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The National LGBTQ Task Force is heading to Washington, DC to host the 38th annual
Creating Change, the nation’s largest gathering of LGBTQ+ changemakers, organizers, and community from January 21 – 25, 2026.
The five-day event will strategize for the future and reflect on current challenges as the LGBTQ community reels from the first year of the Trump Administration’s aggressive policies targeting specifically the transgender community. Registration is limited and closed on December 22, 2025. To find out more and attend, please visit the official Creating Change website.
Photo Courtesy Fernanda Meier/LGBTQ Task Force
Creating Change will kick off on one of the most important election years to secure LGBTQ rights and fight authoritarianism as the 2026 midterm elections loom in early November.
Kierra Johnson, President of the Task Force, says that this year’s Creating Change comes at a pivotal moment, as programs will continue to showcase the organization’s pulse on the needs of the movement.
“Creating Change’s general sessions highlight major issues affecting our LGBTQ+ communities and bring together diverse and powerful voices that are creating change in their communities and our culture,” Johnson said. “At Creating Change 2026, we will address current challenges head-on, identify the next steps to strategically move forward and celebrate queer culture by bringing much needed joy to the stage.”
The convening will feature over hundreds of workshops, day-long institutes dedicated to specific LGBTQ identities, and plenaries to hear from movement leaders and experts about certain topics. See more about Creating Change’s programming and events here.
Photo Courtesy Fernanda Meier/LGBTQ Task Force
Fernando López, director of Creating Change, echoed Johnson’s statements. “There is a palpable call for courage in D.C. as we build momentum for Creating Change, where we will continue to blueprint our liberation at a time when our very existence is being legislated out of classrooms, clinics, and courtrooms,” they said.
Though the year included political wins within the local and state elections this past November, many are bracing for the second year of the administration’s anti-queer and anti-trans policies. Just eight days before Creating Change, the Supreme Court will hear the oral arguments of Little v. Hecox, the case set to determine whether trans athletes can participate in sports. To date, Trans Legislation’s anti-trans bill tracker has documentary 1,1014 bills considered but only 124 passed.
“Our convening is our rebellion, our refuge, and our rallying cry. From the streets of our neighborhoods to the suites of power, we will gather to share wisdom, to turn outrage into strategy and strategy into action, equipping people from across the nation to build an unstoppable movement.”
Photo Courtesy Fernanda Meier/LGBTQ Task Force
Local ambassadors, including Rayceen Pendarvis, the first native Washingtonian and gender nonconforming person who was elected to DC city council in 2006 is set to appear at Creating Change.
DC’s queer leadership will also be present as Heidi Ellis, part of the city’s LGBTQ+ Budget Coalition, plan to attend as well as Malachi Stewart, a community health specialist for DC Mayor Muriel Bowser’s Office on LGBTQIA+ Affairs.
“The National LGBTQ Task Force can’t fix it alone; Creating Change won’t solve it. But, if there can be a place to name it, a place to be with other people facing that same fate, we can say it out loud, be in community and exhale,” Stewart said. “We have to face it in present time before we face the future. [Creating Change] comes at the right time.”
Photo Courtesy Fernanda Meier/LGBTQ Task Force
Creating Change will pay homage to the hometown cultural influences of D.C.’s culture, including performances by go-go bands and artists provided by the
Go-Go Museum & Cafe. In 2021, a proclamation was signed that made go-go the official genre of the city.
Hallmark figures of the LGBTQ movement will also appear during the Creating Change programs such as trans icon, activist, and actress Dominique Jackson. She will return as one of the hosts for Creating Change’s nighttime events, returning to the role after serving as emcee for the Task Force’s inaugural Gala: Be You Ball in October.
In addition to the skill-building offerings, Creating Change is set to host the annual Agents of Change Ball and Kierra’s Cabaret as night events to complement the work and offer spaces for powerful queer joy as resistance after the work of the day. Those interested in volunteering at Creating Change can sign-up here. Registration for Creating Change will close Monday, December 22.
