Washington, D.C. (December 3, 2015)--Has the tide turned for the LGBT movement in America? After a series of victories across the past year, challenges persist. Marriage equality is now a legal right, but poverty, violence, workplace and healthcare discrimination remain a reality for many LGBT individuals.

The Atlantic will present a series of conversations about the state of queer identity in America and what’s next when it comes to equality as part of “Unfinished Business: The Atlantic LGBT Summit,” an inaugural daylong event on Thursday, December 10 at the Woolly Mammoth Theatre in Washington, D.C. From politics to pop culture, the event will address a broad spectrum of issues impacting the LGBT experience, including politics and policy, culture and the public eye, violence and youth homelessness, sports and entertainment, and law.

Conversations will include: Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), the first openly gay person elected to the U.S. Senate, and former Congressman Barney Frank on their own experiences breaking boundaries in politics and the state of play on Capitol Hill; Bob Mondello, NPR film critic, on LGBT characters and themes in the movies; and Cara Page, executive director of the Audre Lorde Project, and Jarrett Lucas, executive director of the Stonewall Community Foundation, on the persistence of LGBT youth homelessness and how to support those at-risk. The event will address the LGBT experience in sports with Cyd Ziegler, founder of OutSports.com, WNBA player Layshia Clarendon, and Kentucky basketball player Dalton Madonaldo, who faced discrimination after coming out at a high school basketball game and is now working to help others struggling with being gay in rural America.

A list of confirmed speakers featured at The Atlantic’s “Unfinished Business” includes:

Policy & Law

  • Tammy Baldwin, United States Senator (D-WI)
  • Barney Frank, Former United States Representative (D-MA4)
  • Aisha Moodie-Mills, President and CEO, Victory Fund
  • Theodore Olson, Partner, Gibson, Dunn  & Crutcher; Former US Solicitor General in the George W. Bush administration
  • Kris Perry and Sandy Stier, Title Plaintiffs in the Proposition 8 Supreme Court case, Hollingsworth v. Perry
  • Brad Sears, Director, The Williams Institute, UCLA School of Law
  • Anne-Marie Slaughter, President, New America; Author, “Unfinished Business: Women Men Work Family”

Youth Homelessness & Advocacy

  • Jarrett Lucas, Executive Director, Stonewall Community Foundation
  • Cara Page, Executive Director, The Audre Lorde Project

Culture & Entertainment

  • Cyd Zeigler, Co-Founder, Outsports.com
  • Bob Mondello, Arts Critic, NPR
  • Yoruba Richen, Filmmaker and Director of the Documentary Film Program, CUNY School of Journalism
  • Dalton Maldonado, Recent basketball player in Kentucky and Student, University of Louisville
  • ​Layshia Clarendon, WNBA Player

Transgender Identity & Rights

  • Amy Ellis Nutt, Journalist and Author, Becoming Nicole, with the book’s subjects Nicole and Wayne Maines
  • Cori Alonso-Yoder, Supervising Attorney, Whitman-Walker Health
  • Nicole Santamaría, El Salvadorian Intersex and Transgender Activist and Secretary, Asociacion Colectivo Alejandria

Moderators across the day include The Atlantic’s Molly Ball, Steve Clemons, Matt Thompson, and Mary Louise Kelly, and Matt Breen, Editor-in-Chief of The Advocate.

This event is open to press. Media interested in attending should contact The Atlantic’s Sydney Simon at ssimon@theatlantic.com or 202-266-7338. Those unable to join in person are invited to watch the event live online and can join the conversation with @Atlantic_LIVE and #AtlanticLGBT.

The American Federation of Teachers, Arcus Foundation, and Deloitte are Presenting Level underwriters of “Unfinished Business: The Atlantic LGBT Summit.” Gilead is a Supporting Level underwriter and PG&E is a Contributing Level underwriter.

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