to be in community, learn, share, and recharge for the year to come. As the first in-person Institute in 3 years, we are excited to welcome you to a day of community-building and shared learning, with updates on federal issues and policies as well as sessions from community organizers across the country.

Black Institute: Building Black LGBTQ+/ SGL Power & Policy Solutions

Friday, February 17

The Black Institute is an annual convening of Black LGBTQ+/Same-Gender Loving people and organizations to build power, innovate, and share best practices to liberate ALL Black people. Regardless of who is in power, we must have ourselves and our community in focus and centered on ensuring we have what we need to thrive. The National Black Justice Coalition’s Black Institute is where Black joy and freedom come first - join us to be a part of our revolution.

Indigenous Fortitude & Brilliance

Friday, February 17

Open to all attendees: This day-long institute is an opportunity for LGBTQ+ indigenous, indigiqueer & two spirit people to share their experience & cultural importance with the broader LGBTQ+ community & would be allies. Participants will learn, grow & cultivate cultural humility. Topics of interest include traditional roles, contemporary challenges, movement work, decolonizing sex ed & feature a youth & elders panel. Euro settler descendants will yield to the indigenous narrative.

The Creating Change Indigenous Leadership Planning Committee recognizes the term indigenous includes people of many nations, including those outside of Turtle Island or what is called the United States, North, Central & South America. Presenters in this day long institute mostly reflect those from north “American” territories & are the gathered knowledge of the individual & is not to be understood as a copy/ paste culture for all indigenous lives.

Unión=Fuerza Latinx Institute

Friday, February 17

The Unión=Fuerza Latinx Institute features a day of skill and issue-based training, workshops, networking, and an update on the state of the LGBTQ+ Latinx movement. Attendees include community advocates, nonprofit leaders, students, academics, government officials, politicians, artists, media producers, and more! We invite you to support the only national convening organized to train LGBTQ+ Latinxs leaders in a culturally competent, bilingual space.

Building Racial Equity Foundations

Friday, February 17

The Virtual Building Racial Equity series, developed by Race Forward: The Center for Racial Justice Innovation, are interactive trainings for those who wish to sharpen their skills and strategies to address systemic racism and advance racial equity. Unlike “diversity trainings” which primarily focus on interpersonal relations and understanding, these trainings emphasize how to challenge and change institutional racial inequities.

Executive Director/CEO Institute

Friday, February 17

This institute is for LGBTQ Executive Directors/CEOs and is intended to provide support and skills building in the areas most important for leading a nonprofit organization. Participants will feel less isolated and more supported, while also building a network of colleagues to help sustain them throughout the year. Participants will get help in trouble-shooting issues they are currently facing in their work, while

Please check the CC23 mobile app for all updates.

also gaining information necessary to be stronger nonprofit leaders and build a stronger progressive, anti-racist movement.

Aro and Ace Day Long Institute

Saturday, February 18

We have designed this institute specifically for aromantic (aro) and asexual (ace) participants. However, anyone interested in learning more about the asexual and aromantic spectrums will be welcome and can expect much more than a basic 101. There will be two main tracks, one focused on activism and the other on community-building. Participants can join either track or switch between them throughout the day. Both tracks will focus on the way aro and ace identities intersect with gender, race, ability, socioeconomic status, and other queer identities, either in the topic of the individual sessions or by incorporating intersectionality throughout. We’ll also dive into some of the ongoing tensions within our communities and ways we can build bridges and practice solidarity to mend these conflicts. This will be an opportunity for ace and aro people to find more community support, network, and collaborate to define goals for our broader communities.

Consortium of Higher Education LGBT Resource Professionals Day-Long Institute

Saturday, February 18

This is session is designed for LGBTQIA2S+ resource professionals in higher education. Participants interested in building skill on topics of LGBTQIA2S+ equity, inclusion, justice, and belonging in educational contexts are welcome to attend. We will explore best, better, and promising practices for serving and supporting LGBTQIA2S+ students. With an intersectional lens, we will explore the challenges our students face and how all of us can make a difference to create LGBTQIA2S+ learning environments.

