The rise of U.S. dating apps has fundamentally altered how members of the LGBTQ+ community find partners and connect to one another. In fact, nearly two-thirds of gay and lesbian couples in the U.S. met online.
How are dating apps creating inclusive spaces for all queer & trans people to find love? What are some new technologies being leveraged to keep us safe?
The event is intended to bring together representatives from leading dating companies open to the LGBTQ+ community to discuss how employees think about reaching and supporting segments of the community as well as factors such as privacy and inclusion
21+. Wine & beer available for sale during the event by Peoplehood
We want to make sure this conversation is representative of the many diverse experiences in our community, and so we are allowing priority registration to our Women, Trans, Gender Expansive, and POC Members
About Peoplehood
Created by the founders of SoulCycle, Peoplehood is a guided group conversation practice that helps people connect and feel more connected in a disconnected world.
In 60-minute sessions called “Gathers,” participants practice active listening, the #1 relationship-building skill. There are two Gather formats: Peoplehood, where people come solo, meet others, process life, and hear themselves think, and Couplehood, where partners spend intentional time together communicating and connecting.
Gathers take place daily in-person at Peoplehood’s flagship NYC location (109 W 17th St) and online at Peoplehood.com. The peer-to-peer structure, facilitated by a “super-connector” Guide, inspires self-awareness, transformative “aha moments,” and high quality human connections.
PANELISTS
Robyn Exton (She/Her)
Robyn is the CEO & Founder of HER the world's largest platform for LGBTQ womxn & queer people. HER builds products and experiences that connect womxn in the way that works best for them. Their app is home to 5million people across 113 countries, with dating and community connections, and their events run in 12 cities, hosting 50,000 people per year.
Marcus Lofthouse (He / Him)
Chief Product Officer of OKCupid
Kel Rakowski (She / Her)
Kel is the CEO and Founder of Lex, the #1 app for finding LGBTQ+ friends & community. Lex gives people the power to explore what's happening in their local queer scene and find friends, events + community, dates, and hookups.
Adam Cohen-Aslatei
Adam is the managing director at Tawkify, the #1 Matchmaking club in America- he is also the founder of S'More, the world's first anti-superficial relationship app that he sold to Tawkify in 2023. Adam is the former Managing Director of Chappy, Bumble’s gay dating app. He also spent almost 5 years at The Meet Group (MeetMe, Skout, Tagged, Hi5, Lovoo, and Growlr), and has consulted for companies including for Spark Network (Zoosk, JDate, Christian Mingle) and Perry Street. Adam is a high growth digital marketing expert, having led marketing teams for both leading publishers and for ad tech companies.
Hailing from Montreal, Adam attended McGill University for undergraduate studies, and earned a Master’s degree from Harvard University. Adam is a media/marketing thought leader and has been featured in TechCrunch, Marie Claire, Elle, Forbes, Fox News, ABC, The Drum, CheddarTV, AdWeek, Daily Mail, The Washingtonian and more.
In 2018 he received the Advertising Club of New York's President Award for his work and dedication to the industry.
Michael Kaye (He / Him)
Michael Kaye is the global director of brand marketing and communications at OkCupid where he oversees communications, influencer marketing and social media. He joined the brand in 2019, and has since been recognized by Business Insider, PR News, PRovoke Media, PRSA-NY, PRWeek, Stevie Awards
Moderator
Andy Kraut
Andy has been an active voice in the world of digital media since his career began in 2007. Over the years, he’s had the opportunity to work at companies like BuzzFeed, Yahoo!, Funny Or Die, and OMD. But for the past 3 and a half years, he’s been at Grindr where he gets to combine his passion for marketing and love of the gay community into the perfect career, growing brand partnerships across the globe. He lives with his husband in Downtown, Brooklyn.
COVID-19 Notice: This event will largely be indoors. We are operating under good faith that attendees are vaccinated & have tested negative for COVID-19 day of the event. If you have tested positive for COVID-19, we ask that you please not attend the event for the sake of all other attendees
