
GPP at OutSummit 2023
december 4 - december 4, 2023
9:00 am - 5:30 pm (GMT-05:00)
On December 4, 2023, join Outright International, LGBTIQ activists, and allies from around the globe for the 9th annual OutSummit. A limited number of representatives will join in person, and virtual attendance is open to all.
GPP staff member Ezra Nepon and GPP member Joy Chia, Executive Director of Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice, will join a session on “Increasing Our Impact: How Funders Can Help Radically Accelerate the Global LGBTIQ Movement.” More information below.
Increasing Our Impact: How Funders Can Help Radically Accelerate the Global LGBTIQ Movement
Monday Dec 4, 2023 from 08:30 to 09:30 PM
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Ezra Nepon
Ezra Nepon
Senior Program Officer for Knowledge and Learning - Global Philanthropy Project
Ezra Berkley Nepon is the Senior Program Officer for Knowledge and Learning at Global Philanthropy Project and joined GPP in 2015. Ezra coordinates GPP’s research development, is the primary author of the Global Resources Report, and supports GPP’s communications and development.Ezra previously served as Director of Grassroots Fundraising for Sylvia Rivera Law Project, and Development Coordinator for the William Way LGBT Community Center, and co-authored reports including “Who Decides: How Participatory Grantmaking Benefits Donors, Communities, and Movements” with The Lafayette Practice. They are the author of two books – most recently, Dazzle Camouflage: Spectacular Theatrical Strategies for Resistance and Resilience, and a recipient of the 2014 Leeway Foundation Transformation Award. Currently, Ezra is a board member of the Leeway Foundation, and an active member of Jewish Voice for Peace. Ezra received an M.A. Degree from Goddard College in Transformative Language Arts.
Senior Program Officer for Knowledge and Learning - Global Philanthropy Project
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Jay Gilliam
Jay Gilliam
Senior LGBTQI+ Coordinator - USAID
Jay serves as the Agency’s lead to elevate issues concerning lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and other people of diverse genders and sexualities (LGBTQI+). In this role, he works to meaningfully integrate LGBTQI+ people into USAID’s inclusive development programs, policies, research and training. Most recently, he was the Engagement and Communications Advisor in the Center for Education at USAID.Previously, Jay served as the Director of the Global program at the Human Rights Campaign (HRC). During his time at HRC, Jay successfully organized four annual Global Innovative Advocacy Summits, created an active alumni network of 180+ advocates from over 90 countries, and trained dozens of advocates from every region of the world on LGBTQ advocacy.He served in the Obama administration at USAID where he worked on program policy, public engagement and communications, particularly on the Agency’s LGBTQI+ and food security work. Jay also worked at the Aga Khan Foundation U.S.A. in Washington, DC and Peace Boat Japan in Tokyo.Jay grew up in Arlington, Texas before leaving the Lone Star state for Amherst College in Massachusetts to get his B.A. in political science. He did his graduate studies on a Rotary Fellowship, earning an M.A. in peace studies at International Christian University in Tokyo, Japan.
Senior LGBTQI+ Coordinator - USAID
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Joy Chia
Joy Chia
Executive Director - Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice
Joy L. Chia is the Executive Director of the Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice, a public foundation rooted in LGBTQI communities and movements working globally to advance the rights of LGBTQI people and communities. Astraea endeavors to mobilize and distribute resources so as to reach the activists and communities who need them most and who are best positioned to make transformational impact over time.
Joy comes to Astraea from the Open Society Foundations (OSF), where she was the Team Manager with the Women’s Rights Program and led its work on “Power of the Collective” which supports feminist activism, community mobilization and advocacy to be more independent, resilient, vibrant, and inclusive. From 2012-2018, Joy was the OSF East Asia program officer and led the program’s grant-making portfolios on equality and human rights in China. She has also held fellowships and taught international human rights law and practice at institutions, such as the Chinese University of Hong Kong, University of Hong Kong and at Fordham Law School. Joy is a graduate of Yale University and Columbia University School of Law.
