LGBTQIA+ Breakfast Reception at the 2022 INFORMS Annual Meeting

By Priyank Arora and Pritha Dutta
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Our project focused on organizing the inaugural LGBTQIA+ Breakfast Reception at the 2022 INFORMS Annual Meeting in Indianapolis. Findings from previous DEI Ambassador projects, namely “LGBTQIA+ Community Building within INFORMS” and “INFORMS DEI Dialogue Session: LGBTQ+ DEI Issues'' prompted the need for enhanced visibility of the LGBTQIA+ community and allies within INFORMS and lead to the inception of our project.
The main objectives of this reception were:

1. to celebrate and support LGBTQIA+ members,
2. provide a safe space for LGBTQIA+ members and allies to meet, network and seek solidarity, and
3. to create a more interconnected professional community.

Here’s a brief overview of the reception: The breakfast reception took place on Monday, October 17 from 7-8am at the INFORMS Annual Meeting (in Indianapolis, IN). The event, which was attended by approximately 50 folks, began with Priyank (co-organizer) addressing the attendees and emphasizing that the gathering is intended to be as much a place for hope and joy as it is a place for underscoring presence and visibility of LGBTQIA+ members within INFORMS. This was followed by a speaker session, in which INFORMS leadership addressed the attendees. Laura Albert, INFORMS President-Elect and Elena Gerstmann, INFORMS Executive Director talked about the significance of this inaugural reception and offered support for such and additional events in future. As Laura mentioned, “It is my hope that everyone in this room feels welcome to the table (literally and figuratively) not only at this reception but at every time at the conference and in all INFORMS communities. Our collective future will be brighter if we can all fully be our authentic selves.” Elena shared that she is a member of the LGBTQIA+ community, and conveyed that she was both personally and professionally overjoyed by members hosting this reception. She also underscored her and her team’s commitment toward fostering a diverse, equitable, and inclusive INFORMS community.


Enhanced visibility and a safe space for LGBTQIA+ members and allies to meet could beconsidered the two most visible and immediate positive outcomes of the reception. The excitement in the room was palpable, with active conversations and smiles all around. In self-initiated email conversations with one of the organizers, a few attendees referred to the reception as a “momentous success” as it gave them an enhanced sense of belonging in the INFORMS community. Also, networking opportunities at the reception led to informal lunch meetings and get-togethers among some of the LGBTQIA+ community members right at this year’s annual meeting itself. While we were able to witness these tangible and short-term positive outcomes of the event, we believe that the intangible and long-term positive outcomes of the reception are beyond measure.

First, having this opportunity to bring their whole self to the conference and be celebrated for it is an invaluable act of encouragement and respect for the LGBTQIA+ community members. Second, the warmth and grace shown by the LGBTQIA+ members and allies at the reception is bound to reach those who may still be questioning whether they wish to come out to their professional community. While coming out must be navigated in the way most comfortable for the individual, this inaugural reception signals to those individuals—as conveyed in confidence by a few to the organizer(s) after the reception—that there’s a welcoming space waiting for them in the future. Third, the reception not only helped showcase the pride in the community (as it was attended by INFORMS scholars who are working on complex research problems to save costs, save lives and save the planet) but also would propel (much needed) research at the interface of OR/MS and LGBTQIA+ community. Finally, the level of enthusiasm and creativity in the room suggests that this inaugural reception was successful at setting the ball rolling to have such and other useful programs that will make INFORMS a more connected and inclusive professional community. In what follows, we discuss a few actionable items that were suggested by the attendees.

Since DEI dialogues are better facilitated and implemented in a bottom-up approach, we considered it important to directly hear from LGBTQIA+ members and allies. As can be seen in the word cloud in the figure to the right, based on the written inputs provided by the attendees, the three most prominent action items are: mentorship, (informal) networking, and forum. There is a strong demand and need for mentorship among the members (especially, to find senior LGBTQIA+ members as mentors). The members also indicate strong desire to continue with such networking and socialization opportunities, especially in informal settings (such as over drinks or meals). Further, several members support the idea of starting a new INFORMS forum that focuses on LGBTQIA+ members. This would be particularly beneficial in organizing focused tutorials, panels, mentorship programs, and other networking events.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: We are grateful to Chris Tang and Elena Gerstmann for their encouragement and help with our 2022 DEI Ambassador Program application. We would like to thank the 2022 DEI Ambassador Program Committee for selecting and funding our project. Further, the event would not have been possible without the guidance and support from Kyle Jordan, Director of Meeting at INFORMS. Kyle was instrumental in planning and execution of several logistical details of the breakfast reception. Finally, we would like to convey our heartfelt gratitude to all the LGBTQIA+ members who made the reception a huge success by their presence and visibility.