Digital Strategy Training Institute

Saturday, February 18

At the twelfth annual Digital Strategy Training Institute (DSTI), you will spend a day engaging with a range of experts about the latest digital tools and

Day Long Institutes • February 17 & 18

Please check the CC23 mobile app for all updates.

online advocacy strategies that you can incorporate into your work. You will discover new social and paid media tools that are appropriate for your budget, get the latest new media trends, and be trained on rapid response tactics. Lastly, through open discussion, we will help each other come up with creative solutions to challenges your organization is facing today.

Faith Institute

Saturday, February 18

The 2023 Faith Institute will feature the voices of young and diverse leaders from a wide variety of faith traditions. The established faith traditions are facing shrinking membership and we must look to those who are filling the ranks of retiring faith leaders. The future is now and the voices of those who are doing the work of reforming the “church” must be heard.

Fighting Back While Under Attack: Youth Organizing & Mobilizing in 2023

Saturday, February 18

LGBTQ Young people are shifting culture by demanding change, conducting walk-outs, holding elected officials accountable. This institute will provide a space to share organizing and mobilizing strategies to create a digital campaign that is rooted in the fight for LGBTQ health and rights at the community and policy level.

Living, Learning and Growing Across Generations – Intergenerational Institute

Saturday, February 18

The Intergenerational Institute will aim to create a shared space for LGBTQ+ people of all ages and cultural diversity, as we dive into the rewards of living, learning and growing together. Participants will engage in conversations and skills building activities to share their stories of resilience, taking care of our own, intergenerational community-building successes, and learn about advocacy initiatives that uplift and strengthen our community. Open to everyone.

LGBTQ+ Economic Justice Institute

Saturday, February 18

The COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent financial challenges communities have suffered have shone a spotlight on the need for a LGBTQI+ economic justice movement that ensures that all in our communities have the resources they need to thrive. The LGBTQI+ community has long recognized the need for economic support for vulnerable community members, and this is a pivotal time for reimagining and reigniting an LGBTQI+ economic justice movement. This institute will provide an opportunity for intentional organizing for LGBTQI+ people around economic issues and justice and to create supports for fellow community members. Through discussion, art, culture building activities, and more, this institute will create a space for individuals to share, envision, and collectively organize around LGBTQI+ economic justice. Attendees will explore how economic injustice has impacted their lives and their communities, connect their experiences to the history of economic justice in the LGBTQI+ movement, and collectively move forward a vision and actions for building an LGBTQ+ economic justice movement.

More Than a Movement: Building PLHIV Leadership and Resilience

Saturday, February 18

Participants in this institute will learn about the current state of the HIV movement, innovation in education, advocacy, and outreach approaches, and will be able to network and engage with dynamic faculty from communities living with and vulnerable for HIV.

Sex, HEAL, Action!

Saturday, February 18

As attacks on sexuality and bodily autonomy continue to dominate the national stage, it is time to build a different relationship with our bodies, sex, and sexuality. “Sex, HEAL, Action!” is an interactive activity-packed institute where you get to ask questions like, “why do I fear my fantasies?” or “when did I learn to be ashamed of my desires?” Exploring your own path, we offer a model for sexual healing (for everyone) that launches from personal discovery into the political work of sexual liberation. Join us

Day Long Institutes • February 17 & 18

Please check the CC23 mobile app for all updates.

and bring your curiosity, your open heart, and your passion for re-thinking everything you know about sex! Learn more at heal2end.org

The Entrapment and Harassment of LGBTQ+ People: Woodhull’s Human Rights Commission

Saturday, February 18

Entrapment and harassment of gay and bi men, trans people, and sex workers by law enforcement continues to be widespread in all parts of the country. These civil and human rights violations devastate individuals and their families but rarely receive public attention due to media and community bias, stigma, and victim blaming. During this session, you will hear testimony from victims of these egregious practices and from experts and policymakers who have fought these violations through litigation and legislation. Attendees will engage in facilitated explorations of how various communities are forced to endure these abuses, and how to confront and defeat them in ways that can be used in their communities and lives.

The Gender to Prison Pipeline: The Impact of Mass Incarceration of Black Trans Women and Girls

Saturday, February 18

This session will create an environment where Black Trans Women and Girls and those who want to be in solidarity with us as we seek liberation using the Gender to Prison Pipeline executive summary. This space will create an opportunity to learn, ask questions without shame, and elevate shared learning with the belief that we will then be best positioned to implement radical and transformative change as a community.

