LGBT Roundtable update


from LGBT Roundtable committee


LGBT Roundtable Project: Over the past year, a steering committee from the Northwest PA Pride Alliance (NWPAPA), the Greater Erie Alliance for Equality (GEAE), and Transfamily Support of Erie have organized and held three LGBT Roundtable discussions. The committee invited leaders from various LGBT organizations from Erie and the surrounding counties. The roundtable project is off to a great start with about 15 different groups participating! 


These LGBT Roundtable discussions had two different purposes. One was to begin a multi-phased needs assessment for the greater Erie LGBT community conducted through the Edinboro University Social Work Department. The second purpose was to unite the various organizations serving different members of our LGBT community in order to provide a platform for communication and collaboration. 


During this most recent LGBT Roundtable discussion, participants grappled with the long list of LGBT community needs that resulted from the first two meetings, generated a list of the various strengths of each group and the LGBT community as a whole, and then determined a next step in addressing our needs. 


As a result of this year's efforts, the LGBT Roundtable Project is excited to continue to collaborate in 2016 with the vision to INVITE, UNITE, & IGNITE; Invite members of the LGBT community to Unite as a collaborative and diverse group and Ignite within us a passion for addressing these issues together! 


It is the intention of the steering committee that 2016 Roundtable discussions will be held periodically in order to continue to provide this forum of collaboration for the benefit of our community. If you are interested in hearing about future LGBT Roundtable discussions, please contact Steering Committee Chair, Will Koehler at (814)732-1973 or wkoehler@edinboro.edu. – submitted by Will Koehler.