Gay and lesbian business students from all over the country will converge at the Business School Saturday, March 27, for the first- ever gay and lesbian business conference. Titled "From the Closet to the Boardroom," the conference will examine issues facing gay men and lesbians in the workplace today and will serve to strengthen ties between gay and lesbian professionals in all sectors of business.

The conference has been organized in a joint effort between the gay and lesbian student groups at Harvard Business School and Yale School of Management. In addition, another 11 of America's top business schools have joined as co-sponsors of this event. These schools include Wharton, Stanford, Kellogg, Sloan, Tuck, Anderson, Marshall, Kelley, Haas, Chicago, and Columbia.

Conference co-chair James Robertson, a second-year M.B.A. student at Yale, observes, "Though sometimes supportive, business schools can be isolating places for gay and lesbian students. The conference will create a rare opportunity for students to meet a critical mass of their peers and build the foundation of a powerful social and professional network."

A number of gay and lesbian and other professional groups have also agreed to participate: the Gay & Lesbian Professional Career Network, the Greater Boston Business Council, MBAQ, and the New York Bankers Group. The Mitchell Madison Group has provided early corporate support.

"Increasingly, corporate America is recognizing that if it is to recruit the best employees, it must reach out to gay men and lesbians. It is a central goal of the gay and lesbian business conference to become an annual showcase of the richness and depth of the gay and lesbian professional community," remarks Jason Stone, conference co-chair and an M.B.A. candidate at the Business School.

Julie Palen, the founder of InterNoded Inc. and one of the 1998 OUT 100, will be the morning keynote speaker. During the day, the conference will offer two panel sessions organized by students at Wharton and Columbia that will address workplace issues and the Internet marketplace, respectively. Bob Powers, a San Francisco- based diversity consultant, will lead a conference workshop in the early afternoon on "workplace influence tactics" for gay men and lesbians. The conference will close with the afternoon keynote speech by Walter Schubert, founder of the Gay Financial Network and the first openly gay member of the New York Stock Exchange.

Space is limited. Registration is $15 for students and $25 for the general public. Registration forms are available on the Conference Website: http://sa.hbs.edu/glsa/ busconf99.htm.