Financial Wellness for LGBTQIA+ Community
Roughly half (48.15) of LGBTQ+ adults say they are financially unwell, compared to one-quarter (25.7%) of the general public. How can we change this? We sit down with Christopher Williams, CoFounder & Director of Strategic Initiatives at COWRIE to talk about achieving financial wellness for the LGBTQIA+ community and other underrepresented identities.
Christopher Williams
Christopher has been a Community Advisory Board member of TransTech since 2021, bringing 10 years of experience in Advertising, FinTech, SaaS, and Aerospace, as well as Grassroots and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs). A Just Economy Institute alumni fellow and an Aspen Ideas Festival alumni fellow, Christopher is a champion of intentionally oppressed people queering every space they enter in every way possible. As a pastime, Christopher is a reoccurring guest on the British-based X-Men podcast, X of Words, where X-Men comic books are discussed from a Black-queer lens. Additionally, Christopher has been a hobbyist genealogist for over 15 years engaging in a form of “hauntology� (or the aim to understand how the social/cultural past “haunts� the present and future) by dissecting how Black family trees are innately queer and un-normed. The work Christopher does is self-dedicated to three groups of people affectionately known as “dead-folks, nerds, and sissies.�
Leveraging Mentorships as an Employee Engagement Strategy
Are you wondering how to attract and retain employees and increase satisfaction as we continue to hear about the “great resignation�? Mentorship has been proven to be a successful method of employee engagement that gives participants a chance to share their knowledge while making a difference. This can reduce stress and increase satisfaction. Having facilitated over 1,200 mentorship matches, StartOut is familiar with the impact these relationships have. StartOut Mentorship Program Manager Derrick Foust and Wealth Advisor’s Vice President Eve Ellis will be joining us to discuss how corporations have partnered with StartOut to implement their own mentorship programs for employees while supporting LGBTQ+ founders
Eve Ellis
Eve Ellis is a wealth advisor developing sophisticated solutions which integrate traditional investments, trust, and estate planning, lending, and philanthropy for a select number of high-net-worth individuals, families, family offices, and nonprofit organizations, as well as custom planning for executives and entrepreneurs anticipating late-stage, pre- and post-liquidity events.
She also advises interested clients on socially responsible and impact investments, and provides access to two proprietary portfolios which she co-manages � the Gender Parity Strategy and the Matterhorn/Refinitiv Diversity & Inclusion Strategy - to investors seeking to align their investments with their values.
She is a member of the Forum for Sustainable and Responsible Investment (US SIF).
Eve served on the board of the Ms. Foundation for Women for eight years and is a founding board member of the Ms. Action Fund. She is also longtime board member of Maccabi USA and of the investment committee of Congregation Rodeph Sholom in NYC.
A former professional tennis player, Eve was inducted into the Philadelphia Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 2011. She is also a Captain for the Yale Women’s Athletic Network.
Derrick Foust
Derrick is a Program Manager at , overseeing mentorship programming to drive impact objectives through curated connection and resource building.
To date, we have matched 1,000+ founders with mentors, with a 98% satisfaction rate from participants.
He has a passion for amplifying voices in entrepreneurship and working with smart companies who want to share their message in creative, community-driven ways.
He's worked for The Gotham Film & Media Institute (formerly IFP) and Made in NY Media Center championing creatives and entrepreneurs along the way.
Pride All Year Long: Creating Safe and Affirming Workspaces Through Allyship and Self-Advocacy
Mx. Lex Horwitz
Lex Pe'er Horwitz (they/them) is a queer, non-binary transgender Jewish nationally recognized LGBTQ+ Educator, Activist, Consultant, Public Speaker and Model based out of Philadelphia and New York City. Lex received their B.A. in Psychology and Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies from Bowdoin College, where they competed on the Varsity Men’s squash team and became the first out transgender athlete in all of collegiate squash, and the first out transgender athlete to compete at Bowdoin.
Their work focuses on educating people of all ages and backgrounds on LGBTQ+ identities, topics, and issues through a multitude of pathways—facilitations and workshops, lectures and public speaking, one-on-one support, and consultation services to name a few.
