Re: Advice on speakers for an event focused on LGBT issues in Russia/Eurasia

[Kellen Moriarty]

Yes, since Gessen's agent has responded, we will wait and see what she says this week.  But I do think we are most likely going to end up having to push the LGBT event to January.  In that case, proximity to the Olympics may actually work in our favor.

I agree with Grace - we should do an end-of-semester event.  I've been meaning to call a general member meeting, so it might be good to just declare a happy hour at a day/time that works for most of the XCOM and see if general members show up.  CC'ing the full XCOM here so all are in the loop on all of this.

On Mon, Nov 18, 2013 at 10:20 PM, Henry Shepherd <henry.s...@gmail.com> wrote:

Hi team,

My understanding is that we are waiting on Masha Gessen's agent to respond to us-- only today did she acknowledge our inquiry and she said that she'd check to see if 'early December' would work. While the chance is not high, I don't think we should write it off quite yet. Aside from that possibility, I don't object to shifting the date to January and redoubling our efforts on that timeline.

Henry

On Mon, Nov 18, 2013 at 10:18 PM, Grace My-Hanh Tran <gt...@georgetown.edu> wrote:

I'm going to side with Gary on this one -- the LGBT issue is a big one, and we don't want to risk throwing together a slap dash event for December. Since GSO has allowed for us to do the event next semester, we might as well just go for that and really work on securing a date and a solid panel of speakers. We can dedicate December for outreach/logistics/organization, and the LGBT event can be our first PREEA event back from winter break.

I say we also celebrate sometime in December once our events are out of the way. Night out on CERES-provided alcohol! 

On Mon, Nov 18, 2013 at 10:14 PM, Gary Bearden <gabe...@gmail.com> wrote:

Its sounding increasingly like we're going to table this until next semester and if I'm not mistaken, I believe GSO has approved funding for it. If that is the case, I'm all for it. I think this week and next week are probably going to be pretty taxing in terms of PREEA admin juices. 

Risa, unless we decide otherwise, I'll hold off on touching base with Simonyi from my side until I know we've got the event nailed down for sure. Does that sound good? Unless you guys think Simonyi could be a deal-maker for the event...

Gary

On Mon, Nov 18, 2013 at 9:46 PM, Kellen Moriarty <kj...@georgetown.edu> wrote:

Yes, let's wait on a response from Gessen before sending another note to Corke, since Corke sounded like she preferred January unless we got other bodies on the panel for December.

On Mon, Nov 18, 2013 at 7:09 PM, Risa Chubinsky <rc1...@georgetown.edu> wrote:

I totally agree re: student speakers. I wasn't thinking clearly before.

It's been almost exactly a week since I've followed up with Ioffe. I'm inclined not to follow up again until we have new information to share (ex. new confirmed speaker, new date). Maybe we should wait to hear back from Gessen before following up again with Susan Corke?

The only other person I've reached out to is Andras Simonyi, who I emailed about a week and a half ago. I can leave that be for the time being...

Risa

On Nov 18, 2013, at 6:08 PM, Kellen Moriarty wrote:

All sound like good suggestions.  This is not meant to be snobby, but if we get a panel with high-level people like Corke or Gessen or Ioffe or embassy officials on it, I would not be inclined to put an undergrad student on the panel.  I agree he would have a worthwhile perspective, but that would be for a different kind of event (e.g., the less formal lunchtime discussion approach).

Since we haven't previously talked to HRC or the embassies, I think it is unlikely we would get them to commit to something less than 2 weeks away.  So if we do go that route, I think we are looking at January.

Before reaching out to HRC and the embassies, let's see what we hear from Gessen, Ioffe and Corke this week.  If we can get 1, 2, or all 3 for December, we go ahead with December.  That seems pretty unlikely at this point, so I think we're probably getting more to the stage of gauging their interest in a January event.  Assuming that's how things are going, we should try to get a sense this week or next week of how the three of them feel about January.  If any of them are on board with January, I would want to nail down a date and location before looping in more speakers.  If we can get something solidified with the speakers you're already talking to, then we can try to add on HRC and/or embassies.

That's my thinking on it for now, but I'm happy to consider alternative approaches if anyone disagrees or has suggestions.

On Mon, Nov 18, 2013 at 2:28 PM, Risa Chubinsky <rc1...@georgetown.edu> wrote:

Hi guys,

I heard the ISAF event was a smashing success!! People down here had excellent things to say about it.

