BIZ Online NGLCC

The stressful transition from academia to work is easier for many of today's LGBT students than it was for LGBT students at any time in the past. The reason? They don't have to do it all on their own anymore.

OUT for Work (OFW) is the first and only nationwide program that assists in the development of career plans and training opportunities for gay, lesbian, transgender students and their allies as they leave college.

The organization's 4th Annual National LGBTA College Student Career Conference takes place in Washington, DC this week, and it continues OFW's commitment to creating an avenue for LGBT undergraduate and graduate students to their first or next careers.

"I started OFW because I saw a need that wasn't being fulfilled. Guiding LGBT students on their professional paths is our niche, and we will go on fulfilling that niche," says Riley Folds, who established the precursor to OFW in the summer of 2005 when he launched the Diversity Change Agents' LGBTA Leadership and Career Fair.

Folds came out professionally in 2004—a decision he made after being inspired by The Lavender Road to Success by Kirk Snyder, a book that studies the issues facing gay professionals in their careers.

"My first thought after reading this book was how great it would've been if I had this information when I was graduating from college," says Folds.

Soon after coming out, Folds started a diversity consulting company, Diversity Change Agents. He then began designing his own career guidance conference for LGBT students who were preparing to start their professional lives.

After signing IBM up as a sponsor for the first conference, it took Folds a year to find more partners. Ultimately some of the biggest names in the diversity business—National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, HRC, Citigroup and Sodexho—came on board. The conference's popularity grew to the point that it outgrew DCA and became a nonprofit organization. It also got a name change: OUT for Work.

"I think OUT for Work is filling an important niche in the corporate world," says Chance Mitchell, co-founder and CEO of the NGLCC. "This is a perfect way for forward-thinking corporations to find young and talented LGBT professionals, and it's a great way for students as they enter the workforce to find corporations with a commitment to diversity."

This year's conference has 30 partners and 20 universities and community colleges participating from all over the country. The number of students attending will jump to more than 500 in 2008.

Highlights of the conference include skill-building workshops and a PRIDE career fair to help students find internships or jobs with employers. Several well-known speakers have been invited, including plenary session speaker Michael Guest, former U.S. ambassador to Romania, and transgender activist Donna Rose.

Beyond the conference, Folds sees an exciting future for OFW. This spring, he plans to launch OFW's first West Coast program, which will work with students in that region on a year-round basis. And OFW continues to publish the popular HOTlist, which evaluates entry-level hiring practices and LGBT employment rates at the nation's top corporations and produces a rating for each company.

Find out more about the 2008 OFW conference by clicking here.