Gay Today: World

Victory Foundation Trains
Leadership Applicants

Compiled By GayToday

Washington, D.C. – The Gay and Lesbian Victory Foundation announced Wednesday that the first of its upcoming series of major leadership trainings is scheduled to take place Thursday, Oct. 21, through Sunday, Oct. 24, in Washington, D.C.

The organization's Victory Training Institute is inviting applications and expects participants from throughout the country.

The Victory Foundation works to counter discrimination based on sexual orientation in the public sphere. It sponsors professional educational research and conducts leadership trainings throughout the country to better prepare lesbian and gay Americans to enter civic life and participate fully at the table of public policy.

"We are going to bring together some of our community's most promising future leaders and give them the opportunity to learn the nuts and bolts of the electoral process from some of our nation's most seasoned expert trainers," said Brian K. Bond, executive director of the Gay and Lesbian Victory Foundation.

"To kick off our new series of leadership trainings, we wanted the first one to take place right here in the nation's capital – the heart of so much of our nation's public life."

The sessions are designed to educate local gay and lesbian community leaders about the political process and give them the skills they need to become more active in public life.

To make the series accessible to community leaders across the nation, the organization will hold one training in each region of the U.S. over the next year.

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More than 600 local leaders have been trained by the Victory Foundation in past years, many of whom have gone on to successful careers in public service.

"We are creating an intensive, three-and-a-half day skills-building workshop so our community's best and brightest can learn exactly what they need to know to seek public office," said Tony Esoldo, the Victory Foundation's national training and program director.

"The most outstanding professional trainers and some of our community's current office holders will cover everything from volunteer recruitment and voter registration to field organizing and fund-raising. We will address everything our selected participants need in order to successfully become public officials."

How to Apply to Participate:

People interested in applying to participate in one of the Victory Foundation's leadership trainings can call Tony Esoldo at (202) 628-9151; e-mail him at training@victoryfund.org; write to him at the Gay and Lesbian Victory Foundation at 1012 14th Street, NW, Suite 1000, Washington, DC 20005; or apply through the Victory Foundation's