Summit Addresses Economic Factors and Policy Agendas Affecting LGBT

The Greater Seattle Business Association hosted the Western Business Alliance’s first-ever LGBT Economic Summit on Thursday, March 16 at the Renaissance Seattle Hotel. The summit addressed economic factors and policy agendas that affect LGBT- and minority-owned businesses in the 40 cities represented from Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, Utah, Hawaii, and British Columbia.

Summit highlights included “Leveraging the Power of LGBT Businesses,” a panel discussion featuring successful and diverse LGBT-owned businesses such as Nyhus Communications, Marination, Tutta Bella, Starline Luxury Coaches, and Apt Marketing Solutions; a conversation about promoting diverse supply chains with representatives from Seattle University, the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, SoCal Gas, Facebook, and the State of California; Seattle Mayor Ed Murray, King County Councilmember Joe McDermott, and Santa Clara Supervisor Ken Yeager discussing Left Coast politics in the post-election era; a panel discussion about  the power of collaboration between ethnic and minority chambers of commerce; and the impact that recent executive orders on travel is already having on the tourism industry in the US and Canada.

Established in 1981, the Greater Seattle Business Association (GSBA) is the world’s largest LGBT and allied chamber of commerce. GSBA represents over 1,200 small business, corporate, and nonprofit members who share GSBA’s values of promoting equality and diversity in the workplace. GSBA proudly serves as a connector across the region, bringing the community together through business while advocating for civil rights and small business, promoting LGBT tourism with its Travel Gay Seattle initiative, and investing in the next generation of leaders through the GSBA Scholarship Fund. For more information, visit www.theGSBA.org.

The Western Business Alliance, formed in 1992, is a coalition of LGBT and allied chambers of commerce located on the west coast of the United States and Canada. WBA chambers are committed to expanding economic opportunities for the LGBT and allied community by promoting equality through business. Through cooperation and sharing best practices, our chambers are integral to the economic health of our region and proudly connect the more than 3000 businesses we represent located throughout the West Coast.

• Desert Business Alliance (Palm Springs, CA)
• Golden Gate Business Association (San Francisco, CA)
• Greater Seattle Business Association (Seattle, WA)
• Inland Northwest Business Alliance (Spokane, WA)
• Lambda Business Association (Las Vegas, NV)
• Long Beach Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (Long Beach, CA)
• Los Angeles Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (Los Angeles, CA)
• LOUD Business of Vancouver BC (Vancouver, BC)
• Portland Area Business Association (Portland, OR)
• Rainbow Chamber of Commerce of Silicon Valley (Sunnyvale, CA)
• Sacramento Rainbow Chamber (Sacramento, CA)