Lambda Legal Appoints Jennifer C. Pizer Permanent Chief Legal Officer

Lambda Legal announced that Jennifer C. Pizer has been named permanent Chief Legal Officer (CLO). Pizer has served as the organization’s acting CLO since June, leading a department of twenty-six attorneys and eleven paraprofessionals with offices in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, New York City, and Washington, D.C.

 

“Jenny Pizer has dedicated her life’s work to the cause of LGBTQ equality and inclusion, and Lambda Legal specifically, with a history dating back to when she was a legal intern in the '80s and a Board member in the ‘90’s before joining the staff in 1996,” said Kevin Jennings, Lambda Legal CEO. “The immense respect our movement holds for her was symbolized in July when the National LGBTQ+ Bar Association awarded her its highest honor, the Dan Bradley Award. At a moment when we face daunting and unprecedented threats to our community, Jenny brings the experience and wisdom we need to lead Lambda Legal’s litigation and policy work into our next 50 years.”

 

“Lambda Legal continues to secure protections for LGBTQ people nationwide, defending our most vulnerable against the onslaught of attacks in statehouses and the random abuses inflicted daily because too many in this country are still learning who we are—still see us as some kind of dangerous threat,” said Jenny Pizer. “Our nearly fifty-year history of strategic successes proves that challenging these injustices leads to law reform, which can save lives and create futures. I am honored to continue to lead Lambda Legal’s team of incredibly talented attorneys during this critical time.”

Since joining Lambda Legal’s staff in 1996, Jenny has been a leading voice for family equality, including marriage, for LGBTQ people, for stopping anti-LGBTQ discrimination in employment, health care, and education, for protecting LGBTQ refugees, and against the misuse of religion to license discrimination. In addition to litigating impact cases, she has developed legislation, advised policymakers, and worked with community advocates to advance family law and nondiscrimination protections and to confront overbroad religious exemptions.

Jenny has also taught law school courses and given presentations for the U.S. State Department. She consults with lawyers seeking to secure legal protections for LGBTQ people in other countries and serves as co-chair of the board of Outright International, which conducts research, training, movement resourcing, and advocacy to advance the human rights of LGBTIQ people globally. From 2011 to 2012, she served as Legal Director of the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law, a research center and think tank on sexual orientation and gender identity issues.

PEOPLE Exclusive: Mastering Engineer Emerson Mancini Says a Kendrick Lamar Song Led Him to Share His Trans Identity

Emerson "Em" Mancini is ready to share his story.

The Grammy-winning mastering engineer, known for his work on music by Camila Cabello, Halsey, Charlie Puth and other artists, came out as a transgender man in an open letter via Billboard on Friday.

Ahead of its publication, Mancini (who uses both he/him and they/them pronouns) spoke to PEOPLE about his journey and how a session for Kendrick Lamar's latest album inspired him to share it with the industry and beyond.

Growing up, Mancini recalls moments of feeling uncomfortable as female gender norms became prevalent in his life. "Hitting puberty was really awful, but I didn't really know why. Other people were excited — I was not," he tells PEOPLE.

Questions about possibly identifying as transgender didn't enter his mind until he was studying music production at Berklee College of Music, but "the answer was always 'No,' for lots of invented reasons," remembers the self-described introvert.

Surrounded by a flurry of LGBTQ-identifying friends, however, Mancini dove head-first into literature about queer experiences, particularly connecting with the works of non-binary author Kate Bornstein.

"I was searching for answers without knowing why, and I was in a really big state of denial," he explains, noting that peers often brushed off his questions about identity, leaving him to do his own research. "The only place I found comfort was in a lot of those books."

Since graduating in 2008, Mancini has worked as a mastering engineer, receiving music from artists after it's been recorded and mixed and creating the final audio formats that get released onto streaming services and make their way to listeners' ears. For more than a decade since first questioning his identity, Mancini avoided coming to terms with it and instead, he says, "I just put my head down, and I worked." ...

Then, at the beginning of this year, Mancini was in the midst of mastering Lamar's Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers album when he heard "Auntie Diaries," a song about the 35-year-old rapper's experience learning his aunt was transitioning from female to male.

