8:28pm June 20, 2014

Forum on LGBT & Disability Issues at the White House

Yesterday, I had the honor of attending the first ever Forum on LGBT and Disability Issues at the White House. It was an inspiring and encouraging afternoon. It is profoundly indicative of the Obama administration’s commitment to diversity that they are trying to do their part to foster more conversation around the intersection of LGBT and disability, and this forum is the result of people voicing their desires for more intersectional approaches to discrimination and identity.

It was so powerful to be in a room at the White House full of incredible people who want to discuss the intersection of LGBT and disability. Every word spoken was soaked in love, and it was a privilege to be in a place with so much love. Every person who is LGBT and/or has a disability has the right receive the amount of love and support I received yesterday, and I intend to do my part to make every space as loving and supportive as the space I was in yesterday.

This was the agenda for the Forum on LGBT and Disability Issues

Welcome

Guatam Raghavan, Advisor, White House Office of Public Engagement

Rebecca Cokley, Executive Director, National Council on Disability.

Opening Remarks

Chai Feldblum, Commissioner, U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

Panel: Identities & Intersections

Matt Heinz, MD, Director of Provider Outreach & Director of LGBT Outreach, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services

Megan Schuller, Civil Rights Division, U.S. Department of Justice

Michael Yudin, Acting Assistant Secretary, Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, U.S. Department of Education

Moderated by Curt Decker, Executive Director, National Disability Rights Network

Community Keynotes

Geri Jewell

Gail Simone

Panel: Youth & Resilience

Rachel Bass, Gallaudet University

Allie Cannington, National Council on Independent Living

Ki’tay Davidson, Goldhirsh Foundation

Rohmteen Mokhtari, Human Rights Campaign

Scottie Thomaston, Courage Campaign

Moderated by Rebecca Cokley, Executive Director, National Council on Disability

Closing Remarks

Dylan Orr, Chief of Staff, Disability Employment Policy, U.S. Department of Labor.

To see quotes from the speakers and tweets from the attendees at the Forum on LGBT & Disability Issues at the White House, click here.

- Kristen Guin