Championing LGBTQ+ Diversity in Challenging Times

Tuesday, October 4, 2022

Register for the Forum
 

Welcome

We are excited to have you join us for our annual business forum.

There will be plenty of time for networking. And through a series of fireside chats, we’ll have the opportunity to deeply explore issues critical to championing LGBTQ+ diversity in these challenging, polarizing times.

Afterwards, join us for lunch and a first-look at the new LGBTQ+ History exhibit being displayed here at The Center!

Thank you to our sponsors for making the business forum possible:

Meet the Host and Panelists

 
Kenyatta Mitchell, Director of Government Affairs at Mayor’s Office (Read Bio)
Suhas A. Sridharan, Associate Professor of Accounting, Goizueta Business School  (Read Bio)
Shani Drake Duncan, Director, New Heights Communications (Read Bio)
Tim’m T. West, Educator, Professor, DEI Executive, Poet, Artist (Read Bio)
Erica May, VP, Communications Strategy Director, Empower (Read Bio)
Host: Percy Brown, Director, Internal Communications at Lambda Legal  (Read Bio)
Janis Middleton, EVP, Executive Director of Inclusion Strategy (Read Bio)

Agenda

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  • Businesses have consistently led the way in advancing LGBTQ+ equity. However, the current political moment has made some corporations think about taking a less progressive approach. Our panel will explore the perils of such a move and potential ways businesses can navigate these challenges. The conversation will also explore how a more visible and vocal employee and customer base can help government affairs strategists move LGBTQ equitable policies forward.

    • Kenyatta Mitchell, Director of Government Affairs at Mayor’s Office

    • Suhas A. Sridharan, Associate Professor of Accounting, Goizueta Business School

  • Time to network!

  • Edelman, a global public relations consultancy firm recently detailed how “in an increasingly complex and activist multi-stakeholder world, the corporate brand matters now more than ever.” In fact, “63% of CCOs said ‘brand and corporate identity’ is something their team is responsible for today, and 73% of CCOs report that social issues have shifted their communications agenda.” Our discussion will focus on how communications teams can navigate their role as the connector between a business and its customers and use its storytelling to light the way for others.

    • Shani Drake Duncan, Director, New Heights Communications

    • Erica May, VP, Communications Strategy Director, Empower

  • Time to network!

  • Developing a talent pipeline starts with ensuring your DEI and Belonging efforts are meaningful, as young Gen Z talent will be demanding a company show its homework in this space. They are also exploring ways companies lift up diverse voices, commit to allyship, and ensure that they can bring their whole selves to work. This panel will feature experts who help companies and institutions navigate this work every day, the ethical implications of this moment, and practical take-aways.

    • Tim’m West-Senior Managing Director of LGBTQ Community Initiative, NCCHR DEI Consultant

    • Janis Middleton, EVP, Executive Director of Inclusion Strategy, Guided By Good

  • As we end the forum, please enjoy some lunch and take the opportunity to be one of the first to experience the new LGBTQ+ exhibit here at The Center!

Meet the Host and Panelists

Kenyatta Mitchell, Director of Government Affairs at Mayor’s Office
Suhas A. Sridharan, Associate Professor of Accounting, Goizueta Business School
Shani Drake Duncan, Director, New Heights Communications
Tim’m T. West, Educator, Professor, DEI Executive, Poet, Artist, Dad
Erica May, VP, Communications Strategy Director, Empower
Host: Percy Brown, Director, Internal Communications at Lambda Legal
Janis Middleton, EVP, Executive Director of Inclusion Strategy

Welcome

We are excited to have you join us for our annual business forum.

There will be plenty of time for networking. And through a series of fireside chats, we’ll have the opportunity to deeply explore issues critical to championing LGBTQ+ diversity in these challenging, polarizing times.

Afterwards, join us for lunch and a first-look at the new LGBTQ+ History exhibit being displayed here at The Center!

Thank you to our sponsors for making the business forum possible:

Agenda

8:00-9:00 - Registration/Networking/Breakfast

9:00-9:30 - Welcome

9:30-10:10 - The Next Phase of Business and Government Relations: The Opportunity to Serve as a Beacon in Polarized Times 

10:10-10:20 - Break

10:20-11:00 - Communication Leaders as Change Agents: Creating a Clearer Path for Equity Through Storytelling

11:00-11:10 - Break

11:10-11:50 - DEI, Belonging, and What’s Beyond: Following-Through on Developing, Recruiting, and Investing in LGBTQ+ Talent

11:50-1:00 - Closing Remarks/Lunch/Networking and first look at the new LGBTQ exhibit at The Center

SAVE THE DATE:

We are excited to announce that the LGBTQ Institute’s seventh annual Business Forum will take place on Tuesday, October 4, 2022 from 9:00am-Noon at the National Center for Civil and Human Rights. We look forward to seeing you all in-person!

CLICK HERE TO SPONSOR THE FORUM

Why Sponsor Atlanta’s Premiere LGBTQ Business Forum?

And consider this:

  • If the LGBTQ community were a country, it would be the world’s fourth-largest economy in the world, with a GDP of $4.6 trillion and an ally marketplace three times as large.

  • Roughly 3.6 million LGBTQ adults live in the South (at least 425,000 Georgians identify as LGBTQ), including over half a million transgender adults—more than in any other region.

  • LGBTQ Southerners know how to use their purchasing power: 70.4% decided to buy a product/service from a company because it is supportive of LGBTQ rights; 75.2% decided not to buy a product/service from a company because it is not supportive of LGBTQ rights

  • 20% of Millennials identify as LGBTQ and 63% of straight millennials identify as allies.

Past Forum Leaders:

Here is a sampling of companies that have supported the LGBTQ Institute’s important work of advancing LGBTQ equity through business. Their commitment to this endeavor is what has made our annual forum a trusted, must-attend event that helps business leaders think creatively about what’s next:

Past Expert Panelists:

We look across the landscape--across major corporations, small and independent businesses, and not-for-profit and education partners to create an event that is truly innovative and unique in its approach to discussing business. Our expert panelists hail from a variety of companies who provide tangible tools that advance LGBTQ equity:

Major Corporations

  • The Coca-Cola Company

  • BlackRock

  • Bank of America

  • Delta Air Lines

  • Weber Shandwick

  • Salesforce

  • Google

  • WarnerMedia

  • AT&T

  • Comcast

  • Salesforce

  • First Data Corporation

  • Wells Fargo

Small & Independent Businesses

  • A/B Partners

  • Witeck Communications, Inc.

  • Trillium Asset Management

  • Employment Learning Innovations, Inc.

  • Atlanta Fine Homes Sotheby's International Realty

  • Lexicon Strategies 

  • Atlanta Business Chronicle

  • Transformation Journeys Worldwide

  • Juxtaposed Center for Transformation, Inc.

  • Creative Approach

NGOs & Education Partners

  • Constellations Center for Equity in Computing at Georgia Tech

  • Emory University Goizueta Business School

  • Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce

  • Georgia Equality

  • United Nations: Free & Equal

  • Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD)

  • Georgia State University

  • Emory University School of Law

  • Athlete Ally

CLICK HERE TO SPONSOR THE FORUM