Executive Director - Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice
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Michael Heflin
Michael Heflin
Global Grants Director - Outright International
Michael is based in Washington, DC and is the Global Grants Director. This is a new position at Outright International, responsible for the overall design and implementation of Outright’s grantmaking strategies.From 2015 - 2021, Michael Heflin was the Director of the Equality Division of the Human Rights Initiative at Open Society Foundations leading grant making strategies to advance equality in several areas including LGBTQI rights and the rights of persons with disabilities. During his tenure, the program secured new resources to initiate support for movements advancing racial and ethnic justice in key countries in Latin America and Southeast Asia including Brazil, Colombia, Indonesia and Myanmar and developed a new global intersectional portfolio focused on women facing multiple layers of discrimination.Michael came to Open Society Foundations in 2009 to launch a global initiative on LGBTQI rights focused on supporting emerging LGBTQI rights groups in the global South and East. Under his leadership, the foundation became one of the largest donors in the global fight for LGBTQI rights, supporting the development of burgeoning organizations and movements in 50+ countries and leading strategic global initiatives to support local activists that earned historic victories in the areas of decriminalization, family recognition and legal gender recognition.Prior to joining Open Society Foundations, Michael was Managing Director of the Campaigns Unit for Amnesty International USA. He also served as the founding Director of Amnesty International’s first LGBTQI rights program. Michael also worked at Amnesty’s International Secretariat where he was the Interim Director of the International Mobilization Program. Michael started his human rights career as the Deputy Director of the organization’s Midwest Region Office in Chicago.Michael holds a law degree with a focus on human rights from the University of Cincinnati where he held a fellowship at the Urban Morgan Human Rights Institute and was an editor of the Human Rights Quarterly.
Global Grants Director - Outright International
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Russell Roybal
Russell Roybal
Board Member - Outright International
Outright Board Member, VP and Chief External Affairs Officer, National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy
Board Member - Outright International
Full Event Schedule
- december 4, 2023
- 9:00am Opening 9:00am - 9:30am
- 9:30am Session 1: Advocating for inclusion in government development programs 9:30am - 10:55am
Each year, the World Bank makes $USD 100 Billion in loans to governments in low and middle-income countries. These funds pay for education, health, and social protection programs. LGBTIQ advocates want to ensure that these programs are inclusive. This session will describe the Inclusive Bank Advocacy Network, a new global advocacy network, and feature examples of activism to ensure inclusion of LGBTIQ people.
- 11:00am Break 11:00am - 11:30am
- 11:30am Keynotes: Rituparna Borah and Graeme Reid 11:30am - 11:55am
OutSummit will have two keynote speakers:
- Rituparna Borah, a queer, disabled, indigenous feminist activist with over 18 years of experience in advocating for LGBTQIA+ rights.
- Graeme Reid, the UN Independent Expert on Protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, appointed by the UN Human Rights Council in October 2023.
- 12:00pm Session 2: Trans Liberation 12:00pm - 1:20pm
Trans rights - the culture war about trans people and the attacks that limit rights for trans people are spreading around the world. The pushback is coming from an unholy alliance of conservatives and groups of feminists who typically have nothing in common and use misinformation to gain traction. Our panel can debunk some of the myths, give examples of successful countering, and discuss strategies
- 1:30pm Lunch 1:30pm - 2:30pm
- 2:30pm Session 3: Increasing our Impact: How Funders Can Help Radically Accelerate the Global LGBTIQ Movement 2:30pm - 3:30pmSpeakers: Ezra Nepon, Joy Chia
- 3:40pm Session 4: Pride & Politics: the Fight for LGBTIQ Rights in Changing Democracies 3:40pm - 5:00pm
In 2024, over two billion people will head to the polls to vote for their next government at the local, national, and regional levels. For many countries, the results could mean the difference between further entrenchment of authoritarian policies and practices or a turning point in the fight against democratic backsliding. The days leading up to and after the elections will be essential for citizens, particularly LGBTIQ communities, to elevate their voices and make it clear to decision-makers their expectations for inclusive governance, accountability and transparency, and the protection and promotion of human rights.
This panel will explore the inextricable link between democracy and LGBTIQ rights and feature the perspectives of both activists and allies who are utilizing democratic mechanisms to counter the anti-democracy and anti-LGBTIQ movements in their countries and regions. Panelists will speak to ways LGBTIQ communities are already participating as well as highlight different avenues of democratic engagement LGBTIQ movements can explore to further their priorities.
- 5:00pm Closing 5:00pm - 5:30pm