Each year our Annual Summer Meeting brings LGBT leaders from across the nation together to share ideas and forge connections. At this year’s Meeting, we introduced a new session that quickly became a breakout star of the conference: FEDtalks.

Selecting the right executive director can be a make-or-break moment for our member organizations -- because our movement is only as strong as our leaders.But many of our members just don't have the resources to invest in a professional search firm. While the Federation can't offer that level of service, we are able to help groups manage these transitions more effectively.

LGBT individuals often face barriers to obtaining affordable and necessary health care. With the Affordable Care Act (ACA) soon to be implemented, many of your supporters are probably asking you questions about how the law will impact their access to health care.

In Massachusetts, 1 in 4 lesbian or gay teens and 15% of bisexual teens are homeless. Because of high rates of discrimination against the transgender population, rates of homelessness among transgender youth are even higher. These rates, coupled with the fact that the Massachusetts shelter system is not organized adequately to serve these young people, spurred MassEquality into action. The organization made youth homelessness a top priority, knowing it warranted immediate and aggressive attention.

Our third FEDtalk given at the Summer Meeting 2013 is from Vinita Chaudhry, Intern at Empire State Pride Agenda.

Our second FEDtalk given at the Summer Meeting 2013 is from Ryan Wilson, Executive Director of South Carolina Equality.