On The Road: Washington, D.C. Trip (HRC, NGLTF and *rugby*)

Well, the cherry blossoms have not bloomed yet. But I am in Washington, D.C. today and for the weekend. I actually came early today to do some pre-Camp planning for our Campus Pride Summer Leadership Camp this July. We are planning some extra special activities for the 60+ college students this year. It is very exciting and if you haven’t already, please check out our Campus Pride Camp at http://www.campuspride.org/camp.asp

I also had the pleasure of scheduling some meetings with our friends at The National Gay & Lesbian Task Force. While I was there visiting, I actually got my first tour of the “Queer Compound” (not the official name btw, but catchy nonetheless). This is where the Task Force has a floor of office space and then other national organizations also have offices like our allies at Out for Work, Stonewall Democrats, Black Pride and the National Center for Transgender Equality. All of these organizations under one roof – how queer-rific!

For lunch, I was invited by Becky Dansky, a straight ally who works at The Task Force, to be her guest at the Q Street monthly luncheon. I must say it was a wonderful, really amazing group of movers and shakers in D.C. who happen to be LGBT and ally professionals on Capitol Hill. Big thank you to Becky! And, then, I stopped by to meet with Candace Gingrich and Betsy Pursell who work at the Human Rights Campaign (HRC). I have known Candace since she became part of HRC (over a decade now). Betsy is the VP of the Foundation and both her and Candace have been strong advocates for Campus Pride and opening doors for working together more. I enjoyed our meeting and look forward to continuing our partnerships supporting LGBT & ally college students. HRC is one of our stops for lunch at Camp this summer – Thank you HRC!

So that was the work part of my visit to D.C. and it was not really work at all. I value the friends and relationships I have and feel blessed to do what I do on a daily basis. I am reminded by this trip that our movement for LGBT equality does not lie in any one organization’s hands. It is up to all of us. There are many national and local groups working in tandem, sometimes with different means, philosophies and viewpoints. I value all of them – regardless of difference. The key is to make what we do about the work and to challenge each of us to do more to achieve equality -- and at the same time seek ways to collaborate and build a stronger community.

Just so you know, the rest of my weekend will be spent playing in the D.C. Renegades Rugby Football Club tourney. My team the Charlotte Royals will be one of five teams playing this Saturday. Go Royals! Ruck and maul! Then back home and to my office on Sunday. I get four days to play catch up before I hit the road again. Stay tuned.