Lamar's team was coming into his studio within the hour to check his progress, but hearing the rapper describe his flawed journey from ignorantly using anti-LGBTQ slurs to celebrating his relative's identity left Mancini in "shock."

"I thought that was a really powerful way to not only tell a story about one person, but I think it reaches an audience that might not have understood and gets them to a place where they do by the end of the song," explains Mancini. "I appreciate the song for giving us insight into an understanding and an enlightening moment — in all of its imperfections, especially."

In order to keep the meeting professional, Mancini didn't bring up his identity. But after finishing his work on Lamar's album, he worked up the courage to email the rapper's team and share his own story, which marked his official coming out to anyone in his industry.

"I actually had to call my friend and say, 'Will you make me hit send? Because I don't know if I can do it,' which is funny now because I've hit send on so many more of those emails since then," he explains, noting that his parents have been "really supportive."

ICYMI: Watch Jon Stewart Debunk Anti-Trans Myths about Gender-Affirming Care

As a reckless, unprecedented misinformation campaign to justify harmful policies to prevent transgender children from being able to access age-appropriate, medically-necessary, gender-affirming care sweeps across the country, the newest episode of the Apple TV+ hit show “The Problem with Jon Stewart,” debunks these hateful lies with a focus on the people who are being harmed and the truth about what this care looks like.

In exploring this urgent topic, Stewart is joined by a geneticist, an endocrinologist, lawyer and advocate Chase Strangio and two members of the Human Rights Campaign’s Parents for Transgender Equality National Council, Keisha Michaels and Debi Jackson. Stewart also confronts Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge over the state’s gender-affirming care ban.

WATCH THE EPISODE HERE 

Excerpts from the show:

Jon Stewart:

“The problem with gender and sex. It turns out none of this is simple. We didn’t just ask a geneticist. We asked endocrinologists and a few psychiatrists and gynecologists. And they all said the same thing. Intersex, trans, nonbinary and all the other gradations of normal human variation. And whatever discomfort we may feel in the changing norms of reality, myself included, it is no match for the discomfort and fear felt by those seeking acceptance.”

“Anti-trans legislation increased over 800% since 2018. 800%. What could justify this unprecedented urgency? Did trans people storm the Capitol? Did they steal classified nuclear intel from the White House and keep it in a humidor in Florida? What is the threat?”

“Now there have been 77 anti-trans sports bills introduced this year alone. There have been more anti-trans bills introduced this year than trans people dominating sports in the history of women’s sports.”

“If my daughter or my son came to me in agony, and I knew there was a program that I could get them into that had positive effects on their mental health, I would swim across rivers and climb mountains and tunnel through whatever I needed to get to save that child’s life. And my guess is you’d do the same.”

Gay Games Hong Kong opens full registration for global participants

Gay Games 11 Hong Kong 2023 (GGHK) announced today that international participants can immediately register online at GGHK2023.com to come to Hong Kong from 3-11 November 2023 and participate in this global extravaganza of sports, arts, culture, community and FUN! Gay Games 11 is co-hosted with Guadalajara and will be held in both Asia and Latin America for the first time in its 40-year history.

GGHK will bring together diverse groups of people from all over the world to converge on Hong Kong in November 2023. Under the theme of “Unity In Diversity”, the Games aim to promote unity and inclusion to help Hong Kong truly live up to its potential as a world-class city.

“With the abolition of the quarantine entering Hong Kong, we are telling the world that Hong Kong is ready to rise to the challenge of hosting this international, multi-sport, arts & culture event,” said Lisa Lam, co-chair of GGHK. “From the rolling hills of Sai Kung to the blue waters of Deep Water Bay, we will show the world that our city’s unique natural attributes can deliver a sporting experience unlike no other, whether you are a marathon runner, open water swimmer, rugby or tennis player. For many participants this will be a once-in-a-lifetime, unforgettable experience that gives them a sense of belonging and empowerment, making friends for life.”

New sports added for Hong Kong feature Dodgeball, Trail Running, Dragonboat and the “mind sport” of Mahjong, in addition to Badminton, Field Hockey, Fencing, Football (Soccer), Marathon (half/full), Swimming, Road Races (5/10 km), Martial Arts, Rowing, Rugby Sevens, Sailing, Squash, Table Tennis, Tennis and Track & Field.