Trans Institute

Saturday, February 18

This will be a space for Trans, non-binary, and gender expansive community leaders to meet, connect, and engage in conversations about building trans power and dream of a trans liberated future. Leaders will be able to learn from one another, bring conversations back to their local communities, and build the

Day Long Institutes • February 17 & 18

leadership of trans people to ensure we have access to jobs, housing, education and employment, as well as tools to respond to anti-trans legislation, criminalization, and deportation.

Queering Climate Justice

Saturday, February 18

As climate chaos escalates, LGBTQ+ people, especially QTBIPOC and people with disabilities, are among those communities hit first and worst. LGBTQ+ people also have a unique knowledge of what it takes to change, transition, and survive. Join us to discuss community responses to recent environmental disasters and unpack our role in the Just Transition towards life-affirming economies for people and planet. You may want to attend this institute if you are: - Employed in an LGBTQ+ center that wants to prepare for the disaster resilience of your communities; - An organizer working on LGBTQ+ rights issues who is curious how to engage climate justice in your policy work; - An educator seeking frameworks for teaching intersectional climate justice; - Or if you are already engaged in climate justice organizing and seeking to build community with other LGBTQ+ people in the movement.

We’ve Been Here: Bi+ (plus) Organizing Then, Now, and Tomorrow

Saturday, February 18

As we, around the world, find ourselves in tumultuous times, it is important to remember where we’ve been. It helps guide what we do today and sets the compass toward the future. Many people may be confused or frustrated about how they can contribute to fight the forces - big and small - that want to hold us back. Bi+ (plus) organizers have experienced - and continue to experience - these obstacles to finding community, but we’ve always found our little corners. This session aims to arm attendees, whether bi+ (plus) folks or accomplices, with the knowledge, skills, and critical thinking necessary to contribute to our communities and march on.

What in the L?!: All Things Lesbian

Saturday, February 18

Can we talk about All Things Lesbian?! Join us for a healthy exchange of information that will educate, empower, and uplift all participants. We hope that women from varying demographics will partake in the conversation. We will be celebrating the things that binds us together and discussing those issues that divide us in an effort to bridge the gap. All lesbianidentified persons are welcome. This workshop will engage participants in a panel discussion on the “State of Lesbian Affairs”. This lively discussion about wellness, mental health, financial planning, education, family planning, and much more. Participants will have the opportunity to then continue the conversation in smaller break-out groups.

Please check the CC23 mobile app for all updates.

and Inclusion

Diversity, Equity,

are our foundations for innovation and drive our business forward.

Comcast NBCUniversal is proud to support the National LGBTQ Task Force and their Creating Change Conference.

TASK FORCE DONORS

Leadership Council

We extend a heartfelt thanks to our Leadership Council members for their continued support of the Task Force and the Task Force Action Fund. Leadership Council members make an annual gift of $1,500 or more and give the Task Force the flexibility to build grassroots LGBTQ political power across the nation. If we have inadvertently omitted or incorrectly listed your name, please contact Jacky Goh, Chief Development Officer, at jgoh@thetaskforce.org

Leadership Council Donors as of June 30, 2022

Thank you to our individual donors!

President’s Circle

$100,000.00 +

Elizabeth A. Scott & James Houston

Andrew & John Habich Solomon

Sarah & Howard Solomon

Vice President’s Circle

$50,000.00 +

Steven Holley

Weston F. Milliken

Emily Rosenberg & Darlene deManicor

Executive Circle

$25,000.00 +

Liebe & Seth Gadinsky

Stanley Newman & Brian Rosenthal

Jeff Oliverio & Tony Mendoza

Anonymous

Ambassador’s Circle

$10,000.00 +

Ralph Alpert

Jack Bankowsky & Matthew Marks

Candy S. Cox & Reverend

Debra L. Peevey

Kristin Ehrgood & Vadim Nikitine

Donald J. Hayden & Brian H. Thompson

David A. Holmes & Anthony Montoya

Eugene Kapaloski

Daniel Marinberg & Carlos Canasi

James G. Pepper

John Peters

Mark M. Sexton & W. Kirk Wallace

Sara M. Stone

Roger F. Thomson & Jim Tyrrell

Anonymous

Director’s Circle

$5,000.00 +

John M. Allen & Stephen P. Orlando

Susan E. Anderson & Jo Zeimet

Joseph Arena & Thomas D’Eletto

Alberto A. Arias Jr. & David W. Kinnard

Rachel Beda & Joseph Beda

Scott Bennett

Gregory N. Brown & Linton

D. Stables III

Bradley R. Carlson & Troy Du Toit

Colgate W. Darden IV

Matt Foreman & Francisco De Leon

Jeff & Kate Haas

T. Aaron Hans & Tania Mitchell

Mary E. Harper & Marigene

Arnold

H. S. Huizenga

Lawrence R. Hyer

Mitchell Karp & Barry Katz

McCall Langford

James D. Marks & Mark Scott

Kevin D. McCarty & Henri Vezie

Rodney W. McKenzie Jr.

