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The 2025 Pride & Purpose Summit at Bentley University

A Community Learning Event for LGBTQ+ Professionals and Allies | June 12-13, 2025

The Pride & Purpose Summit Featured Keynotes & Workshops

LEADERSHIP

4 Fortune 500 CEOs are openly LGBTQ+

LGBTQ+ leaders are resilient, socially perceptive, innovative, and more likely to be committed to inclusion

FELLOWSHIP

ALLYSHIP

70% of LGBTQ+ workers worry about rising anti-LGBTQ+ legislation

LGBTQ+ allies carry more influence in shifting the dominant workplace culture, making a measurable difference in well-being, retention, and organizational success

June 12th, 2025

Day 1 Theme: Rooted in Resilience

The Day 1 program features keynote speakers and panelists—both LGBTQ+ individuals and allies—who will share personal stories of resilience and how these experiences inform their leadership and advocacy. The day also includes two dynamic storytelling workshops, designed to help participants explore identity, visibility, and voice—grounded in research on marginalization and representation.

 

Rob Alan, Bentley Board of Trustees
Opening Keynote
9:00am | June 12th, 2025
Presented by: Rob Alan

Rob Alan, Bentley Board of Trustees, will present "Reclaiming Our Agency." This keynote invites LGBTQ+ professionals and allies to examine the systems that limit self-determination - and offers empowering strategies to reclaim personal and collective agency as a catalyst for authenticity, resilience, and transformative change.

Kristen Bakalar, M.A.
Storytelling for Change: "Purpose"
10:00am | June 12th, 2025
Presented by: Kristen Bakalar, M.A.

What do Laverne Cox, Brandi Carlile, and Pete Buttigieg have in common? They are some of the most inspirational storytellers of our time. But good storytelling is not only reserved for performers and politicians. Good storytelling is one of the most critical change leadership skills you can develop. Unfortunately, few of us have the space to craft our stories or guidance to deliver them effectively.

 

In this three-part series—Purpose, Presence, and Pride—participants will:

(1) Learn the science & practice of effective storytelling

(2) Identify & develop true stories from their lives based on themes provided

(3) Deliver one story for feedback from their peers

 

In doing so, participants will leave with a deeper understanding of storytelling as a practice and a process which requires courage, compassion, and the willingness to show up fully as you are.

Rachael Lowell
KEYNOTE: The Workplace Needs a New System: Reclaiming Safety as Strategy
11:30am | June 12th, 2025
Presented by: Rachael Lowell

A SHIFT Framework Talk with a Focus on Security

In a climate where inclusion efforts are under attack and psychological safety is more fragile than ever, LGBTQIA workers are navigating deep uncertainty—not just in policy, but in daily experience.

This keynote introduces the SHIFT framework, with a focus on Security as the foundation of liberatory, values-driven leadership. It will weave research, lived experience, and practical insight into a call for reclaiming safety—not as a compliance box, but as a strategic, relational, and restorative practice.

Key Themes:

  • The new landscape of workplace fear, masking, and coded language
  • How nervous system literacy can be a queer leadership skill
  • Moving safety from individual experience to collective design
  • Practical tools for rebuilding trust in spaces that feel risky or conditional
pride flags held overhead, waving in the air
ERG Panel Discussion
1:00pm | June 12th, 2025
Moderated by: Kristen Bakalar, M.A.
Julia Douglas
Storytelling for Change: "Presence"
1:50pm | June 12th, 2025
Presented by: Julia Douglas
woman wrapped in the pride flag
Un-conference Roundtable Conversations
3:10pm | June 12th, 2025

Our Unconference Roundtables are intentionally designed spaces where you set the agenda. Instead of predefined panels or presentations, each session invites participants to propose topics, raise questions, and engage in peer-driven dialogue around issues that impact the LGBTQ+ community.

 

Across three interactive sessions, you’ll have the opportunity to:

  • Co-create the discussion based on your interests and lived experiences
  • Collaborate with peers in open, informal, and action-oriented conversations
  • Connect with organizational sponsors who may host their own roundtables to share initiatives and gather community insights around LGBTQ+ inclusion 

This dynamic format empowers you to engage deeply, elevate diverse perspectives, and spark ideas for lasting change in your workplace and beyond.

man with a pride pin on his necktie
Closing Remarks
3:40pm | June 12th, 2025

Closing remarks with an inspiring call to action!

June 13th, 2025

Day 2 Theme: Powered by Allyship

The Day 2 program explores how meaningful support can drive lasting change. The program features in-depth discussions spotlighting the diverse experiences within the LGBTQ+ community—including transgender, nonbinary individuals, and Gen Z voices. The day also examines cutting-edge research on oppositional courage and the evolving role of allyship in today’s workplace. We’ll close with a compelling community storytelling event that amplifies collective voices and shared commitment to inclusion.

