Out & Equal Honors Courageous LGBT Leaders at Gala Event

Mayor Annise Parker, singer Chely Wright, and COO Rick Welts to receive awards

SAN FRANCISCO, March 12, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Each year, the Out & Equal Leadership Celebration honors individuals and organizations who demonstrate workplace courage and support of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) equality. The award specifically recognizes those who take the lead on fundamental issues of equal rights in and out of the workplace.

This year, the Out & Equal Advocacy Awards recognize leaders who are making a difference because they are public about their gay and lesbian identities and are successful in their careers: country music star Chely Wright for her support of LGBT youth; Golden State Warriors President and COO Rick Welts, the first openly gay executive of a men's professional sports team; and Houston Mayor Annise Parker, who won re-election as an openly-lesbian politician.

"We are so proud to be honoring these three people whose lives and choices have made a significant difference.  Each of them has been a pioneer," noted Selisse Berry, the founding executive director of Out & Equal Workplace Advocates. "Chely Wright, Annise Parker, and Rick Welts each break the stereotypes the public has about LGBT people and each of them has shown enormous courage in being themselves and bringing all of who they are to their careers."

The event will take place on Wednesday, March 14, 2012 at the InterContinental Mark Hopkins Hotel in San Francisco, beginning with a reception at 6:00 p.m. and the dinner program to follow at 7:30 p.m. Comedian Marga Gomez will be the evening's emcee. The event will also feature a performance by the troupe Dance Brigade, the jazz stylings of Josh Klipp and the Klipptones, and the music of Vocal Minority, an ensemble from the San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus. Tickets are $300.

Hewlett-Packard and Wells Fargo are the presenting sponsors of the Leadership Celebration, and the Walt Disney Company will host the reception. Other sponsors include The Clorox Company; Ernst & Young; Intuit; AAA Northern California, Nevada and Utah Insurance Exchange; Cardinal Health; Genentech; the Golden State Warriors; Levi Strauss & Co.; State Farm; Union Bank; Xerox; and Diageo. Silent auction items include donations by Hafner Vineyard; Hotel Nikko; Jeff Lewis, Wells Fargo Home Mortgage; The Razz Room; Whirlpool Corporation; and Your Best Skin.

To learn more about the Leadership Celebration, please visit: http://outandequal.org/2012-Leadership-Celebration

About Out & Equal
Out & Equal Workplace Advocates is a non-profit organization committed to ending workplace discrimination for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) employees.

Available Topic Expert(s): For information on the listed expert(s), click appropriate link.
Selisse Berry
http://www.profnetconnect.com/selisse_berry

Contact: Justin Tanis, Director of Communications
[email protected]
Office:  415.694.6512
Mobile: 505.61.7812

SOURCE Out & Equal Workplace Advocates