“Last month I had the honor of speaking on the “Sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility” panel at the Reaching Out MBA Conference in Boston, MA. ROMBA is the national LGBT conference for business students and the opportunity to speak as a little nonprofit alongside major corporations was a fascinating experience. My fellow panelists included:

• Meredith Raymond, Associate Director of Global Sustainability and Product Stewardship at Life Technologies.
• Courtney Martin, Finance Specialist of Corporate Affairs at Intel
• Carrie Farrell, Head of Talent Practice at Google Ventures

Our varied backgrounds highlighted how many approaches our community can take in achieving real action and impact in sustainability as LGBT individuals. What was so humbling, in addition to having the keynote speaker Julie Goodridge in the audience, was the pivotal role OUT for Sustainability is having in starting the dialogue around this intersection of values and identity. Our voice is small and unfunded, but our position is important. Neither sustainability or equality are fringe issues anymore. Whether you’re straight or gay, climate activist or climate curious, these issues impact us all.”

Gerod Rody, President and Founder of OUT for Sustainability