It’s been a banner week.
I curated and hosted a panel of creative LGBT entrepreneurs at SVA. It’s called Designtrepreneurs, and this was the third in the series (and the first in New York) after two successful events in San Francisco. With almost 100 in attendance, moderated by the incomparable Debbie Millman, and featuring panelists Ben Watson, Executive Creative Director at Herman Miller; Mary Taylor, founder of Salt & Olive; Thomas Page McBee, author of Man Alive; and Ryan Fitzgibbon, Founder & Publisher of hello mr., I was thrilled that they participated, and that so many connections were shared across their individual experiences. Common themes were: living with vulnerability and courage, aligning head with heart, and having faith in your own life.
Two days later, the news of Tim Cook coming out as the first out CEO of a Fortune 500 company — let alone the most valuable company in the world — made me cheer at my 7am Twitter feed. I immediately texted Jonathan Lovitz, spokesperson for StartOut, and other leaders from that org, that we were +1, to a total of 3 out CEOs. Because Tim’s doing it, that sunlit path got a lot sunnier for others to follow suit.
And if all that weren’t enough, I launched an updated landing page for my new biz, and got a fantastic new apartment in the newly minted Potrission (Potrero + Mission) hood.