Aside from Sports, the Games will feature spectacular Opening & Closing Ceremonies, the Festival Village, daily arts & culture events, three nights of headlined gala concerts, LGBTQ+ themed art exhibitions, and a variety of events to celebrate the Gay Games’ 40th anniversary. Open to everyone 18 and older, the Games welcome everyone to participate regardless of ethnicity, religion, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, and athletic ability.

Registration fee is HK$1500 (US$193) plus competition fees for specific sports. To ensure that this is truly the Games for All, GGHK is offering funding support including:

1000 fee waivers for young people below the age of 25, as well as migrant workers, domestic helpers and minorities, on a first-come-first-served basis funded by private donors.


From 8 October to 31 December, GGHK is offering an early bird discount that brings the registration fee down to HK$1050 (US$134).

Details are available at GGHK2023.com

BOYWITHUKE & OLIVER TREE - Sick OF U

Gold-selling singer, songwriter, and producer BoyWithUke unveils the cinematic music video for his latest single “Sick Of U” feat. Oliver Tree, out now via Mercury Records/Republic Records—watch HERE (NSFW). 

In the visual for “Sick of U,” BoyWithUke and Oliver Tree reimagine a classic scene from American Psycho with a twist. BoyWithUke does his best Patrick Bateman impersonation as he hacks up his guest—who sings back to him from a trash bag and while the dirt covers his final resting place. It matches the manic push and pull of this rapidly rising anthem from this dynamic duo.

BoyWithUke built anticipation for the track on social media prior to its arrival. He teased the song on TikTok with a series of posts, generating millions of views on videos of a bloody Oliver Tree in BoyWithUke’s signature mask and even getting his instantly recognizable hairstyle straightened. As for the song itself, the alternative pop disruptor breaks boundaries once again, dipping in and out of glitchy production punctuated by tightly threaded organic instrumentation. Meanwhile, he and Oliver Tree trade catchy lines worthy of the ultimate breakup text. Building towards an emotional sendoff, BoyWithUke reminds, “Life goes on and on.”

2023 Colorado Winefest Art Contest Announced

The Colorado Association for Viticulture & Enology (CAVE) is excited to announce the call for entries for the 2023 Colorado Winefest Art Contest! CAVE invites all 2D artists from around the state of Colorado to submit their original artwork for a chance at becoming the 2023 Colorado Winefest Poster Artist! 

CAVE encourages all artists to enter regardless of where they reside in the state, as long as they are a Colorado resident. Entries should represent the growing Colorado wine industry. The deadline to apply to this art competition is January 6th, 2023. The winning artwork will be selected by the public through online voting and announced on January 27th. All entries will be on display at The Craig Galley in Palisade, January 13th through February 4th, 2023, for public viewing. 

The winner of the Colorado Winefest Art Contest will receive a cash prize of $700.00 (to include all exclusive reproduction rights and copyrights) as well as extensive nationwide publicity and promotion by becoming the official Commemorative Poster Artist of the 32nd Annual Colorado Mountain Winefest presented by Fisher’s Liquor Barn. The winning artwork will be featured on wine totes, t-shirts and posters, as well as local and nationwide print and digital marketing. 

Apply Online Here!

Colorado Mountain Winefest is a premier event in the Grand Valley and is the main fundraiser for CAVE. The Colorado Association for Viticulture & Enology is the only non-profit dedicated to the Colorado wine and grape growing industry with all event proceeds going towards the annual VinCO Conference & Trade Show, which is focused on improving winemaking and grape growing in Colorado. For more information about Colorado Mountain Winefest, please visit www.coloradowinefest.com. For more information about CAVE, please visit www.winecolorado.org.

Scrooge & Marley: A Holiday Tale for All of Us

 

Recounted from a gay sensibility, this reimagining of the classic story delves into the background of Ben Scrooge, the rich skinflint who hates the holidays, distrusts love and makes life miserable for everyone in the gay community over which he presides from his base, a music cabaret named Screws. On Christmas Eve Scrooge (David Pevsner) is visited by the ghost of his late business partner, Jacob Marley (Tim Kazurinsky, Police Academy), who wants to free him from his same bitter fate that awaits in purgatory.   Scrooge is next visited by three ghosts – past, present and future – who endeavor to lead him back to love.
 
