Mission & History
Educate. Inspire. Connect.
Reaching Out MBA’s mission is to increase the influence of the LGBTQ+* community in business by educating, inspiring, and connecting MBA students and alumni. We invite you to join us and engage with students, alumni, and professionals throughout the year.
*Reaching Out MBA uses the “+” as part of LGBTQ+ to intentionally embrace all individuals who are working towards building communities of inclusion, respect and belonging, including allies of the LGBTQ community and those who are not fully represented by the letters LGBTQ.
15+
National and regional events annually
1100+
Attendees at ROMBA 2025
200+
Reaching Out Fellows from 50+ business schools
3500+
Students and alumni in Reaching Out LinkedIn Group
50+
Corporate Partners
Future ROMBA Conferences
2026
October 1-3
Dallas
Organizational Milestones
1999
The first ROMBA conference welcomes 150 LGBTQ+
students to its inaugural event.
2004
Reaching Out MBA becomes a 501(c)(3) non-profit
corporation and forms a Board of Directors.
2008
The first LGBTQ+ Club Leadership Summit takes
place in Chicago.
2014
The ROMBA Fellowship, a national scholarship program, launches in partnership with 17 top business schools.
2015
The first Out Women in Business (OWIB) takes place.
2018
The Fellowship program grows to 50 schools.
2020
ROMBA welcomes 2,700 attendees to its first virtual conference.
2022
Celebrated our 25th ROMBA Conference in Washington, DC.
2024
The first PRIZM Conference takes place.