February 23, 2016
From January 21-24 Spectrum Center staff and student staff had the opportunity to attend the National Conference on LGBTQ Equality: Creating Change. The conference is organized by the National LGBTQ Taskforce, and is the largest annual gathering of activists, organizers, and leaders in the LGBTQ Movement. The conference offers a variety of workshops on many different topics. It is also an opportunity to network with professionals that are either identify with LGBTQ communities themselves, or work with organizations that focus on LGBTQ issues.
After attending the annual event, Courtney Coleman, a graduate student in the School of Public Health studying Health Behavior and Health Education, reflected on the merits of the conference and her invigorating, life-changing experience:
I wanted to attend Creating Change in order to learn more about LGBTQ health and to be in an environment of people dedicated to creating a better future for the LGBTQ community. Attending Creating Change has helped shape my professional goals by giving me insight on what needs are present in the community especially as it is related to health and behavior change. I was able to get different perspectives on some common topics such as condom use and HIV care.
Coleman stated that the most impactful part about the conference was being surrounded with so many people that were similar to her and supportive of her as a person and her goals for the future, particularly as it relates to her own advocacy within the communities she serves. Indeed, Coleman shared how Creating Change has helped to broaden her conception of what activism means and what it truly entails. Coleman commented that:
The conference showed me that activism comes in many different forms and that a person does not have to be an “activist” in the traditional sense in order to make positive changes in the world.