Dear NABITA community,
Given the current environment surrounding issues of inclusion and belonging, the NABITA team would like to provide an update to our statement last year regarding our events located in the state of Florida. As we stated in 2022, we remain a mission-based association that holds deeply our values of equity on the basis of sex, gender, inclusion, safety, and belongingness for all. NABITA is currently contracted through November 2025 in Florida and Tennessee. We will continue our work with local organizations, including our ongoing partnership with the onePULSE Foundation in Orlando, serving the communities in which we host our events, in support of our shared values and their grassroots efforts to combat hateful and discriminatory legislation. We also understand that many area residents and businesses do not support such targeted legislation and we applaud them. We will work to provide opportunity and space for our presence to disrupt inequitable state law via visibility, solidarity, and protest, beyond our content focus on human dignity and autonomy.
Upon expiration of those contracts, we intend to relocate to destinations that better align with our core tenets. It is not an easy feat in a time of reproductive rights restrictions, the STOP Woke Act, or the rising tide of anti-DEI rhetoric, our priority is to find cities where all of our members feel included, welcomed, and accepted. Should changing political winds impact our locations in the future, we are committed to continuing our partnerships with those working on the ground to ensure our voices are heard. If resources are needed before or during our events, our team is at the ready to assist our attendees in finding information.
Makenzie Schiemann, M.S., Ph.D., NABITA President
Jen Taylor, M.S., NABITA Executive Director
W. Scott Lewis, J.D., NABITA Advisory Board Chair
Tim Cason, M.Ed., NABITA Vice President
Michelle Issadore, M.Ed., TNG Chief Operating Officer