{"id":2813,"date":"2026-08-11T16:55:09","date_gmt":"2026-08-11T20:55:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aig.uvaalumni.org\/qva\/?p=2813"},"modified":"2026-08-11T16:55:09","modified_gmt":"2026-08-11T20:55:09","slug":"secure-your-spot-on-our-waitlist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aig.uvaalumni.org\/qva\/secure-your-spot-on-our-waitlist\/","title":{"rendered":"Secure your spot on our waitlist!"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>QVA\u2014the University of Virginia&#8217;s Queer Alumni Network\u2014is excited to celebrate our 27th annual <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eventbrite.com\/e\/qvas-27th-annual-gala-weekend-tickets-1992024389573?aff=oddtdtcreator\">Gala Weekend<\/a> in Charlottesville from Friday, August 28 &#8211; Sunday, August 30, 2026.<\/p>\n<p>Last year we were joined by over 100 alumni, students, faculty, and staff, and we are excited to once again commit to LGBTQ+ progress at UVA and celebrate the people who are making it happen amidst a challenging external environment.<\/p>\n<p>Due to high demand, tickets for this year&#8217;s Gala Weekend have sold out! <strong>However, we will be keeping a waitlist should spots become available.<\/strong> Please email <strong>Brendan Maupin Wynn (<abbr title=\"College of Arts &amp; Sciences\">Col<\/abbr> <span class=\"visually-hidden\">class of <\/span>\u201914)<\/strong> at <a href=\"mailto:brendan@queervirginia.org\">brendan@queervirginia.org<\/a> or <strong>Anant Das (<abbr title=\"McIntire School of Commerce\">Com<\/abbr> <span class=\"visually-hidden\">class of <\/span>\u201919)<\/strong> at <a href=\"mailto:anant@queervirginia.org\">anant@queervirginia.org<\/a> with any questions about joining the waitlist.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><a class=\"btn btn-orange\" href=\"https:\/\/www.eventbrite.com\/e\/qvas-27th-annual-gala-weekend-tickets-1992024389573?aff=oddtdtcreator\">Join the Waitlist!<\/a><\/p>\n<p>For more information about the weekend, including guidance on attire, accommodations, and transportation, please visit our <a href=\"https:\/\/aig.uvaalumni.org\/qva\/news-events\/gala-weekend\/event-details\/\">Event Details<\/a> page.<\/p>\n<p>We have an exciting schedule of events planned for the weekend and we can&#8217;t wait to see you there!<\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"color: #232d4b\">Schedule at a Glance<\/span><\/h2>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #e57200\">Friday, August 28<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><strong>QVA Welcome Reception:<\/strong> 7-9 p.m., <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ihg.com\/kimptonhotels\/hotels\/us\/en\/forum-hotel-charlottesville-va\/chodd\/hoteldetail\/directions?fromRedirect=true&amp;qSrt=sBR&amp;glat=SEAR&amp;qDest=Charlottesville,%20VA,%20United%20States&amp;qErm=false&amp;qLoSe=false&amp;setPMCookies=true&amp;utm_medium=cpc&amp;dp=true&amp;utm_campaign=Kimpton%20Brand%7CBrand%7CText%7CUnassigned%7CCharlottesville%7CExact%7CNone&amp;gbraid=0AAAAAD-YlyPjOYzRA8PPh4CVGdLoJ_58A&amp;utm_source=google&amp;showApp=false&amp;utm_term=kimpton%20charlottesville&amp;gclid=CjwKCAjw6MPRBhBTEiwAd-7MrzEj9ZJEM_RdPQcOo5L__do8w8LE24HOvyEAxGvPUiyRdk8uqxAcXxoCNZcQAvD_BwE&amp;srb_u=1&amp;qRad=30&amp;qRdU=mi\">Kimpton The Forum Hotel<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #e57200\">Saturday, August 29<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><strong>UVA Football Game, Home Opener:<\/strong> 3:30 p.m., <em><a href=\"https:\/\/virginiasports.com\/scott-stadium\">Scott Stadium<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Guests can purchase game tickets in QVA&#8217;s ticket block. Tickets to the home opener are not included in weekend registration.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Awards Gala Cocktail Reception and Dinner,<\/strong> <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ihg.com\/kimptonhotels\/hotels\/us\/en\/forum-hotel-charlottesville-va\/chodd\/hoteldetail\/directions?fromRedirect=true&amp;qSrt=sBR&amp;glat=SEAR&amp;qDest=Charlottesville,%20VA,%20United%20States&amp;qErm=false&amp;qLoSe=false&amp;setPMCookies=true&amp;utm_medium=cpc&amp;dp=true&amp;utm_campaign=Kimpton%20Brand%7CBrand%7CText%7CUnassigned%7CCharlottesville%7CExact%7CNone&amp;gbraid=0AAAAAD-YlyPjOYzRA8PPh4CVGdLoJ_58A&amp;utm_source=google&amp;showApp=false&amp;utm_term=kimpton%20charlottesville&amp;gclid=CjwKCAjw6MPRBhBTEiwAd-7MrzEj9ZJEM_RdPQcOo5L__do8w8LE24HOvyEAxGvPUiyRdk8uqxAcXxoCNZcQAvD_BwE&amp;srb_u=1&amp;qRad=30&amp;qRdU=mi\">Kimpton The Forum Hotel<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Reception: 6:30-8:00 p.m<\/li>\n<li>Dinner: 8:00-10:30 p.m.