Barbara J. Meislin

Raj Mirchandani & Dianne Palermo

Erik Morin & Luis Calderon

Jin Oh & Karl H. Smith

Stephen P. Orlando & John M. Allen

Nancy D. Polikoff

Cindy T. Rizzo

Karl H. Smith & Jin Oh

Ronna Stamm & Paul Lehman

Robert & Anna Strawbridge

N. Michael Studds

Jason Tester

Kevin Wang

Gerald Wentland & Jean-Paul Michaud

Anonymous

Advocate’s Circle

$2,500.00 +

Meg & Sarah Baesmith

Glenn Barcheski & Bill Dollaway

C. David Bedford

David S. Berg & Laura Butzel

Robin M. Bergen & Janine Hackett

Benjamin Bowler & Thomas Firpo

Kathleen Campisano & Sayre E. Reece

Rea Carey & Margaret Conway

Diane Cary & James Parriott

Peter H. Chandler Jr.

Lisa Corrin

Nicole & Wayne Cypen

Pamela H. David

George J. DeBolt

Joseph DeSantis

Anne S. Drennan

Dennis Edwards & Mark Steinberg

Michael B. Feiler

Jennifer Foley & Naomi E. Metz

Jorge L. Garcia

Erwin G. Gonzalez

Janine Hackett & Robin M. Bergen

Benjamin & William Hamilton

Edgar Hernandez & Glenn E. Petersen

Steven C. Hill & Jonathan A. Herz

Robert Holgate

Molly B. Holmes

Henry Hurd

Harold L. Ivey

Mark Jones & Andrew Tagliabue

Matt Kaczmarek & Aaron Ordower

Michael J. Kaplan

Justin Kitchens

Jody Laine & Shad Reinstein

Franklin Levine

Jeffrey Mandler

Edward & Marilyn McGovern

Naomi E. Metz & Jennifer Foley

Darlene Nipper

Paul F. Oostenbrug MD & Jeremiah F. Kelly

David M. Perez

David J. Price & Juan C. Rodriguez

Daniel L. Rabinowitz & Ann F. Thomas

Thomas A. Raffin & Martin Tian

Erick Rivero

Russell D. Roybal

Josue Santiago

Stephanie Sylvestre & Janice Navatkoski

Andrew Tagliabue & Mark Jones

Stephen B. Thayer & Howard Terry

Deric Walters & Jesse Lehrhoff

William Wilson & Dr. Richard Wall

Beth L. Zemsky & Chris Heete

Delegate’s Circle

$1,500.00 +

Alan T. Acosta & Thomas Gratz

Gary Bauer

Juan J. Battle & Michael D. Bennett

Frank Benedetti & Gary Trowbridge

Michael D. Bennett & Juan J. Battle

Alan Bernstein

Lewis Black

Leslie & Matt Bosson

Dennis Breen

Daniella Levine Cava

Arrington Chambliss & Hez G. Norton

Jerry S. Chasen & Mark Kirby

Michael L. Curtis & Eric F. Thom

Daniel Da Silva & Vincent G. Merceron

Robert P. Denny

Robert J. Dutton & Sunil Narayan

Ruth Eisenberg & Letitia A. Gomez

Klayton F. Fennell & Dr. Valentine Vigil-Fennell

Dwight A. Foley

Julie N. Goodridge

J B. Guess & Jim R. Therrien

Ebonie M. Hall

Monisha R. Harrell & Tami L. Olson

Thomas W. Harshman & Stanley D. Gwyn

Jeff Hawkins & Janet Strauss

Ernest C. Hopkins

Jason Jenkins

Lorraine Jones & Libby Halstead

Paul Kawata

Paul N. Kelly

Curtis A. Lipscomb

Richard Lynch & Frank Steil

Roberta Mandel & Joan L. Schaeffer

Jan S. Marks

Gary Martin & Mr. Patrick J. Owens

Alan Mason

Douglas Mateyaschuk II & Evan Wolfe

Robert R. McCrae & William Newhall

Albert R. McMeen III & James Davis

Paulette J. Meyer & Davud Fruedman

Robert F. Miailovich

Bonnie Michaels

Inca A. Mohamed

Sunil Narayan & Robert J. Dutton

Joseph Ogormon

Thank you to our Institutional funders!

