The Statewide Action Summit is happening soon!
As part of our Statewide initiative, this week-long, virtual Statewide Action Summit will be your opportunity to meet with LGBTQ and ally Oregonians from around the state, including keynote addresses by the incredible Ruby Corado of Casa Ruby and Rev. Louis Mitchell of Transfaith, attend community-led workshops, and get the skills you need to advance your leadership in your community.
Basic Rights Oregon Statewide Action Summit
Sunday, October 4 through Friday, October 9
Location: Online via Zoom! Each workshop will have its own unique Zoom link on Sched.
A huge thank you to our sponsors:
Opening Keynote Address from Ruby Corado:
Transgender activist Ruby Corado is fighting for Washington D.C.’s most vulnerable. Known as “Mama Ruby” among the city’s LGBTQ youth, the advocate is the proud founder of Casa Ruby, a homeless shelter and advocacy organization for the LGBTQ community. A transgender woman who grew up in El Salvador, Ruby overcame many hardships before opening her center. In the 1980s, her father paid human traffickers to get her out of the war-torn country. She said a bus took her to Washington D.C, where traffickers gave the then 16-year-old a room and took all the money she earned working odd jobs.
She remained in Washington D.C. and in 2003, Ruby co-founded the DC Trans Coalition, an advocacy organization that became a leading force for transgender rights in Washington D.C. But her dreams were nearly shattered after a boyfriend brutally attacked and nearly killed her in 2009. Traumatized, she was unable to work or pay her rent. She moved into a homeless shelter and was granted a $12,000 disability check after a year of struggling. She decided to use the money to open the shelter she dreamed of. In 2012, Ruby opened Casa Ruby. Originally a single-floor, drop-in center, it has expanded to multiple houses that provide services and emergency housing for Washington D.C.’s LGBTQ population. Ruby has used her personal experiences and advocacy work to become an expert on the issue of violence against transgender women of color, speaking at international conferences and the United Nations about how all of our communities can protect transgender women of color.
Closing Keynote Address from Rev. Louis Mitchell:
Rev. Louis Mitchell is a pioneering “intentional man”. Known around the country and abroad as an elder, advocate, trainer, teacher, student, minister, parent and friend. He is a co-founder, former Executive Director and current Board member of Transfaith and the Operations Director of the Ingersoll Gender Center in Seattle, Washington. He is grateful to serve as an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ.
Rev. Mitchell is a proud father to his daughter, Kahlo, and co-parent with her mother, Krysia L. Villon. He is supported by his loving partner, Karen Byrd and a team of trusted friends. Louis has been in recovery for over three decades and been involved in the fight for health, respect and self-determination since the early 1980s, with deep engagement in political, mental health, recovery, and spiritual contexts.
He brings his own learned experiences, a broad range of resources, theories and studies, to offer a fresh, “on the ground”, open-hearted, holistic strategy to the work of individual and community healing, intersectional diversity planning and commitment to personal and community agency and solvency. He is a confirmed believer in the restorative power of truth telling in the voices of those whose stories are often told about them rather than with them.
His teaching and trainings have been sought by government agencies, Ivy League schools and other universities, churches, denominational bodies and businesses around the country.
Engaging and witty, he brings his whole self to each endeavor and appreciates the opportunity to guide and witness growth and wholeness!