Returning to the 1970s days of his teen years by the saucy Ghost of Christmas Past (Ronnie Kroell), Scrooge bitterly recalls being kicked out of his home at the holidays for being gay, meeting the young rogue Jacob Marley, the fabulous disco impresario Fezziwig (Bruce Vilanch), and the luckless love of his life, Bill, whose love Scrooge eventually destroys in his pursuit of wealth. The jolly Ghost of Christmas Present (Megan Cavanagh) next whisks Scrooge on a joyous, music filled tour of current holiday sights, including a visit to a lively party hosted by Scrooge’s niece Freda (Rusty Schwimmer) and her expectant partner Mary.  An eye opening stop at the home of Scrooge’s long suffering assistant Bob Cratchit (David Moretti), who with his partner Drew is parent to five children including Tiny Tim, leads to the dreaded appearance of the Ghost of Christmas Future (JoJo Baby) whose vision of Scrooge’s terrible destiny leads to his belated redemption and a heartwarming and surprising concluding twist on Dickens’ tale.

Are You Gay With Something To Say? Bloggers Wanted to Write About Denver's Gay Community

Are you a new or experienced writer or blogger? Do you want to be? Or maybe you're just some gay guy with something to say? Well, what better forum for you than MileHighGayGuy?

MileHighGayGuy is looking for regular and guest bloggers to write about local news and events, do music and movie reviews, or write opinion or feature pieces from a gay perspective.

These are unpaid positions but offer the opportunity to be published in Colorado's Best Gay Blog (2010, 2011, 2012 OUTstanding Awards, Denver 2012 #WebAwards), expand your audience and gain valuable experience. There's also swag available in the form of free movie and concert tickets, music, books and other cool stuff.

If interested, shoot an email over to Drew Wilson at drew@milehighgayguy.com. And if you've got column or story ideas to pitch, this is the place to do it.

Trailer: Drag Race Queens Reunite in ‘Bring Back My Girls’ - Premiering Oct. 18 on WOW Presents Plus

Your favorite Drag Race Queens are back in action and ready to bring you all their unfiltered drama! WOW Presents Plus’ Drag Race Reunion show, Bring Back My Girls, brought together queens from across the franchise in a series of scandalous tell-all conversations taped live at DragCon LA 2022 and is now set to premiere on Tuesday, October 18 at 11am PT/2pm ET. 

Hosted by Ts Madison (Bros, Zola, The Ts Madison Experience), Bring Back My Girls brings the Ru-girls together to spill the tea and reveal never-before-heard stories about what it's really like to create Drag Race, what they think about the show since their season aired, and what life has been like post show - both the ups and DOWNS. 

EPA awards $3.9M to Colorado’s Water Research Foundation to support national water reuse efforts

Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced a research grant to the Water Research Foundation (WRF) for $3.2 million to support efforts to unlock the national potential of water reuse.  WRF’s grant is one of two research grants EPA is awarding today, the other to Iowa State University, to support national efforts to reduce technological and institutional barriers for expanded water reuse.  

“Safe and reliable water is critical to protecting public health, and innovative solutions for reusing water can improve water availability and access across the nation,” said Chris Frey, Assistant Administrator for EPA’s Office of Research and Development. “These research projects will help advance water reuse applications so communities, local and state governments, and Tribes can provide alternatives to existing water resources.”

Water reuse is the practice of reclaiming water from a variety of sources, treating it, and reusing it for beneficial purposes. It can provide alternative supplies for potable and non-potable uses to enhance water security, sustainability, and resilience. These research grants will help accelerate water innovation, information availability, and engagement. The funding will advance clean and safe water reuse goals, promote a better understanding of the nation’s water and wastewater treatment and infrastructure, and enhance the availability and efficient use of water resources through water reuse.

“This research will advance innovation and progress on one of our most pressing environmental challenges. Water reuse can reduce the amount of freshwater diverted from sensitive ecosystems, making more freshwater available for drinking, wildlife, and aquatic environments” said EPA Regional Administrator KC Becker.  “This is especially important in western states, many of which are experiencing unprecedented extreme drought conditions .”

