(Washington, DC) The District will convene the first Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Economic Development Summit on November 3, 2007, from 10 am to 4 pm, at the Washington Plaza Hotel. The goal of the summit will be to ensure that LGBT business leaders and entrepreneurs continue to play an important role in leading the economic and creative development of the city.
“The LGBT community has long been a driving force in rebuilding many of the District’s neighborhoods,” said Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development Neil O. Albert. “There is no time like the present for the District government to ensure current LGBT business leaders and members of the LGBT community who want to start a new business have the tools they need to assist them.”
Workshop and panel sessions at the summit will include information on marketing, public financing and how to become a certified Local, Small, and Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (LSBDE). Sessions will also provide information aimed at particular business segments including technology, the arts, small business and real estate.
The conference is being presented by the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development (DMPED), the Department of Small and Local Business Development (DSLBD) and the Mayor’s Office of LGBT Affairs. It is being supported by a number of other organizations in the District including the Washington DC Economic Partnership, PEN, Metro DC’s LGBT Chamber of Commerce and the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce.