$500,000.00+

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

$250,000-499,999

Evelyn & Walter Haas Jr Fund

Ford Foundation

Wellspring Philanthropic Fund

$100,000-249,999

Arcus Foundation

NoVo Foundation

$50,000-99,000

American Endowment Foundation

E Rhodes & Leona B Carpenter Foundation

Gilead Sciences, Inc.

The Tides Foundation

$25,000-49,000

Amalgamated Charitable Foundation

American Airlines

Amalgamated Charitable Foundation

Estee Lauder Companies / MAC AIDS Fund

Fox Rothschild LLP

Freeman Foundation

Hilton Worldwide

Horizons Foundation

Justworks

Laughing Gull Foundation

Newpol Foundation

Truist

TASK FORCE DONORS

Patrick J. Owens & Gary Martin

Joe L. Pallant

Shilpen Patel MD & Yuming Chiu

Donna M. & Michael Patrick

Michael J. Piore & Rodney Yoder

Marjorie Press

Samantha Randby & Fruzsina Nyeso

$10,000-24,999

AIDS United

Akerman LLP

Bilzin Sumberg Baena Price & Axelrod LLP

Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP

Collingwood Foundation

Comcast Corporation

CSAA Insurance Group, a AAA Insurer

Dona & Dwight Kendall Family Foundation

Everytown for Gun Safety

Florida Blue

Frosene Spirit of Hope Foundation, Inc

Google

Greenberg Traurig, P.A.

Heritage Financial Consultants, LLC

Huizenga Family Foundation

Irving Harris Foundation

John S. and James L. Knight Foundation

Johnson Family Foundation

JP Morgan Chase Foundation

The Miami Foundation

MISTR

Morrison & Foerster LLP

NARAL Pro-Choice America

NEO Philanthropy

Our Fund Foundation

OutRight Action International

POP Culture Collaborative

Royal Caribbean Cruises LTD.

Ryder Charitable Foundation

St John’s on the Lake UMC

Starboard Cruise Services

Tzedek Social Justice Fund

Unite Here

The Vertical Bridge

Wild Geese Foundation

Worth Avenue Yachts

Joan Schaeffer & Roberta Mandel

Elizabeth Schwartz & Lydia Martin

Michael Scigliano

Marianne G. Seggerman

Stephen L. Seo & Nicholas J. Caldarera

Kathy Shamey

Peter J. Shomer

$1,500-9,999

Aetna

Bank United

BDO USA, LLP

Bercow Radell & Fernandez, P.A.

Big Johnson Group LLC

BNY Mellon Wealth

Management

City of Miami Beach

City of North Miami

Clear Health Alliance / Simply Healthcare Community Foundation

Sonoma County

Ernst & Young LLP

Fetzer Institute

Flamboyan Foundation

The Foundation of the Greater Miami Jewish Federation

Give Lively Foundation

Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau

Greenspoon Marder

Grindr LLC

The Harrington Agency

Included Health

K&L Gates LLP

Mark Migdal & Hayden

Miami-Dade County

Commissioners

Morgan Stanley

Neiman Marcus

New York Community Trust

Rennert Vogel Mandler & Rodriguez, P.A.

San Francisco AIDS Foundation

Stonewall Community Foundation

TD Bank

TGH Company LLC

Tiger Baron Foundation

United Church of Christ

Williamson Cadillac Buick

GMC

Winston & Strawn

YourCause LLC

Lawrence J. Simpson

Geoffrey O. Swetz & Carlos Leo

Janice E. Thom

Albert V. Thompson & Kenneth Smith

Mary Webster

Rene Wolfsenberger

Scott A. Woodfill

Legacy Circle

The Task Force thanks the following people for naming the Task Force as a beneficiary in their estate planning.

