IGNYTE 2026
Family Reunion: Our People, Our Power
IGNYTE 2026 marks a powerful new chapter as the first IGNYTE convening hosted by The Rustin Institute for Leadership Development. Rooted in the belief that movements are strongest when generations lead together, this year’s theme– Family Reunion: Our People, Our Power– celebrates LGBTQ+ community as chosen family and leadership as a shared responsibility.
Like any family reunion, IGNYTE 2026 brings together elders, youth, mentors, organizers, creatives, and advocates across lived experience and generations. It is a space to reconnect, to learn from one another, and to strengthen the relationships that sustain movements over time. By centering intergenerational dialogue and collective care, IGNYTE affirms that our greatest power lies in one another.
Our Keynote Speakers
Bishop Yvette Flunder
American womanist, pastor, activist, and singer
Yvette Flunder is a nationally recognized pastor, speaker, and activist whose ministry has shaped conversations around faith, justice, HIV/AIDS advocacy, and radical inclusion for more than four decades. A womanist and liberation theologian, she is the founder of City of Refuge United Church of Christ and Presiding Bishop of the Fellowship of Affirming Ministries, a global network of churches committed to affirming LGBTQ+ people and marginalized communities.
Known for her powerful storytelling, prophetic leadership, and deep pastoral care, Bishop Flunder has been a leading voice at the intersection of spirituality and social justice, including serving on the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS and speaking at the White House for World AIDS Day. Her work has also helped reshape conversations around inclusion within Black church traditions and faith communities across the globe. She is also the author of the acclaimed book Where the Edge Gathers: Building a Community of Radical Inclusion. Through her ministry, music, and advocacy, Bishop Flunder continues to challenge communities to build a more compassionate, courageous, and inclusive future.
Raquel Willis is an award-winning activist, writer, and cultural strategist whose work explores storytelling as a tool for justice, accountability, and collective liberation. She is the author of The Risk It Takes to Bloom: On Life and Liberation and a nationally recognized voice on gender, media, culture, and social change.
Willis has held leadership roles across journalism, philanthropy, and advocacy, including serving as the first openly transgender executive editor at Out and later as Director of Communications at the Ms. Foundation for Women. Her writing and commentary have appeared in publications including Vogue, Essence, and BuzzFeed, helping shape national conversations around identity, liberation, and cultural power.
A longtime organizer and advocate, Willis is the co-founder and Strategic Director of the Gender Liberation Movement. Her work has been recognized by TIME, GLAAD, and Forbes, among many others. Born and raised in Augusta, Willis continues to challenge audiences to imagine more honest, expansive, and liberated futures.
Award-winning activist, writer, and cultural strategist
Raquel Willis
Expanding Horizons:
Decolonizing Queerness
Homophobia and Transphobia are legacies of Colonialism. Come to IGNYTE as we explore precolonial genders and sexualities around the world.
At the beginning of Pride Month 2024, Vince Tripi founded Expanding Horizons, a social-purpose business that offers traveling exhibits, talks, and curricula designed to celebrate diversity and foster pride in LGBTQ+ heritage. Vince is a passionate advocate for the LGBTQ+ community, dedicated to preserving its history and promoting a sense of belonging.
A double-alum of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Vince holds a master’s degree in administrative leadership and a bachelor’s degree in middle and high school education. In 2011 he received the Distinguished Service Award from the UWM LGBT Resource Center for campus and system-level diversity leadership.
Vince knows the power of volunteerism: he’s an Eagle Scout, provides HIV counseling at a free clinic, and trains adult leaders of non-profit youth programs. He’s spoken at universities across the country (and at Google’s New York HQ) on queerness in the media and how LGBTQ+ people can cultivate career success.
As Director of Education & Outreach for Milwaukee Pride, the organization that puts on PrideFest, Vince programs and organizes engaging participatory community education presentations and events on LGBTQ+ history, culture, and advocacy; and develops the vision, strategy, and operations for public history exhibits. In 2023, the Wisconsin LGBT Chamber of Commerce named Vince Advocate of the Year.
Before Vince founded Expanding Horizons, he was a corporate learning & development manager specializing in complex software systems. Vince was named among the Top 25 Emerging Training Leaders by Training magazine in 2021.
After presenting and attending IGNYTE 2025 in Atlanta and meeting members of the Institute’s Bayard Rustin Society, Vince and his partner, Marco Briceno, became founding members of our Milwaukee chapter.
About Vince TRipi
Big thank you to our sponsors
