Report on 3rd Annual Gay/Lesbian MBA Conference
UMBS to co-Host Next Year’s Conference
Don Deliz, MBA1 delizdon@umich.edu
Issue date: 4/23/01 Section: News
Before the warm weather first hit Ann Arbor, several of your fellow classmates had the opportunity to attend the Third Annual Gay/Lesbian MBA Conference in San Francisco, held on March 30 and 31. This was an outstanding experience for me, as over 450 attendees came together to discuss gay issues in the workplace and business school, network with companies who actively support gay/lesbian causes, and meet their peers from dozens of other MBA programs.
This year’s conference was hosted by the Stanford Graduate School of Business, The Anderson School at UCLA, and Thunderbird. The conference was held at the historic Palace Hotel in downtown San Francisco with the themed title “Reaching Out”. This year’s theme focused on the rising prominence of gay and lesbian executives and how they can help the gay and lesbian community. In its three years of existence the evolution of the conference’s theme has mirrored changes that have occurred in the business world. The first conference, sponsored by Harvard and Yale in Boston, had the theme “From the Closets to the Boardroom,” with stories of gay executives coming out in the workplace. Last year’s event, organized by Columbia and Wharton, was entitled “Working Out” and included discussions on how to form employee workgroups.
Three keynote speakers offered their thoughts in terms of “Reaching Out.” Kathy Levinson was the president and COO of E-Trade before retiring to pursue philanthropic interests (Good timing, eh?). Kathy shared several insights gained from her experiences at E-Trade and her surrounding community. Cynthia Martin, recently retired Vice President of Kodak, spoke of her experiences raising awareness of gay/lesbian issues within the company. Andrew Tobias, popular financial advice guru (author of such books as “The Only Investment Guide You’ll Ever Need”) and Treasurer of the Democratic National Committee, spoke of his experiences growing up “in the closet” and how things have changed since that time. In addition to these speakers, participants had the choice to attend many different panel discussions led by some of the nation’s leading gay and lesbian business professionals.
This year’s conference was hosted by the Stanford Graduate School of Business, The Anderson School at UCLA, and Thunderbird. The conference was held at the historic Palace Hotel in downtown San Francisco with the themed title “Reaching Out”. This year’s theme focused on the rising prominence of gay and lesbian executives and how they can help the gay and lesbian community. In its three years of existence the evolution of the conference’s theme has mirrored changes that have occurred in the business world. The first conference, sponsored by Harvard and Yale in Boston, had the theme “From the Closets to the Boardroom,” with stories of gay executives coming out in the workplace. Last year’s event, organized by Columbia and Wharton, was entitled “Working Out” and included discussions on how to form employee workgroups.
Three keynote speakers offered their thoughts in terms of “Reaching Out.” Kathy Levinson was the president and COO of E-Trade before retiring to pursue philanthropic interests (Good timing, eh?). Kathy shared several insights gained from her experiences at E-Trade and her surrounding community. Cynthia Martin, recently retired Vice President of Kodak, spoke of her experiences raising awareness of gay/lesbian issues within the company. Andrew Tobias, popular financial advice guru (author of such books as “The Only Investment Guide You’ll Ever Need”) and Treasurer of the Democratic National Committee, spoke of his experiences growing up “in the closet” and how things have changed since that time. In addition to these speakers, participants had the choice to attend many different panel discussions led by some of the nation’s leading gay and lesbian business professionals.
