(FEBRUARY 4TH, 2013) — For the first time,
leaders from local, regional, and national bi organizations met at the National
Gay and Lesbian Task Force’s Creating Change conference in Atlanta, Georgia, January
23-27 to discuss issues important to the bisexual rights movement and
set plans to raise the visibility of the bisexual community within the LGBTQ
movement.
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| Attendees Of The Bisexual Leadership Roundtable |
“It is a thrill and honor that the first-ever
Bisexual Leadership Roundtable took place at the 25th National Conference on
LGBT Equality: Creating Change. We are inspired and energized by the leaders
from local, regional and national bi organizations who came to Atlanta to
connect, strategize and mobilize. We join in the excitement over the BLR’s
founding and its future work to raise bi visibility and to create change,” says
Rea Carey, executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force.
BiNet USA president, Faith Cheltenham, and
Bisexual Resource Center president, Ellyn Ruthstrom, planned and facilitated
the first national Bisexual Leadership Roundtable (BLR) to establish deeper
connections among the diverse attendees who came from California, Minnesota,
Michigan, Massachusetts, Florida, New York, Texas, and Washington, DC.
BRC’s president, Ellyn Ruthstrom, comments, “This
meeting has been much anticipated by the bi leaders who gathered in Atlanta. We
are excited to have set out a game plan for more communication, sharing of
resources, and setting some new strategies for the bi movement. This is only the
first meeting, and we are fired up about the future work of the BLR.”
BiNet USA’s Faith Cheltenham adds, “BiNet USA
salutes each and every member organization of the BLR for the thought
leadership they've provided in the spirit of collaboration and community. While
we may have different mission statements each organization has brought to the
table a true commitment to work together on the urgent needs of our deeply
underserved community.”
ABilly Jones-Hennin, from Washington, DC, was the
most tenured participant on the roundtable and enthusiastically endorsed the leadership
gathering. “Given the ongoing exclusion and invisibility of bisexuals, as well
as the ignorance and denial about bisexuality, I welcome the coming together of
bi organizations to give us a stronger voice for true equality. The BLR is long
overdue, a breath of fresh air, and a reflection of our diversity.”
BLR attendees set out plans for quarterly
conference calls and an annual face-to-face meeting at which representatives
from national, regional, and local organizations can convene to continue the
work. Working groups were established in fundraising strategies, political
outreach, people of color and trans community networking, social media skill-building,
media and public education, BLR governance, and a national needs assessment
project.
Along with the full-day roundtable, members of the
BLR also met with the White House liaison to the LGBTQ community, representatives
from LGBTQ fundraising organizations, and The National Gay and Lesbian Task
Force’s executive director, Rea Carey, to brief them on concerns of the bi
community and to forge stronger relationships to expand the work being done.
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If you want more information about this
topic or to schedule an interview with BiNet USA’s president Faith Cheltenham
or Bisexual Resource Center’s Ellyn Ruthstrom, please contact them at their
respective numbers listed below.
Contacts:
Organizations and Individuals Represented on the Bisexual
Leadership Roundtable
The American Institute Of Bisexuality (AIB) is a 501(c)(3) public
charity that supports and sponsors projects likely to promote understanding and
visibility about bisexuality through education, research, training and media
outreach. The American Institute Of Bisexuality raises awareness about the
diversity of sexual orientation. BLR attendee: Denise Penn
The Bi Advisory Committee was established
to support the vision of Out & Equal Workplace Advocates to achieve
workplace equality for all, inclusive of sexual orientations, gender
identities, expressions, and characteristics, by driving awareness of the
unique needs and strengths of bisexual, pansexual, and fluid people in the
workplace. BLR attendee: Heidi Bruins Green
As America’s advocacy organization for
bisexual, pansexual, fluid, queer-identified and unlabeled people, BiNet USA facilitates the development
of a cohesive network of independent bisexual and bi-friendly communities;
promotes bisexual, pansexual, and bi-inclusive visibility; and collects and
distributes educational information regarding sexual orientation and gender
identity with an emphasis on the bisexual, pansexual, and allied communities.
Visit www.binetusa.org. BLR attendees: Faith Cheltenham, Chiquita Violette, Luigi Ferrer
BiRequest is a discussion group in New York City that has
been continuously offering safe space since 1992. The BiRequest meetings are
topic-centered discussions that now meet at NYC's LGBT Community Center. BLR attendee: Paul Nocera
Bisexual Organizing Project (BOP) is a
501(c)(3) organization whose mission is to advocate for equal acknowledgement
and recognition of bisexual identities and communities. BOP envisions a world
where all organizations serving LGBTQ communities intentionally include
bisexuality in their programs and initiatives. BOP hosts monthly community
building and educational events in the Upper Midwest, and sponsors the only
national conference on bisexuality in the United States, BECAUSE. Visit www.bisexualorganizingproject.org. BLR attendees: Lauren Beach,
Saby Labor
The Bisexual Resource Center (BRC) is the
oldest national bi organization in the U.S. that advocates for bisexual
visibility and raises awareness about bisexuality throughout the LGBTQ and
straight communities. The BRC envisions a world where love is celebrated,
regardless of sexual orientation or gender expression. The BRC provides support
groups in the Boston area, creates print and web resources, and sponsors
Bilicious, an annual multimedia event celebrating bi culture. Visit www.biresource.net. BLR attendee: Ellyn
Ruthstrom
The Boston Bisexual Women’s Network (BBWN) is a feminist, not-for-profit collective organization that brings
women together for support and validation. It is a safe environment in which
women of all sexual self-identities, class backgrounds, racial, ethnic and
religious groups, ages, abilities and disabilities are welcome. BBWN publishes Bi Women, a quarterly newsletter with an
international readership. Visit www.biwomenboston.org. BLR attendee: Robyn
Ochs
BLR attendee: Emily Dievendorf is a
bisexual activist and the policy director for Equality Michigan's (c)(3) and (c)(4) organizations, as well as the
political director for the Equality Michigan Pride PAC. She works to cultivate
full inclusion of the bisexual community in Michigan's LGBT rights movement and
beyond. Equality Michigan is Michigan's only statewide LGBT advocacy
organization. It works to achieve full equality and respect for all people in
Michigan regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression. Visit
www.equalitymi.org.