Currently, Lex is a research co-investigator, consultant and writer in Gender Affirming Health Care at Temple University and Temple Health. Additionally, Lex works with higher ed institutions, nonprofits and businesses creating LGBTQ+ curriculum and training, developing inclusive policy, producing educational resources, and providing feedback and action steps to address areas of growth (and for Lex’s business partners, they create marketing and campaign development plans). And Lex's activism does not stop there—they bring their passion to the modeling world where they work for inclusive and expansive representation on and off the runway.
Through their work, Lex cultivates a powerful judgment-free safe space where all people can engage in critical conversation on gender, sexuality, and community.
You can learn more about Lex and access their free educational resources on their . Stay connected and follow Lex’s journey through , and !Do you ever wonder how we can cultivate inclusive, affirming, and welcoming environments where everyone can feel included and thrive? During this Chat & Learn, LGBTQIA+ Educator and Activist Lex Pe'er Horwitz will share foundational information on gender and sexuality so that you can engage in effective self-advocacy and even become an ally in action to the LGBTQIA+ community. Rooted in language and education as powerful tools for effective, positive societal change, this chat will center on affirming language and ways in which we can put this information into practice, ending with tangible takeaways that everyone can use to create affirming spaces at work and beyond. During this chat we’ll talk about:
- Foundational educational content about gender and sexuality
- How these inclusive strategies can be put into practice (as an ally too!)
- How self-advocacy can look like in the workplace
We’ve Always Existed: LGBTQIA+ Identities in Storytelling
Whether it is Heartstopper or Pose, it seems that LGBTQIA+ representation in storytelling has made significant strides into the mainstream over the past few years. This can make it seem like these queer stories are a modern phenomenon but in fact LGBTQIA+ stories have existed throughout time, going back to our oldest myths. This is exactly what author and educator Guido A. Sanchez explores in his upcoming book Queer Mythology: Epic Legends from Around the World. We sit down with Guido to discuss queer representation in storytelling, why teaching LGBTQIA+ history is so important and the thousands of years worth of legends & tales he explores in his new book. Moderated by Hunter Lee Canning.
Guido A. Sanchez (He/Him)
Guido A. Sanchez is a writer, Middle School teacher & leader, comic aficionado, and podcaster based in New York. Guido revels in nurturing young people along their journeys as they begin to write the myths of their own lives. Once the school day wraps up, he also steps into the role of co-host and creator of "Dear Watchers: The Omniversal Comic Book Podcast." With his vast collection of over 30,000 comics, he navigates the intricacies, inspirations, and impacts of world-building in fictional reality and the modern myths we all love. Prior to that he created a queer history podcast and has contributed to print and online publications over the last twenty years. Guido is an education leader in a middle school by day, with a Masters in Public Health.
In 2015, Guido wrote a girls' puberty textbook published by a local school that is still used today. In 2023, his published book from Running Press / Hachette Book Group was released along with the Amazing Spider-Man Light Up Signal replica. In 2024 will be released through Running Press.
A Look at Out in Tech: The world's largest non-profit community of LGBTQ+ leaders
Out in Tech is the world’s largest non-profit community of LGBTQ+ tech leaders, creating opportunities for their 50,000 members to advance their careers, grow their networks, and leverage tech for social change. We are excited to sit down with Out in Tech’s Chief of Staff Marissa Trevisan to discuss the organization’s mission, the challenges facing LGBTQIA+ non-profits (and why we need them more than ever) and how LGBTQ+ people in tech can have full agency, from interns to CEOs.
Marissa Trevisan (She/Her)
Marissa Trevisan (she/her) has 15 years of nonprofit and community impact experience with a focus on social justice. As Chief of Staff at Out in Tech, a nonprofit supporting the largest LGBTQ+ techie community in the world, she leads operations and oversees corporate engagement strategy and global events. Previously, Marissa served as the Director of Development at Facing Forward to End Homelessness in Chicago; Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations at national ed-tech nonprofit, Chapter One; and the Director of Partner Engagement at Building Impact, a Boston-based CSR and community engagement nonprofit. Beginning her career as a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Youth Development Program in El Salvador, she later joined The Home for Little Wanderers as a Therapeutic Caseworker upon returning to Boston. Marissa is a pragmatic optimist who enjoys playing soccer, exploring national parks, and breaking it down on dance floors around the world. She holds a B.A. in Psychology from Wesleyan University and currently resides in Cambridge, MA with her wife.