| Dear PFLAG Supporter, Welcome back everyone! It may seem far away now, but the time for annual meetings, elections, leadership transitions and more is just around the corner. Now is a good time to start talking as a board about when to have your meeting, what to share with wider membership, what positions are up for election, and what support your board needs for succession planning. Luckily, we’ve got some resources below that can help, and more to come in the next edition as well! In this edition of Leadership Learnings you’ll find: - Chapter Award Nominations Still Open!
- Early Bird Extended Rates ENDING
- Advocacy Corner: The 2025 Legislative Season
- US v. Skrmetti Town Hall TONIGHT!
- Rural Think Tank Alert
- Resilience Round up: Pride season fun!
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| Nominate a PFLAG Chapter for a PFLAG National Chapter Award |
| Hundreds of PFLAG chapters across the country—run primarily by thousands of passionate volunteers like YOU—have been working overtime within their communities over the last two years. Now, you can honor that work by nominating them for a 2025 PFLAG National Chapter Award. Presented at our biennial convention, Learning With Love, PFLAG National Chapter Awards honor chapters that are going above and beyond to help achieve PFLAG’s mission of creating a caring, just, and affirming world for LGBTQ+ people and those who love them. All chapters in good standing are eligible for this award, and the deadline for submissions is Friday, August 8th, so we encourage you to submit your nomination now, at pflagnation.al/2025ChapterNoms. As a heads up, at least one chapter leader from each winning chapter will need to be present at the convention. Honorees will be announced on Tuesday, September 9th. |
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| | Early Bird Extended Rates End TODAY for Learning With Love |
| You’ve got until 5pm ET TODAY, Tuesday July 15th— to get the best rates to register for Learning With Love: The 2025 PFLAG National Convention. We’ll have plenaries, special guest speakers, and six different workshop tracks covering Communications; Diversity, Equity & Inclusion; Resilience; Trans and Nonbinary Inclusion; and Underserved Populations; along with a Chapter Skills track, just for PFLAG chapter leaders. This year we’ll also host Compassion in Action: The PFLAG Chapter Leadership Institute, our first-ever half-day institute just for PFLAG chapter leaders. You’ve only got TODAY to register at our early-bird rates—this is our one and only extension. Wondering about the details? We’ve got you covered. Hotel information and a link to book your room will be provided in your registration confirmation! Don’t wait—take advantage of this deal TODAY at: pflag.org/2025convention. Have questions? Reach out to us at convention@pflag.org! |
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| | | The 2025 legislative session was an extremely busy one. Over 600 anti-LGBTQ+ bills were introduced, including about 200 anti-LGBTQ+ bills in Texas alone. But our PFLAGers were undaunted and fought back for their LGBTQ+ loved ones. In Maine, our Portland Chapter took a leading role in defeating all the anti-trans bills that were introduced this year, including several anti-trans athlete bans that looked like they might pass. The chapter met with a key lawmaker to share their stories, they attended committee hearings to testify against the bills, and also submitted their stories to the committee in writing. Thanks in part to their efforts, trans kids can still play sports in Maine. We know that many other chapters have taken part in similar advocacy activities, and we want to uplift that amazing work. Send us advocacy activities you’ve done this legislative session and beyond to advocacy@pflag.org! |
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| | | I was thrilled to spend so much time with PFLAGers this past Pride season. I started out in Nebraska, where I joined PFLAG Hastings for Hastings Pride! It was a lovely day holding space for queer community and queer resistance. From there, I was able to share a meal with PFLAG Omaha and hear about their busy time doing advocacy work during legislative session! Next, I took my first trip to Missouri, meeting with several chapters. I started joining PFLAG Springfield/SWMO for dinner, as well as the fabulous Springfield Pride! It was great seeing all of their coalition building hard at work. I then drove through the beautiful Ozarks to Poplar Bluff, joining a fantastic potluck hosted by PFLAG Poplar Bluff. Their community was so vibrant and the potluck was one of their biggest social events yet. |
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| Finally, I visited PFLAG Greater St. Louis for a fantastic breakfast and chapter meeting. It was great to brainstorm, scheme, and put faces to names with folks I’ve been working with the last few years. I ended my Pride month in my own home state of Wisconsin, in the beautiful Driftless Region. There I was invited by PFLAG Mt. Horeb to celebrate their 10th anniversary at their annual Pride Walk event. I couldn’t have asked for a better end to the Pride season - an evening with perfect weather, joyful dancing, and a celebration of the incredible community they’ve built in the last decade. Needless to say, PFLAGers had me busy! If you’d like me to support an event, work with your chapter on strategic planning/brainstorming, or attend a chapter meeting, reach out to me! I love to visit when I can. |
| Stay safe,  Ruadhan Ward (They / Them) |
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|  | Ruadhan Ward | Chapter Engagement Coordinator
Pronouns: They, Them, Theirs
Hear my name
Midwest Region: IA, IL, IN, KS, MI, MN, MO, ND, NE, OH, SD, WI
PFLAG National | P: (202) 683-4032 | pflag.org | straightforequality.org |
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