The WRF’s proposed research will  use wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) and surveillance to understand pathogen loading and enable rapid identification and response in reuse systems, develop quantitative microbial risk assessment tools for application to underappreciated reuse applications, and identify opportunities for chemical health risk reduction. It will also develop a comprehensive model for reuse treatment processes that includes predictive algorithms, integrated to evaluate treatment train performance for microbial and chemical water quality goals, incorporating pilot demonstration and techno-economic analysis to support real-time monitoring and risk mitigation.

Their proposal will also quantify water reuse potential across the nation and identify barriers, drivers, and pathways to successful reuse through a rigorous case study evaluation process and partner with community leaders to synthesize and address organizational and social barriers to advancing reuse across diverse contexts and for traditional marginalized communities. The proposal will also evaluate planned and potential reuse projects through a quantitative sustainable design process to identify strategies for water reuse capacity building efforts expanding reuse across a diversity of contexts. The expected results of this work will provide stakeholders of diverse backgrounds with user friendly tools and materials to advance water reuse in their community.

Human Rights Campaign Endorses 11 Transgender and Non-Binary State Legislative Candidates

The Human Rights Campaign PAC (HRC PAC) recently announced its endorsements of 11 transgender and non-binary state legislative candidates in Colorado, Delaware, Maine, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, and Vermont. This is in addition to two previous endorsements of transgender and non-binary state legislative candidates in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.  HRC PAC is committed to mobilizing our volunteers, members, and supporters to turn out the more than two million Equality Voters in support of pro-equality candidates up and down the ballot.

Human Rights Campaign Senior Vice President, Policy & Political Affairs JoDee Winterhof:

“Across the country, anti-LGBTQ+ state legislators have introduced a record number of bills attacking our community, with most bills aimed at rolling back the rights of transgender children and their families.  The Human Rights Campaign is immensely proud to endorse these transgender and non-binary state legislative candidates who in addition to being crucial voices in their legislatures will also be a resounding rebuke to the wave of attacks against our community. We all benefit from their history-making leadership and unwavering commitment to make real and positive change on behalf of their constituents.”

HRC’s Commitment to Voter Mobilization Efforts

Equality Voters, of which there are more than 62 million across the country, are a voting bloc of demographically and geographically diverse Americans who are united by the advancement of LGBTQ+ equality. Equality Voters are younger, more racially diverse, and more female than the general electorate, they recognize and trust the HRC brand, and they are more likely to identify with issue-specific organizations than candidates or political parties.

Across the country, HRC PAC works every day to elect pro-equality leaders who advocate for policies that will support the rights and lives of LGBTQ+ people. During the 2020 election cycle, HRC staff on the ground recruited 5,800 individual volunteers nationwide who completed 28,500 hours of voter contact in more than 2,650 volunteer events. HRC engaged in robust digital and online GOTV efforts, including sending over 2.7 million person-to-person text messages, a massive increase from 2018 when approximately 500,000 texts were sent. HRC sent over 2.5 million mail pieces, had over 930,000 phone conversations with voters, and engaged more than 200,000 voters through HRC’s voter dashboard at hrc.org/vote.

State Legislative House Endorsements:

CO-27: Brianna Titone

ME-21: Ambureen Rana

MN-66: Leigh Finke

MT-100: Zooey Zephyr

NH-Stratford 12: Gerri Cannon

NH-Hillsborough 20: Joshua Query

OK-88: Mauree Turner

RI-14: Giona Picheco

VT-Chittenden 15: Brian Cina

VT-Chittenden 21: Taylor Small
 

State Legislative Senate Endorsements:

DE-1: Sarah McBride
 

Previously endorsed transgender or non-binary 2022 state legislative candidates:

PA-49: Izzy Smith for Pennsylvania State House

WI-05: Jessica Katzenmeyer for Wisconsin State Senate

WalletHub Study: Denver Ranks in the Top 15 Best Foodie Cities in America

Source: WalletHub

With Oct. 16 being World Food Day and restaurant prices rising 8.3% between August 2021 and August 2022, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on 2022’s Best Foodie Cities in America, as well as accompanying videos and expert commentary.

To determine the best and cheapest local foodie scenes, WalletHub compared more than 180 of the largest U.S. cities across 29 key metrics. The data set ranges from affordability and accessibility of high-quality restaurants to food festivals per capita to craft breweries and wineries per capita.