I just wanted to give you a heads up on where I am with LGBT panel solicitations. Grace's crew friend got Shiva in the LGBT Resource Center to reply to me. She has suggested having a student who was in Russia when they instituted the propaganda laws speak. I think this would be an interesting view for the panel. She also gave me a contact at the HRC, which I think will be perfect. 

I also reached out to Rob Fojtik to see if he had any suggestions, and he seconded the HRC idea, and also added getting someone from the UK, French, or German embassy to join, since apparently these three have been very outspoken re: LGBT treatment in the region.

Thoughts?

Risa

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Sivagami Subbaraman <ss...@georgetown.edu>
Date: Mon, Nov 18, 2013 at 1:48 PM
Subject: Re: Advice on speakers for an event focused on LGBT issues in Russia/Eurasia
To: Risa Chubinsky <rc1...@georgetown.edu>
Cc: Phillip Bradshaw <pj...@georgetown.edu>, Sivagami Subbaraman <ss...@georgetown.edu>

Hi Risa

Phillip Bradshaw is the student I was referring to --who might be a good addition to the panel you are thinking about doing. He was in Russia when all these events transpired, and as a visiting US student, his perspective would be interesting.

Mark Bromley is also the name I was given; I am quite sure it would be ok to approach him for this in addition to the Law School, I would think?

As for HRC:

Please email Ellen Greer <ellen...@hrc.org>--she is a GU alum; please tell her I sent you, and she may have more information.

I will keep checking for others,

Shiva

Sivagami Subbaraman

Director, LGBTQ Resource Center

325 Leavey Center

Georgetown University

37th & O St NW

Washington DC 20057

Tel: 202.687.3551

http://lgbtq.georgetown.edu

On Nov 17, 2013, at 2:08 PM, Risa Chubinsky <rc1...@georgetown.edu> wrote:

Hi Shiva,

1. It would be great to get in touch with the student who was there when the legislation was passed. If you could forward me his contact information, I would be happy to reach out.

2. I had briefly looked into the HRC, but couldn't find specific contact information for staff. Do you know of anyone who works there, or would you recommend sending a general email? 

I was unaware of IGLHRC, but I just looked them up. As they are based in New York, would you happen to know if they have any DC representatives? Again, I can simply send a general inquiry email if not.

I have already been in touch with members of the Council for Global Equality. Unfortunately, the member who would be the best fit for the event, Michael Guest, is based in California and will not be traveling to DC in the near future. Mark Bromley, the Co-Chair, just spoke at a Georgetown Law School event on international LGBT rights, so we don't want to poach their speaker.

The event had originally been planned for the week of December 2, but it looks like we will postpone until some time in January given our difficulty in securing speakers. We do know that Susan Corke would be able to speak then.

Thank you so much for your advice and help!

All best,

Risa

On Nov 17, 2013, at 1:05 PM, Shiva subbaraman wrote:

Hello Risa

Thanks for looping me in; and I don't remember getting an email from you earlier. I know we met briefly during the National Coming Out Day, and you had mentioned this event to me.

1. There is a student I know--an undergrad--who said he was in Russia recently when a lot of the incidents happened. I can go back to school tomorrow and check and see if I can find him and put him in touch with you.

2. I do not know anyone off the top of my head who does LGBTQ work in this context; but I can make some inquires with folks i know in the city. Have you reached out to HRC?They have a fairly international focus; as does IGLHRC. 

What date and time is this event? I am not seeing that information below. 

Thanks so much

shiva

Sivagami Subbaraman

Director, LGBTQ Resource Center

Georgetown University

325 Leavey Center

Washington DC 20057

http://lgbtq.georgetown.edu

Tel: 202.687.3551

On Nov 16, 2013, at 5:09 PM, Risa Chubinsky <rc1...@georgetown.edu> wrote:

Hi Mark,

Nice to "meet" you, and thank you so much for your suggestion. 

We were hoping to get particular viewpoints on the LGBT state of affairs in Russia and East Europe, so we would ideally have a professor speak who has some knowledge of the issue particular to that region. That said, given how highly publicized the issue has been, I would imagine that a lot of professors, even if they don't specialize in the region, have an opinion on the issue.

