The entire Equality Federation team is looking forward to connecting with our members, partners and friends at The Task Force's National Conference on LGBT Equality: Creating Change! 

If you'll be in Houston with us, we invite you to join us at our Friday night reception:

Equality Federation Reception in Room 343A
Friday, January 31 at 8:30 p.m.
Enjoy light hors d’oeuvres and drinks with the Equality Federation, the strategic partner and movement builder to state-based organizations advancing equality in the communities we call home. We welcome Federation members, allies and friends to join us for conversation and celebration.

Or please consider attending one of the workshops our team has put together (locations TBA):

Beyond the Victory: Strategies and Tactics for Winning Forward
Friday, January 31, 9:00 a.m. - 10:30 a.m.
Presenters: Fran Hutchins (Equality Federation), Beth Allen (Equality Maine)

In the not so distant past, our movement talked about “losing forward.”  But as momentum builds and our wins multiply, we need to plan for how to “win forward”--that is, how to leverage wins to capture and grow our grassroots power. Learn how to build on a local ordinance win to prepare for a statewide non-discrimination campaign, or use a marriage win as a springboard for LGBTQ organizing for social change.

No Denying It: Overcoming "Religious Refusal" Policies that Seek to Deny Equal Access and Protections for LGBTQ and Reproductive Rights
Friday, January 31, 9:00 a.m. - 10:30 a.m.
Presenters: Ian Palmquist (Equality Federation), May Sifuentes (Planned Parenthood Federation of America), T.F. Charlton (Political Research Associates), Maureen Kelly (Planned Parenthood of the Southern Finger Lakes)

Debates over religious refusal policies have proliferated in the last two years, posing real risks to the rights and needs of LGBTQ people as well as successfully rallying extreme conservative legislators and movement leaders. This session will identify the current landscape of religious refusal policies, the impact on LGBTQ rights, the linkages with sexual and reproductive rights, and identify possible targets and strategies for tackling these issues at the local and national level going forward.

Change Flows Up: How Local Advocacy Feeds Broader Victories
Saturday, February 1, 10:45 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.
Presenters:  Fran Hutchins (Equality Federation), Ian Palmquist (Equality Federation), Em Elliot (Georgia Equality), Kara Coredini (MassEquality)

Want to take your local advocacy campaigns to the next level and build momentum for statewide change? We’ll share findings of a recent Equality Federation Institute report on how local policy campaigns contribute to statewide victories and engage participants in a discussion about how to maximize the impact of their own efforts. This workshop is for advocates who are working in their cities, counties and school districts on nondiscrimination, safe schools and other LGBT policy.

Calling all members: if you or someone from your state group is presenting a workshop at Creating Change, we want to know about it! Just click here to let us know.

Outside of our reception and planned workshops, our team is also eager to connect one-on-one with our fellow Creating Changers. Email any of us to plan a time meet.

We look forward to seeing you in Houston!