MEDIA ADVISORY

INVITATION TO COVER
March 21, 2016

Alexis Squire
(202) 370-3209
asquire@equalrightscenter.org
Equal Rights Center

The Equal Rights Center (ERC) hosts webinar along with leading LGBT advocates
to discuss gender identity discrimination in public accommodations
Join the #RoomForChange Webinar- March 23 Free Event Discussing LGBT Discrimination
WHAT:

The Equal Rights Center (ERC) will host a free webinar along with leading LGBT
advocates, Laura E. Durso, Director of LGBT Progress, Center for American Progress;
Kylar Broadus, Executive Director, Trans People of Color Coalition; and Harper Jean
Tobin, Director of Policy, National Center for Transgender Equality. This webinar will
discuss the need for protection ordinances against LGBT discrimination in public
accommodations.
This webinar comes at the heels of the ERCs forthcoming report, Room for Change. This
report, made possible by a generous grant from Arcus Foundation, explores the findings
of a testing investigation into the levels of discrimination in retail stores based on
gender identity and race.

WHO:

Presented by:
Kristen Barry, Public Accommodations Manager Equal Rights Center
Laura E. Durso, Director of LGBT Progress Center for American Progress
Kylar Broadus, Advocate and Executive Director -Trans People of Color Coalition
Harper Jean Tobin, Advocate and Director of Policy National Center for Transgender
Equality

WHEN:

Wednesday, March 23, 2016

2 p.m. 3 p.m. (Presentation)
3 p.m. 3:30 p.m. (Questions and Answers Session)

WHERE:

RSVP: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/8138869116042880258
or dial-in at 1 (213) 929-4232, Access Code 903-255-277

MEDIA RSVP:

Media interested in participating in this event should contact Alexis Squire,

Communications and Partnerships Manager of the Equal Rights Center, (202) 370-3209,
asquire@equalrightscenter.org

About the Equal Rights Center: (www.equalrightscenter.org)

Originally formed in 1983, the Equal Rights Center (ERC) is a national non-profit civil rights organization
based in Washington, D.C. With members located in every state and the District of Columbia, the ERC
works nationally to promote equal opportunity in housing, employment, disability rights, immigrant
rights, and access to public accommodations and government services for all protected classes under
federal, state, and local laws.

About Laura E. Durso, Director of LGBT Progress, Center for American Progress:
(https://www.americanprogress.org/about/staff/durso-laura/bio/)
Laura E. Durso is Senior Director of the LGBT Research and Communications Project at Center for
American Progress. Leveraging her background in public health and intersectional frameworks, Durso
focuses on the health and well-being of LGBT communities, data collection on sexual orientation and
gender identity and improving the social and economic status of LGBT people through public policy.
Prior to joining American Progress, Durso was a public policy fellow at the Williams Institute at UCLA
School of Law, where she conducted research on the LGBT community, including LGBT homeless and atrisk youth, poor and low-income LGBT people and the business impact of LGBT-supportive policies.

About Kylar Broadus, Executive Director, Trans People of Color Coalition:

(http://www.thetaskforce.org/task-force-welcomes-kylar-w-broadus-to-lead-transgender-civil-rightsproject/)
Kylar Broadus is the Executive Director of the Trans People of Color Coalition, a group started from
Broadus Rockwood Leadership Institute Fellowship, intending to support and advance the rights of
transgender people of color. Broadus also serves on the Williams Institute Faculty Advisory Counsel and
is part of the GenIUSS Group, a project that focuses on transgender data collection issues. Previously,
Broadus served as chair of the board of directors of the National Black Justice Coalition. In 2012, he won
the Susan J. Hyde Activism Award for Longevity in the Movement at the Task Forces National
Conference on LGBT Equality, Creating Change.

About Harper Jean Tobin, Director of Policy, National Center for Transgender Equality:
(http://www.transequality.org/about/people/harper-jean-tobin-she-her)
As Director of Policy, Harper Jean Tobin coordinates all aspects of advocacy on federal administrative
policies and regulations for NCTE and works to provide information for the public about laws and
policies that affect transgender people. She also serves on the board of HIPS, an organization that
promotes rights, health and safety for those involved in sex work, sex trade, or drug use in the DC area.
Previously, Tobin worked at the National Senior Citizens Law Centers Federal Rights Project. Her writing
on transgender equality and other issues has appeared in numerous publications.