Out & Equal™ Workplace Advocates has a deep and rewarding history.

Selisse Berry, founding executive director of Out & Equal was hired in December 1996 as director of the Building Bridges training program. She quickly recognized the synergy that could be created with other groups advocating LGBT-friendly workplaces, a principle she continues to uphold today. Selisse ran the program and built coalitions as a single-person staff working out of the Pacific Center in Berkeley, California, and by September 1997 she moved into the United Way Bay Area (UWBA) offices in San Francisco.

By 1998, under Berry’s leadership, Building Bridges, AGOG, and Progress joined forces and become collectively known as the Pride Collaborative.  In 1999, the Pride Collaborative merged with COLLEAGUES to form Out & Equal Workplace Advocates, which continued to provide the Out & Equal Workplace Summit, networking events, and the Building Bridges training program.

In January 2004, after years of being supported by the United Way of the Bay Area, Out & Equal Workplace Advocates became an independent 501 [c] 3 organization.

Successful Out & Equal programs such as the Building Bridges LGBT Diversity Training and the Out & Equal Workplace Summit continue to attract the attention of major corporations. Only through their sponsorship could Out & Equal have become the leading advocacy organization it is today. We are grateful to all of our sponsors for their generosity and wide-spread support throughout the years!

Out & Equal is proud to celebrate our history and the many people who have been touched by this important work. Our progress is measurable, our friendships cemented, and our philosophies reflect a mutual desire to treat all colleagues in the workplace as part of one community.

Today, Out & Equal is a nationally recognized nonprofit organization with sixteen dedicated staff members who collectively address the needs of 9,000 constituents and regional affiliates, and produce the annual Out & Equal Workplace Summit.  In 2009 in Orlando, Florida, the successful cornerstone event attracted almost 2,000 participants from around the world. Through our educational programs and trainings, we’ve been able to touch the lives of many thousands more.