We are also looking for anyone - even outside GU - who would have a professional viewpoint or experience to share at the event. For example, we have approached journalist Julia Ioffe, and Susan Corke of Freedom House. Do you know of anyone else in the DC area who might be interested in participating in the panel?

Shiva: I had actually sent you an email a couple of weeks ago and was hoping to follow up with more concrete information about the event. If we can pull together enough panelists, we thought you would be an excellent moderator.

Thanks again, both! I really appreciate your insight and advice.

All best,

Risa

On Nov 16, 2013, at 4:12 PM, Mark Lance wrote:

I know lots of faculty that focus on LGBTQ... issues.  I'm not sure of people locally who are particularly knowledgeable about Russia.  But, I'm cc-ing my friend and colleague Shiva who runs the LGBTQ center at GU and who knows everyone in the area.  I'm betting that she can suggest someone, or indeed, volunteer herself.  But I'll give it more thought as well.  

Are y'all looking specifically for someone to talk about the Russian context?
Mark

On Sat, Nov 16, 2013 at 2:15 PM, Grace My-Hanh Tran <gt...@georgetown.edu> wrote:

Hi Mark,

Great seeing you last night at the EOS party! I'm assuming fun was had by all, judging by the state of things early into the night.

Anyway, I was writing to ask if you had any advice on speakers for an event that my graduate student organization, Professionals in Russian, Eastern European, and Eurasian Affairs, is holding. I've looped in my friend, Risa, who's more in charge of the event. In light of the winter olympics happening in Sochi, we're trying to hold an event on the LGBT issue, and are unfortunately having some trouble finding speakers.

I know that you founded the Department of Justice and Peace at Georgetown, and was wondering if you could recommend any faculty that focused more on LGBT issues. 

Any advice is greatly appreciated!!

All the best,

Grace

--

Grace My-Hanh Tran

 

M.A. Candidate, Center for Eurasian, Russian and East European Studies
Public Relations and Outreach Director, Professionals in Russian, Eastern European, and Eurasian Affairs (PREEA)
Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service
Georgetown University
gt...@georgetown.edu

--
Mark Lance 

Professor of philosophy, professor of justice and peace

Georgetown University

I am a signatory of the 'Online Petition in Support of the Gendered Conference Campaign'; please visit here for details.

--

Kellen Moriarty
President, Professionals in Russian, Eastern European, and Eurasian Affairs (PREEA)

Candidate, Master of Science in Foreign Service, 2014

Georgetown University

Phone: 908-723-5298

Email: kj...@georgetown.edu

--

Kellen Moriarty
President, Professionals in Russian, Eastern European, and Eurasian Affairs (PREEA)

Candidate, Master of Science in Foreign Service, 2014

Georgetown University

Phone: 908-723-5298

Email: kj...@georgetown.edu

--

Gary Bearden

MSFS Class of 2014

Walsh School of Foreign Service

Georgetown University

937-578-8606

--

Grace My-Hanh Tran

 

M.A. Candidate, Center for Eurasian, Russian and East European Studies
Public Relations and Outreach Director, Professionals in Russian, Eastern European, and Eurasian Affairs (PREEA)
Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service
Georgetown University
gt...@georgetown.edu

--

Kellen Moriarty
President, Professionals in Russian, Eastern European, and Eurasian Affairs (PREEA)

Candidate, Master of Science in Foreign Service, 2014

Georgetown University

Phone: 908-723-5298

Email: kj...@georgetown.edu

[Henry Shepherd]

Risa and I have been talking about providing a social space for CERES and MSFSers (who are interested in Eastern Europe) to get better acquainted. Maybe these could be one and the same? In other words, we could put the invitation out to our program networks and see who wants to add to the merriment.

[Kellen Moriarty]

Sounds like a good idea to me.

[Kellen Moriarty]

FYI - I saw Amb. Lagon briefly today and mentioned that we might touch base with him soon about our LGBT event, since he is an expert on human rights issues.  We'll see how it all plays out this week, but if we end up planning for January, it might be worth it for us to meet with him just before or after the Thanksgiving break.

[Risa Chubinsky]

Sounds good to me. 

Hope the event went swimmingly this morning!

[Kellen Moriarty]

Yes, for those who weren't there, this morning's event went well.  We had a lower turnout than hoped for, but Matt and Andrew were still enthusiastic about offering their views in what turned out to be more of a small-group discussion setting.  Thanks to Gary, Jess, Steve, and Henry for helping organize today.