AIChE LGBTQ+ & Allies Student Ice Cream Social

On Saturday, October 27th at the  2018 AIChE Annual Student Conference in Pittsburgh, the AIChE Foundation hosted the inaugural AIChE LGBTQ+ & Allies Ice Cream Social for students. The social was attended by over 100 AIChE students representing universities and student chapters across the globe.

Students were thrilled to make their own sweet treats and share personal experiences about identifying as LGBTQ+ and or how to serve as an ally. Eric S. Reiner, a lecturer at the University of California, Berkeley’s Haas School of Business and retired managing director at UBS AG (the Swiss bank), seeded the fundraising campaign for AIChE’s LGBTQ+ & Allies initiative with a leadership gift of $50,000.

Eric eloquently kicked off the ice cream social with a few remarks about his experience as openly gay man working in the financial sector, and how the accepting and inclusive workspace in that field helped to enable his success. He inspired and empowered students to think outside the box and to always be their true and authentic selves.

AIChE’s LGBTQ+ & Allies initiative is one priority of the AIChE Foundation’s Doing a World of Good campaign aimed at advancing the inclusiveness of the chemical engineering profession. The AIChE Foundation is deeply grateful to Eric for his tremendous support and thanks all the students who attended the event.