David I. Abramson

Alan Ace*

Henry van Ameringen*

Clarence E Anderson Living Trust*

Jacob Arnell

Neil B.Pomerenke*

Barckley Family Trust*

Michael Bath

William Bebermeyer*

Bertram H. Behrens*

Em Olivia Bevis*

Jillian K. Bishop*

Bisordi-Schofield Revocable Trust*

LeClair Bissell*

David A. Bjork

Marsha C. Botzer

Thomas Boyd

Shirley Brodigan*

Matthew Brown

Herman J. Brown-Stepan*

Jennifer M. Buchwald

Phillip A. Bulliner*

Margaret A. Burd

Susan Burnside

Bradley R. Carlson

John L. Chamness, Jr.*

Julie A. Childs

Stephen D. Clover*

Gerald & Veronica Colfer*

Daniel Cook & Herbert I. Cohen*

Winifred Cottrel*

David E. Dassey

James A. Davidson*

Donald E. Davis

George J. DeBolt

Mark Deggendorf*

Craig M. Desoer

James N. Devillier*

Sarah A. Douglas

Ross Draegert

Sabrina K. Duckett*

Alice Dyer*

Bert Easter

Edith MacGuire Charitable Trust*

Orton L. Ehrlinger*

Jonathan Elwell*

Luke F. Farrell*

Nina Feirer

John P. Fludas*

Richard Fremont-Smith*

Liebe Gadinsky

Brook Glaefke*

Stephen A. Glassman

Joe Goenaga

Mary E. Harper

John R. Harper*

Daniel A. Harris

Finas Harris*

Sheila Healy*

John R. Hoffman*

Richard Homan*

Earle Raymond Hopkins*

Diane M. Hopsia*

John Hubschmitt

Darrill Hudson*

Rachel Hurst

Kent J. Johnson

Steven D. Kaeser*

Robert L. Kehoe*

Ronald Kendall

Kenneth E. Kesselring*

Linda Ketner

Harold D. Kooden

Kayeton J. Kurowski*

Brianna J. Lambert

Marilyn Lamkay

Craig H. Lindhurst*

Dr Norma Jack Lindsey*

Peggy Lipschultz

David Littell

Lester H. London

Alyxia D. Loney

James W. Lundberg

Philanthropic Trust

James W. Lundberg

Philantropic Trust

Ed Madden

Joseph J. Maio*

Donna Marburger

Ellen Martin

Wayne McCaughan*

Rita A. McGaughey*

Sean Melton

Lawrence J. Messenger

Lawrence J. Messenger*

Henry D. Messer*

Naomi E. Metz

Robert F. Miailovich

Erik Morin

James Morris*

George Nemeth*

James Nonnemaker

Fleet E. Nuttall*

John O’Leary*

Lee Ormsbee

Austin L. Parrow

Martin C. Patterson

Julia Lorillard Pell*

TASK FORCE DONORS

John Perez

David Lee Peterson*

Addison T. Pressley

Ken Ranftle

Sayre E. Reece

Roger A. Riege*

Charles W. Robbins

James E. Rolls*

Anthony Rominske

Lee S Ross*

Harry R. Rowe, M.D.*

Russell D. Roybal

William A.K. Ryan*

Kenneth Sancier*

Jennifer A. Santana

Heather C. Sargeant

J Schmidt

Harry Seagal*

Marianne G. Seggerman

Karl-Ludwig Selig*

Andrew Sendall

Elliott R. Sernel

Dale Norris Shaw*

Larry Siegel

Andrew W. Solomon

Robert J. Starshak

William J. Stein

James J. Stroumbos*

James L. Tanner*

Marc A. Triebwasser*

John Tynes*

Josef Van Der Kar*

Loet VanDerveen

Donald E. Watson*

Scott J. Weber

Ric Weiland*

Jeffrey E. White*

Robert S. White*

Harry K. Willwater

Douglas Wingo

Walt Witcover*

Jacob Lee Withers, Jr.*

Craig J. Witt*

Benton Wong

Roy Glenn Wood*

James B. Wozniak*

Victoria K. Elliott York

Morgan Young*

Beth L. Zemsky

William Zilko*

Daniel R. Zillmann

Jaroslav E. Zivney*

Harvey Zuckman

*deceased

If you would like information about naming the Task Force in your estate planning, please contact Jacky Goh, Chief Development Officer, at jgoh@ thetaskforce.org

Congratulations to the Task Force on 50 years of leadership!

