Event Info

Meet and interact with fellow MBA LGBT student leaders from across the country. Share ideas and best practices to raise LGBT visibility, outreach and awareness on campus, as well as to establish and grow LGBT MBA student organizations.

Date: Saturday, April 26, 2008
Location: Kellogg School of Management, Evanston, IL
                Northwestern University
Cost: Free
Registration: Click Here to Register - Deadline April 4th!
Schools invited to attend: Chicago, McDonough, Thunderbird, Broad, Tuck, Fuqua, Ross, Wharton, Columbia, Haas, Sloan, Stanford, Tepper, Owen, Harvard, Anderson, Kellogg, Darden, Kelley, Yale, Marshall, Goizueta, Johnson, Stern, Mendoza, Smith, Krannert, Simon, Olin, Villanova, Tulane, Moore, and others!

Event Schedule (Tentative)

date time description
Fri, Apr 25 8:00pm Social Event -
Other Pleasures: A Queer Burlesque Revue*
Norris Center, Northwestern University (PDF Map)
*Tickets provided by ROMBA for registered attendees
10:00pm Social Event - Night Out in Evanston
Back room at Nevin's Irish Pub
Sat, Apr 26 8:30am Breakfast (provided)
Allen Center, Northwestern University
9:00am Panels / Discussions / Roundtables
Allen Center, Northwestern University
See below for panel and roundtable details.
12:00pm Lunch (provided)
Allen Center, Northwestern University
1:00pm Panels / Discussions / Roundtables
Allen Center, Northwestern University
See below for panel and roundtable details.
4:00pm Keynote Speaker (to be determined)
Allen Center, Northwestern University
7:00pm Small Group Dinners
Various Locations in Boystown and Lincoln Park
Chicago, IL
9:00pm Reaching Out Cocktail Reception
Chicago, IL

Panel / Discussion / Roundtable Topics

LGBT Admissions Outreach and Initiatives

  • How can schools increase the ratio of the LGBT student intake?
  • How to collaborate with school Admissions to actively reach out to potential LGBT admits
  • Initiatives to improve school's LGBT-friendliness image

Visibility and integration of LGBT club/community into wider student body

  • Providing a safe space - official action against discrimination, hate mail (apparently it happened in a top-10 school very recently, with very lax action by the school)
  • Ally membership debate into LGBT clubs
  • LGBT leadership representation in the student government

Career advancement

  • LGBT-specific recruiting over and above the Reaching Out MBA career fair
  • Leveraging alumni and LGBT/Diversity organizations in companies
  • Strategies for networking with companies with no established LGBT/Diversity alliances

Fundraising for the club

  • Clubs need funds to carry out initiatives
  • Strategies on setting up incoming revenue streams for clubs that do not currently do this, and also strategies to increase the streams for clubs that already have fundraising initiatives in place

Engaging the local LGBT organizations (outside of the university)

  • In some cities, local LGBT organizations rely on the engagement of MBA students on helping them with structuring their organizations
  • For example, in Wharton, we have a Non-Profit Board Leadership Program where MBAs are placed as visiting board members of local non-profits for one full year. It's a two-way exchange - the student gets to be "trained" on being a board member, and the organization gets the benefit of the business skills of the student. I know that other schools have a similar program in place as well

Travel Info

Airports

Transportation to Evanston

If you are coming from the airport, to save some cash, be sure to call a local Evanston taxi company when you land. They will give you a flat rate versus the city cabs, which will charge you 1.5 times the regular rate. Two possibilities:

  • Norshore Cab
    (847) 864-7500
  • 303 Taxi
    (847) 556-0303

Accommodations

The three hotels below have offered preferred rates for summit attendees from Friday, April 25th 2008 thru Sunday, April 27th 2008. These rates will be available on reservations made until Friday, April 4th 2008. Please make sure to reserve your rooms by this deadline using the reservation code 'ROMBA Leadership Summit' to receive the preferred rate. Summit attendees will be responsible for their cost of travel and accomodations.

  • Best Western University Plaza
    (BLUE tack on map below)
    1501 Sherman Avenue
    Evanston, IL 60201
    www.bwuniversityplaza.com
    847-491-6400
    Rate: Single or Double $109
  • Hilton Garden Inn
    (RED tack on map below)
    1818 Maple Avenue
    Evanston, IL 60201
    www.hiltongardeninn.com
    847-475-6400
    Rate: Single (one king bed) $139 / Double (two queen beds) $149
  • Hotel Orrington
    (GREEN tack on map below)
    1710 Orrington Avenue
    Evanston IL 60201
    www.hotelorrington.com
    847-866-8700
    Rate: Single $149 / Double $149 / Triple $159 / Quad $169 (Prices are based on occupancy. Rooms have one king bed or two queen beds.)

Contact Us

If you have questions about the LGBT Leadership Summit or Reaching Out, please don't hesitate to contact us: