Novotny to keynote Norman PFLAG conference

Brittany Novotny will deliver the keynote address at the 4th annual PFLAG Regional Conference to be hosted by PFLAG Norman on June 29th. The all-day conference will take place on The University of Oklahoma campus in Norman and is open to anyone who wants to know more about lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) issues. Ms. Novotny’s keynote address will be followed by break-out sessions on a wide range of topics, an address by Toby Jenkins of Oklahomans for Equality during the lunch break, and an author’s panel to close out the day of learning.

Novotny is an Oklahoma City attorney who ran for legislative office in 2010, the first known transgender candidate in an Oklahoma election. In that historic role, Novotny attracted extensive media attention and advanced the public’s awareness of LGBTQ issues in the state. “Claiming a Seat at the Table” will be the subject of the keynote address.

The three break-out sessions will include the following choices:

-      How PFLAG Chapters Evolve with Jeff Early, Ann Surles, and Jim Surles,

   from PFLAG Austin

-          LGBT Related Issues in the Schools with Kevin Pattison of Tulsa Community

   Services Council

-          Trans 101 – a panel moderated by Melanie Adams of Brothers, a support group

   for female to male transgender individuals

-          What National PFLAG Can Do for You with Beth Kohm and Kay Holladay, 

   PFLAG National Deputy Executive and Southern Regional Directors, respectively

-          Supporting Transgender Youth – Lessons for Parents and Providers with

   Taylor Burns, LCSW, and Tina Patterson, a PFLAG mom

-          Fundraising:  Moving Beyond the Annual Letter with Dr. Julie Miller-Cribbs

   of the School of Social Work at the University of Oklahoma

-          Utilizing Technology for Social Change with Dr. Steve Krantz, PFLAG Southern

   Pacific Regional Director

-          LGBTQ Legal Issues with Sandy Ingraham, attorney

-          Be Not Afraid – Straight for Equality in our Faith Communities with Beth Kohm,

   PFLAG National Deputy Executive Director

Six CEUs toward renewing a social work license in Oklahoma are available among the nine choices of breakout sessions.

Toby Jenkins will be speaking on “Coalition Building – Stronger Together” during the plenary session that follows a catered lunch that is included in the conference fee.  Jenkins is the Executive Director of the Dennis O’Neill Equality Center in Tulsa.

An author’s panel will conclude the conference day as two PFLAG members hare the personal journeys that inspired their books.  Lou Anne Smoot of PFLAG Tyler/East is the author of A Christian Coming Out:  A Journal of the Darkest Period in My Life, recounting her struggle to keep both the life and the faith that God wanted for her. A mother from PFLAG Odessa (Texas), Shari Johnson, will talk about her book, Above ALL Things: The Journey of an Evangelical Mother and Her Gay Daughter. Johnson describes evolving from ‘devastation’ to ‘full on joy’ as she grew to embrace her daughter for who she was.

The conference is being held on the University of Oklahoma campus in Norman at the Anne and Henry Zarrow School of Social Work, located at the corner of Elm Ave. and West Brooks St. Sign-in will begin at 8:30 am and the conference will conclude at 4:30 pm.

The fee for the conference is $25 per person and $15 for a student, which includes a light breakfast, lunch, and any materials. Pre-registration is available on-line on Facebook and at www.pflagnorman.org. 

For more information contact PFLAG Norman at help@pflagnorman.org or call 360-4497.

PFLAG’s (Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays) stated mission is to provide support, to cope with an adverse society; education, to enlighten an ill-informed public; and advocacy, to end discrimination and to secure equal civil rights.  PFLAG has affiliates located in close to 350 communities in the United States and abroad.