Northeast Ohio’s third annual Game Change Conference will be held in the Kent Student Center on Thursday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Pulitzer prize-winning columnist Connie Schultz, a professor in residence in Kent State’s journalism and mass communication department, will be the keynote speaker.

Sponsored by the Summit County Public Health, the conference first took place in 2014 alongside the Gay Games in Cleveland Akron.

Local service agencies and field experts will collaborate at the conference as a means to promote professional development and understanding of current LGBT issues present in society.

The conference’s agenda includes topics centering on civic action and leadership, healthcare and legal issues in the LGBT community. Sessions such as inclusive sex education and service learning, the use of inclusive curricula in schools for LGBT students and their families, normalizing sexual and gender identities among adolescents, and the role activism played in the history of ‘gay pride,’ will take place throughout the day.

For more information on sessions and guest speakers, visit the conference’s website.

Dana Miller is the diversity editor, contact her at [email protected].