UNITE HERE stands with you in the fight for our rights and democracy for all of us!

Race Forward’s Racial Justice Training series is a collection of interactive sessions for those who wish to sharpen their skills and strategies to address structural racism and advance racial equity. The Building Racial Equity Foundations training emphasizes how to challenge and change institutional racial inequities. Want

Interested

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Co-Chair

The National LGBTQ Task Force builds the power of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community from the ground up. The Task Force is the country’s premier social justice organization fighting to improve the lives of LGBTQ people, and working to create positive, lasting change and opportunity for all. Founded 1973 www.theTaskForce.org

Erik Richard Morin

Sherman Oaks, CA

Co-Chair

Dr. Anika Simpson

Washington, DC

Secretary Rodney McKenzie, Jr. Brooklyn, NY

Treasurer Colgate Darden Miami, FL

BOARDS OF DIRECTORS - NATIONAL LGBTQ TASK FORCE

Peter Chandler

Washington, DC

Candy Cox

Washington, DC

Vanessa Daniel Tacoma, WA

Liebe Gadinsky Miami Beach, FL

T. Aaron Hans St. Paul, MN

Donald Hayden Miami, FL

Miles Huff

Chattanooga, TN

Rose Hayes San Francisco, CA

Monisha Harrell

Seattle, WA

David Perez

Washington, DC

Jeremy Rye San Francisco Bay Area, CA

Candelario Saldana

Charlotte, NC

Almas Sayeed

Los Angeles, CA

Stephen Seo

Los Angeles, CA

Andrew Solomon New York, NY

Kim Stone

Miami, FL

Jason Tester San Francisco, CA

Kevin Wang

Seattle, WA

BOARDS OF DIRECTORS - NATIONAL LGBTQ TASK FORCE ACTION FUND

Chair Juan Peñalosa Miami Beach, FL

Secretary/Treasurer

Peter Chandler Washington, DC

Colgate Darden Miami Beach, FL

Hez Norton Boston, MA

NATIONAL ACTION COUNCIL

Jeremy Rye San Francisco Bay Area, CA

Andrew Solomon New York, NY

Over the years, the Task Force has had many incredible advocates and supporters who are committed to helping us achieve our mission of building grass-roots power for the LGBTQ community. Our National Action Council recognizes these individuals.