Foodie-Friendliness of Denver (1=Best; 91=Avg.):

• 52^nd – Avg. Beer & Wine Price
• 21^st – Restaurants per Capita
• 1^st – Affordability & Accessibility of Highly Rated Restaurants
• 18^th – Gourmet Specialty-Food Stores per Capita
• 1^st – Craft Breweries & Wineries per Capita
• 38^th – Coffee & Tea Shops per Capita
• 43^rd – Number of Grocery Stores per Capita
• 22^nd – % of Residents Who Are Fully Vaccinated Against COVID-19

For the full report, please visit:
https://wallethub.com/edu/best-foodie-cities/7522

Transgender adults more likely to suffer from disability than cisgender counterparts, Rice U. study reveals

A new study by a Rice University researcher shows transgender adults of any age are more susceptible to disability than those who are cisgender.

 

The paper by Madeline Smith-Johnson (pictured), a doctoral student and graduate research assistant in the Department of Sociology, is published in the October issue of the journal Health Affairs.

 

“I'm really interested in LGBTQ elders, and as I think about aging and the different types of things that expose people to faster biological aging at a younger chronological age, the first outcome that I want to know about is, ‘How are you doing?’” Smith-Johnson said.

 

The paper, “Transgender adults have higher rates of disability than cisgender counterparts,” showed significant disparities between the groups at many levels, including controls for age, transgender identity and disability status. Difficulty walking or climbing stairs, dressing or bathing, running errands alone, concentrating, remembering or making decisions were among the qualifying disabilities.

 

The study results spotlight the compound vulnerabilities faced by gender minorities in the United States.

 

“Compared to cisgender respondents, transgender adults were more likely to be a sexual minority, a racial minority and have a lower income,” said Smith-Johnson. “The experience of discrimination, victimization and violence brings chronic stress to transgender populations, which can accumulate in negative health outcomes.”

 

Smith-Johnson discovered transgender adults have a 27% chance of having at least one disability by age 20, which increases to a 39% chance by age 55 — nearly twice the rate of their cisgender counterparts at both ages. Overall, transgender adults reported higher rates of disability (30%) compared with both cisgender women (24%) and cisgender men (18%).

 

The study focused on functional limitation rather than biomarkers such as cardiovascular disease, cancer or diabetes.

 

“When I started this study, I focused on the older segment of the population aged 65 and above. That's where I found the first evidence of disparity, that there was an outsized burden of disability among the oldest part of the population,” Smith-Johnson said. “As people examined my research, they found it interesting, but we wanted to dive further into the data to understand if this occurs across all age groups.”

 
Smith-Johnson used data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, one of the largest national samples including cisgender and transgender groups, to intersect the control determinants and identify various levels of affectation.

 

The findings show the importance of considering disability from a life-course perspective, the effect of intersectional identities on disability risk and the urgency of targeted health interventions for transgender people.

 

“There are several levels of implications,” Smith-Johnson said. “One of them is thinking about health care access. The interpersonal stigma that transgender patients experience and the elevated rates of care avoidance are alarming. The survey respondents are less likely to go to the doctor in the first place. We know that if they have stigmatizing interactions, they are less likely to continue seeking out care.”

 

“There are huge implications for medical training, health care institutions and insurance companies. Insurers like to think about what it means to be inclusive of a broader gender population, so this study implies there should be transgender-inclusive training in medical school. This research also could suggest we should commission more studies to examine effective ways of outreach into these populations to mitigate care avoidance.”

 

Smith-Johnson emphasized that the U.S. needs to collect more detailed data about transgender people in order to design and improve interventions.

 

“At the federal level, we need someone — preferably the census — to investigate in the most valid and least threatening way to ask about gender identity and sexual orientation in a comprehensive way so that we can begin to collect national-level estimates of the United States,” Smith-Johnson said. “That would also begin to drill down into state-level differences of health outcomes because there are dramatically different state-level policies that impact trends of health care.”

 

“It would help to better extrapolate disparity in terms of experiences like housing discrimination, employment discrimination and the fundamental determinants of health. If you are housing-insecure and you don't have a regular income, or if you are precariously employed, we know that public resources are fundamental to live well in a very general sense.”

 

The study’s publication comes just before November’s Transgender Awareness Week, which includes a Transgender Day of Remembrance Nov. 20.

