For the first time in person entertainment industry professionals and brands in the LGBTQ community can connect at the live Unleashed LGBTQ this September 22-24 in Dallas Texas.
“Our first live, in-person, event is going to create a synergy between talent, the business community and the entertainment industry in a way no LGBTQ+ event has ever done before,” said Founder, Wesley Smoot. “Companies sending representatives to our event will be able to take advantage of all opportunities available, whether it’s for educational purposes, networking or entertainment, LGBTQ+ professionals or others focused on allyship, will reap the benefits of our educational and entertainment-based lineup. We have dedicated an entire area to workshops for attendees to learn new skills from today’s thought leaders and we’re confident companies sending entire departments to Unleashed LGBTQ 2023 will have a more informed, supercharged team that will be lightyears ahead of other brands.”
Each day at Unleashed LGBTQ will begin with educational topics — from workshops and panels discussing business (advertising, marketing, DEI), society (non-profit, advocacy), and personal (financial planning, continuing education) development – and will feature high-tech brand activations and experiential marketing installments throughout the venue, before transitioning to entertainment that will include screenings, drag shows, stand-up comedy, and musical performances. Attendees will be enriched by professional development and networking opportunities through the Unleashed LGBTQ event app (developed by WebEx/Cisco) and at specialized mixers and unique branded activations through the award-winning Freeman event services.
The growing lineup of talent will include:
- Billy Eichner Co-writer and Star of Bros (Universal Pictures), Billy on the Street, The Lion King (Disney), American Horror Story (FX), Difficult People (Hulu)
- Antoni Porowski Emmy-Award Winning Show Queer Eye (Netflix), Host of Easy Bake Battle (Netflix), Author of Antoni in the Kitchen & Antoni: Let’s do Dinner
- Indya Moore Emmy Award-Winning Show POSE, Yves Saint Laurent Cosmetics, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom
- Shangela Emmy Award-Winning Shows We’re Here (HBO), RuPaul’s Drag Race, & RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars (MTV)
- Dyllon Burnside Emmy Award-Winning Show Pose, Emmy Award-Winning Show POSE, Emmy-Award winning PBS docuseries PRIDELAND, Golden Globe nominated limited series MONSTER. GLAAD & HRC award recipient
- Daniel Franzese, Mean Girls (Paramount Pictures), Ru Paul’s Drag Race (MTV), Looking (HBO)
- Kelly Ann Winget, Founder & CEO of Alternative Wealth Partners, Over $1B in private equity raised, Host of The Wealth Alpha podcast, and Author of Pitch the Bitch (April 2023)
- Brian Sims, Former Penn State Rep., LGBTQ+ Advocate & Speaker, Managing Director of Government Affairs & Policy at Out Leadership, Board Member at Campus Pride & GLSEN
- Naomi Green, MBA Speaker, Marketer, Professor, and Transgender Advocate
- Ashley Brundage, President & CEO of Empowering Differences, Author of Empowering Differences, Transgender Advocate, Former DEI Vice President at PNC Bank, Mother
- Dr. Carlton Thomas, Gastro-Intestinal Medical Doctor, Social Media Sensation, Contributor to Men’s Health Magazine, LGBTQ+ Consultant to the White House & the CDC
- Matt Skallerud, Founder & President of Pink Media, Host of #iLoveGayToday, former President of IGLTA, Award-Winning Online Marketer connecting businesses to the LGBTQ+ consumers
- Vicky & Charisse Pasche, Co-Founders of Dapper Boi – body-inclusive and gender-neutral apparel – Marketing, Sales, and Entrepreneurial Experts, Wives and Mothers of Twins
- Stacey Stevenson, CEO of Family Equality, Co-Founder of The Changists (Law Firm Consulting), LGBTQ+ Activist, Speaker, Mother of Two
- Gary Sanchez Sr., Director of Community Impact at Visit Dallas, Former Chairman at North Texas LGBT Chamber of Commerce, Chairman at Chamber Foundation
- Brad Pritchett, Award-Winning Marketing Executive, Chief Experience Officer at DMA (Dallas Museum of Art), Host of The Good, The Brad, & The Ugly podcast
Unleashed LGBTQ is also partnering with the iconic Alamo Drafthouse to host screenings of new LGBTQ+ content from streaming services, movie studios, and television networks. Independent filmmakers can submit works for Unleashed LGBTQ 2023 Film Festival at:
https://www.filmfreeway.com/unleashedlgbtq
Tickets for the event can be found at https://www.unleashedlgbtq.com
