W Hotels Launches Powerful Speaker Series to Celebrate Pride

With a goal to empower the LGBTQ community this Pride, W Hotels Worldwide is launching a new speaker series, QUEER ME OUT, featuring passionate panel discussions at W Washington D.C. (June 9), W Fort Lauderdale (June 29) and W Montreal (August 17). This initiative will support Cyndi Lauper's True Colors Fund and bring together influential members of the LGBTQ community.

In addition to W Hotels' speaker series, each event will also showcase a photo exhibition with photographer Danielle Levitt, who's revered for her documentation of American youth culture. The imagery, originally captured in NYC on May 25, stars eight LGBTQ tastemakers, including model Avie Acosta, rapper Cakes Da Killa and photographer Yuki James.

"I'm honored to be part of W's QUEER ME OUT initiative--a project that tells the story of contemporary queerness and offers a sense of belonging," Levitt said. "My goal is for the photos to be empowering, move audiences, and offer a fresh way to celebrate Pride."

QUEER ME OUT launches this Friday, June 9 in D.C. with a discussion, titled "Queer 'n Social." Mickey Boardman, editorial director for Paper Magazine, will moderate a conversation between queer panelists, including Abiezer Benitez, Thomas Jackson Gayletter editors and Levi Jackman Foster. The group's discussion will focus on how social media has fostered greater conversations about gender, while connecting the international LGBTQ community.

Keep clicking to see Danielle Levitt's full QUEER ME OUT photo series.