Chamber Connection
July 2020
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Dear Chamber,
Summer is heating up and our Chamber team has been busy bringing new programming to our partners, member businesses, and LGBTQ+ job seekers. Although we move forward with our work, we are not blind to the continued instances of violence and injustice targeted at Black individuals, trans individuals, and communities of color. We encourage everyone reading this to learn more about how they can get involved and support Black LGBTQ+ organizations —
here is a helpful list of those doing great work across the country.
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LGBTQ+ VIRTUAL PITCH COMPETITION
Our Virtual Pitch Competition is now open to the public and is still taking submissions! This is your opportunity to practice selling your small business, a new product line, or a market expansion to potential buyers and/or investors. Participants will receive feedback to help them strengthen their brand and identify opportunities for growth as the economy reopens. Small businesses who wish to participate have until August 6 to register for the competition and submit their pitch deck. First prize is a whopping $10,000, with monetary prizes for runners-up as well. Competition finalists will also be awarded six-month fundraising education memberships with
The Capital Network.
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Are you wondering how to pitch or what an ideal pitch deck looks like? Join us on
Thursday, July 23 for a free webinar with pitch expert (and competition judge) Manassah Bradley! The
Perfect Your Pitch: Q&A Session will cover the basics of pitching, including tips on what to feature in your deck and advice to consider throughout the competition.
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LGBTQ+ JOB WEEK RECAP
Our Chamber has pivoted from hosting our annual in-person hiring event to offering our first-ever Massachusetts LGBTQ+ Job Week! Job seekers were given the opportunity to build their skills, develop application materials, and send supplemental video cover letters to recruiters at LGBTQ-affirming companies.
The digital format of this event allowed us to distribute resources throughout the week and launch three webinars centered around job readiness. Each of these webinars can be viewed on
the Chamber's YouTube channel.
RESUME & COVER LETTER WORKSHOP
On Monday, June 22, the Chamber hosted a workshop on resume and cover letter best practices. Attendees learned how to create and streamline their resumes, highlight their strengths in a cover letter, and use those materials with existing online tools to present themselves as the ideal candidate for their next job.
View the webinar here.
IN-PERSON AND REMOTE INTERVIEW TIPS
On Tuesday, June 23, a workshop led by recruiters at
Wolf & Company focused on interviewing tips. The conversation covered the technical aspects of in-person and remote interviewing, as well as tips on how to best prepare for conversations with talent acquisition teams.
View the webinar here.
PRESENTING YOURSELF AUTHENTICALLY AT WORK
On Wednesday, June 24, Tori Kaufmann-Paulman, Director of IT Client Services at Pegasystems, moderated a panel focusing on bringing your whole self to work. Panelists Cairo Mendes, Karen R. Young, Kellie Tiller, and Mason Dunn referenced their lived experience to address how job seekers/employees can prepare to enter a workplace in a way that feels affirming, advocate for themselves in challenging situations, and find support and community in workplace allies.
View the webinar here.
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STILL LOOKING FOR A JOB?
On
Thursday, July 23
TD Bank's Talent Acquisition team will host a virtual career information session to help potential candidates learn more about their LGBTQ-affirming company culture.
A Place to Be You: TD Career Information Session gives attendees a chance to learn about TD Bank, its culture and career opportunities. During the two-hour event, you will network virtually with TD professionals and meet with recruiters to learn more about different business lines and the opportunities that exist within the organization.
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CATCH UP ON MEMBER WEBINARS
Our Chamber’s member-led, skill-building webinars are now online! In May and June, we had the pleasure of learning about brand messaging with
Spencer Brenneman and marketing strategies with
Tomo360. View the full recordings on our YouTube channel:
Douglas Spencer, Spencer Brenneman
Susu Wong, Tomo360
SAVE THE DATE
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MEMBER SPOTLIGHT
BREAKTIME CAFE
New Chamber member
Breaktime Cafe creates living-wage transitional employment opportunities for young adults experiencing homelessness, while also addressing the high rates of food insecurity among Black and Latinx residents of Greater Boston. In the last two months, Breaktime has produced over 20,000 meals for those in need!
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CARLY DAVIS
Carly Davis, Program & Ideation Director, will be leaving our team effective Friday, July 24, to return to her native California and be closer to family.
Carly joined our team a year and a half ago, and it was her talent, commitment, and incredible enthusiasm that helped us grow our Chamber to where we are today. She has held numerous roles in our small team, and has been key to the success of our work. I will personally miss her counsel, her attention to detail, and her amazing quality of work; I will also simply miss her presence on our team. Thank you for everything, Carly — we wish you the best of luck on your new adventure!
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STAY CONNECTED
Proudly,
Grace R. Moreno
Executive Director
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Greater Boston PFLAG
2020 Cornerstone of Equality Award
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The Cornerstone of Equality Award is presented every year by Greater Boston PFLAG at its annual Pride and Passion Gala to a group or individual whose support of the LGBTQ community has stood out as exemplary. This year, Linda Dorcena Forry, former Massachusetts State Representative, and Bill Forry, managing editor of the Dorchester Reporter, were honored for their ongoing commitment to civil rights and the LGBTQ+ community.
Watch the award video here.
“Allies like the Forrys are vital to advancing the work we do," said Sunnie Kaufmann-Paulman, GBPFLAG Executive Director. "While our services are virtual now, when social distancing ends, we will resume our in-person presentations to schools, workplaces and the community, as well as bring our support groups back together. We will also continue the work in this new virtual world to increase access and reduce barriers to continue to provide support, education, and resources for those in our community.”
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