Outright International Unveils New Branding

Outright International today introduced its new name and logo as well as a redesign of its website. As part of its brand refresh efforts, Outright has also taken the decision to simplify its name, dropping ‘Action’ from the name and the capitalization of ‘Right.’ As a global organization, Outright thrives on thoughtful change, seeing this as a continued opportunity to ensure human rights for LGBTIQ people through advocacy, support and research.

“Our organization is created to be transformative and shift the way people and institutions think and communicate about, and support LGBTIQ equality and inclusion,” noted Maria Sjödin, executive director of Outright International. “While we remain a human rights organization, our strategic plan speaks to our evolving work in securing access to humanitarian aid for LGBTIQ people, providing tools and resources for economic advancement and strengthening the global LGBTIQ movement. This is why we believe that Together, for Better LGBTIQ Lives reflect where we are at our journey and who we are as an organization.”  

“This project is a culmination of an extended period of research, reflection and creative prowess defined by the vibrance and voices of our movement,” said Kathy Teo, Outright board member and founder and CEO of Singapore-based Xpointo Media. “At Outright, we care deeply about human rights for LGBTIQ people. This evolution is part of our commitment to amplify our community’s cause, advocate and carry the voices of activists and to celebrate LGBTIQ lives everywhere.”

Since 1990, Outright has worked alongside LGBTIQ activists and organizations, diplomats and policymakers to advance community-focused solutions to create lasting legal and social transformation. Initially called the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC), Outright’s reports and insights have been quoted and shared by respected institutions, broadcast and print media and governments. The organization also provides technical training and funding support for the purposes of boosting visibility, narrowing existing gaps and changing mindsets. 

IGLTA Announces Peter Jordan as Recipient of 2022 Hanns Ebensten Hall of Fame Award

The International LGBTQ+ Travel Association has announced that Peter Jordan—
Founder of Gen C Traveller and Head Strategist at Toposophy—is the recipient of the 2022 Hanns Ebensten Hall of Fame Award. This honor is awarded to a longtime IGLTA member who is a thought leader in LGBTQ+ tourism and has tirelessly contributed to the association/IGLTA Foundation in its mission to advance LGBTQ+ travel globally. The award takes its name from the man widely considered the father of LGBTQ+ travel, Hanns Ebensten, and is selected by the IGLTA board of directors from the association’s members in 80 countries. The IGLTA Honors, presented with support from American Express Travel, will take place 27-28 October during IGLTA’s Global Convention in Milan.

 

“For more than a decade, Peter Jordan has been at the forefront of research and innovation within the queer travel community. From authoring international reports on LGBTQ+ inclusion and diversity to his work to advance sustainable models of development in tourism around the globe—Peter’s experience speaks for itself,” said IGLTA Board Chair Felipe Cardenas. “It’s no wonder Peter has become respected as one of the world’s leading specialists on LGBTQ+ travel. This award is well-deserved, and I look forward to seeing Peter continue his ever-important work.”

 

Peter Jordan is a consultant and researcher based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. He has authored pioneering reports on diverse aspects of tourism and LGBTQ+ inclusion for the UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and European Travel Commission in collaboration with IGLTA and its Foundation. He recently created a new report for the IGLTA Foundation, “Going Further: How to Make LGBTQ+ Travel Transformational for Travelers, Communities, and the Planet,” which will launch at the Milan convention. The report breaks new ground by bringing LGBTQ+ travel and sustainability together, with concrete recommendations for destinations and businesses.

 

Peter has delivered multiple strategy projects, workshops, and keynote presentations on LGBTQ+ travel in English, Spanish and French for national tourism organisations and industry associations in Europe, Asia, Africa and North and South America. He is currently engaged in several strategy projects aimed at helping national and local destination management organisations navigate post-COVID-19 tourism recovery. 

 

“I am deeply touched and very humbled to receive this award from IGLTA. I know that many recipients before me have been pioneers, opening new opportunities for LGBTQ+ people to travel globally, and changing many lives and local communities for the better,” said Peter Jordan. “I hope that my research has helped, and will continue to help to break down stereotypes, open doors and spark interactions that help many more LGBTQ+ people benefit from the life-changing benefits that travel can bring.”