QUEER SPAWN OF MOTHER MIAMI:
Why the world needs more of them
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How an education in the heartland ??? rooted in tradition, community, family, faith, and, yes, even conservative values ??? became an invaluable asset for an '86 MU graduate.

Working as a journalist and activist, James Lopata has taken a front-row seat to LGBT victories in Massachusetts, New York, Washington, and elsewhere.

His first-hand experiences with some of the most important LGBT rights battles of our time has convinced him that queer folks of all stripes ??? sex, gender, sexuality, race, class, and so on ??? from places like Miami University must raise our voices even more.

Lopata returns to his alma mater not merely to regale students with his experiences on how Miami prepared him for the queer battles he has encountered, but also to listen to the concerns and visions of a new generation. What's on your minds? What's next?

Queer spawn of Mother Miami, where do we go from here?

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When: February 28, 4 p.m.

Where: Upham Hall, room 163, Miami University, Oxford, OH

What: Talk and discussion

Sponsored: by the Miami University Office of Diversity Affairs GLBTQ Services

For further information: contact James Lopata at james@jalopata.com or Demere Woolway at www.miamioh.edu/glbtq

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James Lopata biography:

James Lopata currently serves as Editor in Chief of Boston Spirit, New England's premier LGBT magazine, where he also blogs for New England's largest news portal at Boston.com/lgbt. Whether at Citibank, Harvard, the Parliament of the World's Religions, on National Public Radio (NPR), www.boston.com, Huffington Post or in the New York Times, national award-winning writer and commentator James Lopata has engaged the hearts and minds of tens of thousands with the realities of the LGBT experience.

Highlights from his wide-ranging experiences in LGBT life include the following:

??? He confronted Iranian clerics about their views on homosexuality and lived to write about it.

??? He faced pro- and anti-gay marriage activists to create his award-winning coverage of America's first same-sex marriages in Massachusetts.

??? He investigated the first publicly traded company targeting the LGBT market, winning an excellence in news journalism award for his coverage.

??? He helped found one of the first 'homosexual' groups at Miami University of Ohio a few years before GOP Vice Presidential candidate Paul Ryan went to school there.

??? He spearheaded gay corporate affinity group actions as a vice president at Bear Stearns and Citibank on Wall Street and at internet startup company Razorfish.

??? He championed New England's first regular LGBT Spanish-language column.

??? He served as editor in chief of LGBT weekly periodicals In Newsweekly and The New England Blade.

??? He co-anchors the annual Boston Pride parade on New England television.

James Lopata holds degrees from Miami University and Harvard University.