For Immediate Release: Wednesday, July 9, 2014 Media Contact: Andrea Hackl Contact here 202.888.7081
Veteran Advocate, Social Entrepreneur Allyson Dylan Robinson to Lead New Institute(Washington, D.C.) The LGBT Technology Partnership today announced plans to spin off its research, analysis, and educational activities into a new, affiliated enterprise, the LGBT Technology Institute. Organized as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, the Institute will conduct research and create resources, tools, and programs in support of the Partnership’s mission to improve access to technology and its benefits, increase safety and inclusion in tech spaces, and empower entrepreneurship for LGBT communities. The organization tapped veteran advocate and social entrepreneur Allyson Dylan Robinson to be the Institute’s first director. “LGBT civil rights in America have advanced as technology has advanced,” said Robinson. “As our movement’s focus shifts now away from changing laws and toward changing culture, technology becomes even more important – both as a tool for change and a domain that needs changing. I’m excited to join the LGBT Tech team on the vanguard of that change.” Robinson will also serve as the LGBT Technology Partnership’s Vice-President for Knowledge and Impact. The Institute unveiled its inaugural research report, “A Vision for Inclusion: An LGBT Broadband Future,” at a special event on Capitol Hill on June 26th. Congressman David Cicilline representing the 1st District of Rhode Island and Co-chair of the LGBT Equality Caucus and Matthew Berry, Chief of Staff to FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai delivered opening remarks at the event. “Whether we’re talking about youth or older adults, healthcare or net neutrality, privacy or safety, the technological needs of LGBT people in America are as diverse as we are,” said Christopher Wood, Executive Director of the LGBT Technology Partnership. “Allyson brings to this work an understanding of the LGBT community and its future that is uniquely broad and deep. We’re proud to have her leading the Institute and look forward to many exciting announcements in the coming year.”Biographical Sketch: Allyson Dylan Robinson Robinson is founder and principal of Warrior Poet Strategies, a Washington, D.C. based consulting firm advising clients in organizational design, diversity and inclusion, and social and civic entrepreneurship. Prior to founding Warrior Poet she led internal and external diversity initiatives at the Human Rights Campaign and was the first transgender person to lead a national LGBT organization as executive director of OutServe-SLDN. A former Army officer, Robinson is a 1994 graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, where she majored in physics. She holds a master’s degree from Baylor University. About the LGBT Technology Partnership: The LGBT Technology Partnership brings together cutting edge tech companies, nonprofit organizations, policy makers, scholars, and innovators to improve access to technology and its benefits, increase safety and inclusion in tech spaces, and empower entrepreneurship for LGBT communities. About the LGBT Technology Institute: The LGBT Technology Institute drives research, analysis, education, and advocacy at the intersection of LGBT communities and technology in order to advance civil rights and social inclusion.
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