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #e57200\">Sunday, August 30<\/span><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Bernard Mayes Luncheon &amp; Panel Discussion:<\/strong> 11 a.m. &#8211; 1 p.m., <em><a href=\"https:\/\/colonnadeclubuva.com\/about\/\">Colonnade Club<\/a>, The Lawn<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span style=\"color: #232d4b\">Award Recipients<\/span><\/h2>\n<p>This year, QVA is recognizing faculty and staff who have held the line at UVA during a time when programs to support inclusion and belonging have faced significant challenges. Our award recipients have developed innovative strategies to support the LGBTQ+ community while meeting the legal complexities of this moment in UVA\u2019s history.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Outstanding Service Award:<\/strong> Rachel Spraker, UVA\u2019s Assistant Vice President for Community Wellbeing &amp; Equal Opportunity, has championed numerous initiatives alongside Kevin McDonald, including multiple sustained efforts to allow students to use the name of their choice across systems at the University.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Shamim Sisson Ally of the Year Award:<\/strong> Rebecca Gilbert, a retired nurse manager at UVA Health, went above and beyond to improve transgender healthcare outcomes and patient experiences, including developing and providing training to staff across UVA on how to provide compassionate, equitable care to LGBTQ+ patients.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Bernard Mayes Award:<\/strong> Bizz Glover, Co-Chair of UVA Health\u2019s LGBTQ &amp; Transgender Advisory Committee, has made countless contributions to queer people at the UVA Health System and across grounds on the LGBTQ Committee. One nominator called Bizz \u201ca true UVA person who happens to be at UVA Health, but she is always thinking about the broader community.\u201d Bizz is an indefatigable advocate, including championing UVA\u2019s continuous score of 100 on the Health Equality Index.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>If you would like to nominate anyone for a future QVA Award, please reach out to <strong>Brendan Maupin Wynn (<abbr title=\"College of Arts &amp; Sciences\">Col<\/abbr> <span class=\"visually-hidden\">class of <\/span>\u201914)<\/strong> at <a href=\"mailto:brendan@queervirginia.org\">brendan@queervirginia.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>We look forward to seeing you there!<br \/>\n<strong>Lance Guthrie (<abbr title=\"McIntire School of Commerce\">Com<\/abbr> <span class=\"visually-hidden\">class of <\/span>\u201914)<\/strong><br \/>\nQVA Board Chair<br \/>\n<a href=\"mailto:lance@queervirginia.org\">lance@queervirginia.org<\/a><\/p>\n<hr class=\"dots orange\" \/>\n<p><em>If you have friends who are queer alumni and are not receiving our emails, please forward them this email so that they can <a href=\"https:\/\/uvaalumni.org\/aig\/communication-opt-in\/\">join our listserv<\/a> to receive communications, event invitations, and more!<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>QVA\u2014the University of Virginia&#8217;s Queer Alumni Network\u2014is excited to celebrate our 27th annual Gala Weekend in Charlottesville from Friday, August 28 &#8211; Sunday, August 30, 2026. Last year we were joined by over 100 alumni, students, faculty, and staff, and we are excited to once again commit to LGBTQ+ progress at UVA and celebrate the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":107,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2813","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-events"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Secure your spot on our waitlist! - QVA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/aig.uvaalumni.org\/qva\/secure-your-spot-on-our-waitlist\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Kiki McLaughlin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/aig.uvaalumni.org\\\/qva\\\/secure-your-spot-on-our-waitlist\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/aig.uvaalumni.org\\\/qva\\\/secure-your-spot-on-our-waitlist\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Kiki McLaughlin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/aig.uvaalumni.org\\\/qva\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/56e4d4887754d111218b120270d4033e\"},\"headline\":\"Secure your spot on our waitlist!\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-11T20:55:09+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/aig.uvaalumni.org\\\/qva\\\/secure-your-spot-on-our-waitlist\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":542,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/aig.uvaalumni.org\\\/qva\\\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"Events\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/aig.uvaalumni.org\\\/qva\\\/secure-your-spot-on-our-waitlist\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/aig.uvaalumni.org\\\/qva\\\/secure-your-spot-on-our-waitlist\\\/\",\"name\":\"Secure your spot on our waitlist! 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