Dr. Mateo Cruz
KEYNOTE: From Ally to Allyship: Finding Courage at the Intersections of our Identities
9:00am | June 13th, 2025
Presented by: Dr. Mateo Cruz

Transgender & nonbinary (TNB) employees face numerous barriers unique to their identities, in part because their visibility is perceived as a disruption to gendered norms that organizations perpetuate as what it means to be a “professional." While these norms are problematic for people of all genders, they specifically harm TNB people whose gendered behavior is often policed through acts of interpersonal microaggressions and violence from co-workers, customers, and organizational leaders.

Thus, the purpose of this keynote is to discuss what intersectional inclusion looks like in an era of heated anti-trans sentiment. Drawing from research and practice, Dr. Cruz will share: (a) why TGNB allyship is relevant, necessary, and central to the advancement of intersectional inclusion in our institutions; (b) what job demands TNB people experience and the supports that make a difference; and (c) how TNB allies can be most effective in their roles as co-workers, managers, and leaders.

Rainbow Scholars NASPA Award Winners
Panel: Letting them Lead: Supporting the Next Generation of LGBTQ+ Professionals
10:00am | June 13th, 2025
Presented by: Kenny Allard & Bentley Rainbow Scholars

The future of LGBTQ+ leadership is here—and it's bold, visionary, and unapologetically real.

 

This dynamic panel conversation spotlights rising LGBTQ+ professionals who are already shaping the future of work, culture, and advocacy. These next-generation leaders will share their insights on navigating their careers, challenging outdated norms, and reimagining what inclusive leadership looks like across industries.

 

This event is hosted by Rainbow Scholars, Bentley University's award-winning leadership development program, open to undergraduate students of all class years. 

a person walking to the next un-conference roundtable discussion with a pride neck tie
Un-conference Roundtable Conversations
11:15am | June 13th, 2025

Our Unconference Roundtables are intentionally designed spaces where you set the agenda. Instead of predefined panels or presentations, each session invites participants to propose topics, raise questions, and engage in peer-driven dialogue around issues that impact the LGBTQ+ community.

 

Across three interactive sessions, you’ll have the opportunity to:

  • Co-create the discussion based on your interests and lived experiences
  • Collaborate with peers in open, informal, and action-oriented conversations
  • Connect with organizational sponsors who may host their own roundtables to share initiatives and gather community insights around LGBTQ+ inclusion 

This dynamic format empowers you to engage deeply, elevate diverse perspectives, and spark ideas for lasting change in your workplace and beyond.

image of a prism
Oppositional Courage and Allyship
12:45pm | June 13th, 2025
Alex Hirs, M.S.
Storytelling for Change: "Pride"
1:15pm | June 13th, 2025
Jonathan L. Allen
Closing Remarks from Special Guest Jonathan L. Allen
2:30pm | June 13th, 2025

A Moment of Reflection & Forward Momentum
 

Join us as we close out the inaugural Pride & Purpose Summit with a powerful message from guest presenter and social impact entrepreneur, Jonathan L. Allen. In this inspiring finale, we’ll reflect on the insights, connections, and collective strength shared over the past two days—and look ahead with clarity, courage, and conviction. This is more than a conclusion; it’s a call to action, a celebration of resilience, and a reminder that the movement doesn’t end here.

Lead Authentically, Inspire Inclusivity!

Melanie Willingham-Jaggers, CEO at GLSEN
As one of the most exciting and emerging spaces for future business leaders, Bentley University can create pathways, open doors and provide resources that make a real difference — not only for LGBTQ+ professionals today, but for the next generation of students.
Melanie Willingham-Jaggers
CEO at GLSEN

2025 Pride & Purpose Summit Sponsors

Supporting Our Community

Pride & Purpose Scholarship

There are a limited number of attendance waivers, please inquire for more info!

Summit Dates

June 12th | 2025: 9am - 4pm

June 13th | 2025: 9am - 4pm

Summit Cost

Attendees: 

$160/person until June 1st, 2025

$200/person from June 2nd, 2025

 

Donate as an Ally: 

Can't attend but willing to sponsor another attendee? You can donate by submitting a registration and paying as an 'Ally'

 

Registration includes full access to the Summit, breakfast, lunch, snacks and beverages

 

Sponsors: 

Pride Tier 1 - inquire for more info about sponsor benefits

Purpose Tier 2 - inquire for more info about sponsor benefits

Summit Sponsor Tier 3 - inquire for more info about sponsor benefits

Discounts

Bentley Alumni, Non-profits, and Job-seekers in Transition: Inquire to receive your 50% discount code.

Bentley Employees: Inquire about your discount.

Group Discounts: Empower your leaders to learn together and grow together with a 30% group rate discount to companies that send three participants or more. 

Refund Policy

Bentley University will grant a full refund for cancellations received at least 30 days before the program start date. A 50% refund will be given for those cancellations made prior to fourteen days of the program start date. No refund will be granted for those cancellations received after that time. Unused registrations can be transferred to another person.

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