John M. Allen

Susan E. Anderson

Anthony Aragon

Alan Bernstein

Marsha C. Botzer

David Bowers

Margaret A. Burd

Yuval David

Donald E. Davis

Victor E. Diaz-Herman

Ruth Eisenberg

James M. Foreman

William Forrest

Ruben J. Gonzales

Kevin D. Gonzalez

Mario Guerrero

Jon B. Hoadley

Jody Laine

Cordey R. Lash

Naomi E. Metz

Sandra Y. Nathan, PhD

Shilpen Patel, MD

Chad Richter

Lee Rubin

Mark M. Sexton

Jeffrey Z. Slavin

Michelle Stecker

Kenneth B. Thompson

Alfonso Wenker

Vince Wong

Beth L. Zemsky

EXECUTIVE

Kierra Johnson

Executive Director

Mayra Hidalgo Salazar

Deputy Executive Director

Sayre E. Reece

Director of Executive Planning and Projects

Dana Riceel

Executive Assistant to the Executive Director

ADVOCACY AND ACTION

Clermon E. Acklin III

Federal Regulatory Counsel

Court Betro

Field Organizer for Creating Change 365

Rev. Nicole M. Garcia

Faith Work Director

Nikia Haqq

2023 Creating Change Fellow

Rae Leiner

Field Director

Danny Linden

Creating Change Conference Director

Daniel Moberg

Assistant Director, Creating Change Conference

Elijah Nichols

Field Organizer

Wayne Rocque

Civic Engagement Manager

Tiffany Tran

Senior Legislative Manager

COMMUNICATIONS, MARKETING AND BRANDING

Cathy Renna

Communications Director

Benjamin Coy

Communications Marketing Campaign Manager

Andrea N. Durojaiye

Membership Manager

Reese Rathjen

Digital Fundraising Manager

Dee Tum-Monge

Sr. Communications Manager

DEVELOPMENT

Jacqueline “Jacky” Goh

Chief Development Officer

Jake Arnell

Institutional & Corporate Giving Manager

Michael Bath

Events Director

Evan Davidoff

Senior Manager for Major Gifts

Ryan Hurst

Senior Major Gifts and Events Officer

Brian Marone

Events Manager

Kimberly Otero

Special Events Coordinator

Cary Webb

Development Associate

OPERATIONS

Samuel E. Thom

Director of Operations

Alicia S. Boykins, PHR & SHRM-CP

Director of Human Resources and Administration

Tanya Kelly-Blackford

Database Administrator

Rick Mohn

Sr. Finance Manager

EVERYTOWN FOR GUN SAFETY IS PROUD TO SUPPORT THE 2023 CREATING CHANGE CONFERENCE.

THANK YOU TO THE NATIONAL LGBTQ TASK FORCE FOR ALL THAT YOU DO TO ADVANCE FULL FREEDOM, JUSTICE AND EQUALITY FOR LGBTQ+ PEOPLE.

The shooting at Club Q in Colorado Springs reminds us of the important fight against hate and easy access to firearms, which remains a clear threat to our community.

We invite attendees to join the caucus Gun Violence Prevention and LGBTQ+ Data Surveillance at this year’s Creating Change Conference, hosted by Everytown Support Fund and GLMA Health Professionals Advancing LGBTQ+ Equality.

LEARN MORE AT EVERYTOWN.ORG FOLLOW US @EVERYTOWN @GLMA_LGBTHEALTH

1973 was a big year for our movement for LGBTQ+ Equality & Liberation

2023 marks the 50th anniversary of the National LGBTQ Task Force, Lambda Legal and PFLAG, as well as Gay Community News, the pioneering national newsweekly published out of Boston from 1973 to 1992.

A lot happened in 1973.

U.S. Troops withdrew from Vietnam, the Watergate hearings began, and the Supreme Court ruled on Roe v. Wade. While these seminal events took place, brave LGBTQ+ activists organized, undertook impact litigation, and boldly fought for LGBTQ+ people and our families. Our fight is not over, but our movement has come far in 50 years. We celebrate those who have come before us as we commit to the work ahead!

Congratulations and thank you!

Notes:

Mya Allen

Daniel Aston

Tiffany Banks

Henry Berg

Semaj Billingslea

Cherry Bush

Marisela Castro

Chuck Colbert

Christopher Collins

Hayden Davis

Lynn M. Eggers

Kenward Elmslie

Jeffrey Escoffier

Fern Feather

Frank Galati

Keshia Chanel Geter

Lauren Gray Gilstrap

Mama Gloria

Patrick Haggerty

Chanelika Y’Ella Dior Hemingway

Margot Heuman

Maddie Hofmann

Crispin Hollings

Richard Howard

Mar’Quis Jackson

Diamond Jackson-McDonald

Brazil Johnson

Leslie Jordan

Jim Kolbe

Tatiana Labelle

Amariey Lei

Carol Leigh

Barbara Love

Kelly Loving

Don Luce

Aaron Lynch

Elise Malary

Shawmaynè Giselle Marie

Sasha Mason

Marijane Meaker

Ariyanna Mitchell

Kitty Monroe

Rusty Mae Moore

Nedra Sequence Morris

Acey Morrison

Ray Muscat

Kathryn “Katie” Newhouse

Gloria Nieto

Miia Love Parker

Ashley Paugh

Duval Princess

Everett Quinton

Cypress Ramos

Kandii Reed (Kamila Marie Swann, Dee Dee)

Naomi Replansky

Hunter Reynolds

Martasia Richmond

Dede Ricks

Day Rodas

Ned Rorem

Clela Rorex

Irving Rosenthal

Derrick Rump

Naomie Skinner

Margaret Smilow

Ronni Solbert

Matthew Angelo Spampinato

Urvashi Vaid

Raymond Green Vance

Paloma Vazquez

Norah Vincent

Frank Watson

Kenyatta “Kesha” Webster

Sandra “Sandy” Williams

Ellen Wittlinger

Inside front: Task Force 50th

Inside back: UCC

PROUD TO SUPPORT DAVID BOHNETT CYBERCENTERS AT 58 LGBTQ CENTERS NATIONWIDE

Every CyberCenter provides a safe and inviting space to learn skills and build community.