Trips like this remind me why I love doing this work! So this past weekend I had the privilege of attending the Northeast LGBT Conference – Facets of Oppression at SUNY Albany.

As the saying goes you learn something new every day. Now as a queer activist I should know this fact already, so I look at it as a refresher course – here is that refresher course: Harvey Milk attended what was known as New York State College for Teachers in Albany from 1947 to 1951 majoring in mathematics. SUNY Albany has every right to be proud of this fact!

Much congratulations are in order for the planning team of the Northeast LGBT Conference! There team was lead by Courtney D’Allaird & Stav Levy, both are Campus Pride Summer Camp Alum. From the moment I stepped off the plane, on Friday 4/17/09, I was impressed with their level of organization. They had a detailed plan of who was picking me up from the hotel each day to get me to the conference. Having been on the planning side of conferences like this it was nice to be on the side of just show up and present!

Later that evening there was Breaking the Silence Rally and a performance by All the Kings Men! If you are looking for a group that will challenge the confines of gender identity and stereotypes through theatrical story-telling set to music – THIS IS YOUR GROUP! During the rally we heard stories from students who have had to face the ugliness of our world. It reminded me of my high schools days and what lead me to be an activist. Then there was Alan Van Capelle from Empire State Pride Agenda. Who gave one of the most powerful speeches of the evening - he really set the tone for the conference!

The next morning was the start of a very long day 7:30am – 3am!

Kate Bornstein opened the conference with a keynote that raised the bar to a whole new level. Kate was edgy and was real as ze spoke of how we view who we really are. I am still processing so I will get back to you once I create meaning out of everything she said – it was that good that it still has me thinking 72 hours later!

Then at dinner was when I was blown away again! I got to reconnect with a Campus Pride friend Sabrina Sojourner. She was a speaker at the 2008 Summer Leadership Camp. She incorporated song, poetry, and spoken word in a keynote that had you moving down an inner journey I never thought I would go down. There was one quote of hers that stuck out to me that talked about being committed to the movement. It reads – “You do not have to finish the task, and you are not free to neglect it. (Pirkei Avot, 2.21)" What powerful words are so true! We also presented the last of the Voice & Action Awards at the Northeast Meeting to Shawna Scott of University of Georgia. In her time at UGA, she has been involved all four years with the campus’ largest LGBTQA student organization, Lambda Alliance. In her role as a leader in Lambda Alliance, she has been involved with or directly lead the successful campaigns to add sexual orientation to the Non-Discrimination Anti-Harassment Policy, soft domestic partner benefits, create a streamlined and accessible bias-incident reporting system, and create a trans-inclusive organization. Shawna is one amazing leader and we are glad to have her recognized with the Campus Pride Voice & Action National Leadership Award.

After dinner is when the party started. I am not sure why I let myself get convinced to go out but I did! And let me tell you people know how to party in Albany! The Clubs stay open until 4AM!!!!! Now the blah part of the evening is my camera decided to stop working when I tried to get pictures of the party crew!!!! Oh well, I got mental pictures of the hotness of the evening!

Looking forward to next year when the conference makes its first move to University of Buffalo in 2010. So mark your calendars April 16-18, 2010 - Buffalo, NY!!!!!