Annual Unity Banquet to feature prominent national leader Mara Keisling

Rudd Transgender Scholarship program marks fifth anniversary

March 3, 2010 — Mara Keisling, executive director of the National Center for Transgender Equality, will be the keynote speaker at the Transgender Unity Banquet on Saturday, May 1.  Keisling, one of the leaders in the equal-rights movement not only for transgender people but also for gay, lesbian, and bisexual Americans, will deliver the address at the annual banquet, to be held in the Grand Ballroom of the Sheraton Brookhollow (3000 North Loop West), 6:30 p.m. until 1 a.m.

Keisling is the founding executive director of the National Center for Transgender Equality, the Washington, D.C.-based social justice organization dedicated to advancing the equality of transgender people through advocacy, collaboration and empowerment.

The Unity Banquet is organized by the Houston Transgender Unity Committee, the consortium of area transgender organizations. Proceeds from ticket sales support the Peggy Rudd Transgender Scholarship Fund.  This is the fifth year that the Unity Committee will present the scholarships, established to help trans-identified students pursuing higher education and named in honor of advocate and educator Dr. Peggy Rudd.

During the banquet, representatives from other local transgender groups will make presentations about their community work. These groups include the Diamond Girls; Helping TransGenders Anonymous; Houston Transgender Cover Girls; STAG/Some Transgenders Are Guys; Tau Chi chapter of Tri-Ess, the Society for the Second Self; Texas Association for Transsexual Support; and the Transgender Center/Transgender Foundation of America.

Tickets to the Unity Banquet are $50 in advance ($60 at the door) and can be purchased through the Unity Committee website,www.htuc.org. Tickets are also available at Vanity: A Trans-formation Studio (1446 Yale, 832/767-3252), the Heights boutique.

Unity Banquet sponsorships are available at a range of levels, from $75 to $2,000 to underwrite the Brenda Thomas Education Table, named in honor of Thomas (1943-2006), the activist and educator and longtime Unity Committee executive director. Interested individuals and firms may contact the committee via www.htuc.org.

Sheraton Brookhollow accommodations for event guests are available at a discounted rate of $89/room and $129/suite. Call 888.627.8196 and ask for the Unity Banquet rate.

Media info (please do not publish this phone number/e-dress): Tim Brookover • 281.757.0478 mobile • timbrookover@gmail.com •www.htuc.org