Washington, D.C. will host the first Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Economic Development Summit later this year, according to
Neil O. Albert, the city's deputy mayor for planning and economic development.
The goal of the summit, which will take place on Nov. 3, will be to ensure that LGBT business leaders and entrepreneurs continue to play an important role in leading the economic and creative development of the city.
According to Albert, the LGBT community has long been a driving force in rebuilding many of the District’s neighborhoods.
“There is no time like the present for the District government to ensure current LGBT business leaders and members of the LGBT community who want to start a new business have the tools they need to assist them,” he said in a statement released today.
Workshop and panel sessions at the summit will include information on marketing, public financing and how to become a certified Local, Small, Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (LSBDE). Sessions also will provide information aimed at particular business segments including technology, the arts, small business and real estate.
The conference is being planned by the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development, the Department of Small and Local Business Development and the Mayor’s Office of LGBT Affairs.
It is being supported by a number of private organizations in the District including the Washington Economic Partnership, PEN, Metro DC’s LGBT Chamber of Commerce and the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce.
