This panel will create dialogue on how San Antonio is finding new ways to increase civic participation within LGBTQ communities.

As more LGBTQ+ people choose to live in San Antonio, local government leaders will find themselves facing increasingly complex issues. Demands for senior housing, tensions around fairness and equality, and addressing the complexities of intersectionality between these communities, are just some of policy making goals our city needs to talk about. Engaging the LGBTQ+ community in the city-making process leads to better solutions and civic engagement.

Although civic engagement and movement building lessons can come in many forms, this panel will share recent best practices and lessons learned in community engagement to advance decades of goals outlined by LGBTQ+ communities.

Panelists:

DeAnne Cuellar, Communications Coordinator, Equality Texas

Andrea Figueroa, Executive Director, Martinez Street Women’s Center

Maria Salazar, Attorney, Maria Salazar Law Offices

Juany Torres, LGBTQ Liaison, City of San Antonio – Mayor’s Office

Moderated by Robert Salcido, Statewide Field Coordinator, Equality Texas