O4U Appoints Cam Finley and Matt Casler 20th Annual Business Conference Leads

NEW YORK, NEW YORK, USA, May 5, 2023/EINPresswire.com/ -- Out for Undergrad (O4U), the nation’s foremost career, personal and leadership development organization for high-achieving LGBTQ2+ undergraduate talent has appointed Cam Finley and Matt Casler as volunteer Co-Leads of its 20th annual Business Conference (O4UB). The conference is scheduled in Spring 2024 at Goldman Sachs in New York. As Co-Leads, Finley and Casler will identify, appoint and guide the team members responsible for recruitment of 350 undergraduate candidates for admission in addition to securing funding ($1.2 million) for all student scholarships, development of programming and execution of strategic priorities set by the Board of Directors.

O4U Executive Director Dr. Cindi Love said, “We are so excited to welcome Cam and Matt to our leadership team. We look forward to what they will create and catalyze to help high-achieving LGBTQ2+ undergraduates achieve their full potential. Our programs are designed to help students live authentically, successfully navigate the transition from university to work, and support the advancement of their voices and agency in eliminating the socially constructed barriers of race, ethnicity, gender, and more. We value the deep commitment of our InVested Partners (Accenture, Bain & Company, Cargill, Citi Group, The Clorox Company, Genentech, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan Chase, Meta, McKinsey and Company, Morgan Stanley, Neilsen, and Turner) and almost 200 additional sponsors to achieving equity and inclusion. Their financial support ensures that we can underwrite all of the costs of attendance for every student. Sponsors also provide host facilities for our conferences so students experience the real environments in which they will work. And, they send their LGBTQ2+ employees as mentors for our students, meet them in our Career Fair and employ the majority of them in their first internships or jobs out of college."

Cam Finley (he/him) is a Business Analyst at Link Logistics, with a focus of ensuring business efficiency within the Human Resources, Legal, and Marketing/Communications departments. He graduated from Claremont McKenna College with a Bachelor's degree in International Relations. Cam's journey with O4U began in 2019, when he attended the Business conference as a student. Joining the O4UB Director team in summer 2021, Cam has served in various leadership roles, including Sponsorship Director, Admissions Director, and most recently, Admissions Lead.

Cam said: “It is an honor to co-lead the 20th Out for Undergrad Business Conference with Matt, and continue the incredible work O4U has done to empower high-achieving LGBTQ2+ students. Attending O4UB as a student changed the trajectory of both my personal and professional lives, and I am forever grateful for this community and its life-changing abilities. As we embark on this journey, I am confident that our team will reach new heights and create an environment where our future LGBTQ2+ leaders feel motivated, empowered, and loved."

Matt Casler (he/him) is an Associate Consultant at Bain & Company in New York City, specializing in private equity due diligence and technology growth strategy. He graduated from Northwestern University with a degree in Political Science and Social Policy, complemented by a Spanish Language minor.
As a dedicated member of the Out for Undergrad community, Matt has served in various leadership positions over the past two years, including Programming Director and Growth Operations Director.

Matt said: “I am deeply grateful and humbled to serve as Co-Lead for this year's Out for Undergrad Business Conference. Working alongside a passionate team, I am excited to continue empowering our exceptional LGBTQ2+ students and to play a part in shaping the future of business. The organization has given me a sense of purpose, drive, and belonging - it's like a second family to me - and I am eager to give back by advancing our shared vision of creating a more inclusive and equitable business world."

Since 2004, when O4U, a 501(c) organization was founded at Cornell by gay MBA students, there have been more than 9,000 graduates of O4U programs. In 2018, the O4U Board reworked all of its already rigorous outreach programs in order to identify and admit the most diverse student cohorts in its history. Approximately 87% of the 2023 Business Conference student cohort identified as non-white and approximately 20% percent identified as Transgender, Gender Non-Conforming, or Non-Binary.

Love said, "This level of representational diversity among our students entering the workplace matters deeply to them as well as the companies who hire them. 2D diversity — both inherent diversity (race, gender, ethnicity, and sexual orientation) and acquired diversity (learning, experience, and exposure) —unlocks innovation and drives market growth. The research clearly confirms the business case for dramatic increases in diverse hiring and its the right thing to do for humanity as a whole. We are proud to be a part of presenting that scholarship as we enter the celebration of our 20th anniversary. Our strategic partner, Out Leadership and O4U will soon release of Out to Succeed 2.0, the largest research study of LGBTQ2+ employees and undergraduates in the talent pipeline in existence. We are confident that our combined efforts to develop LGBTQ2+ talent will result in more members of our community serving on the Boards of the leading corporations of the world and those Boards will truly change the trajectory of the human condition for minoritized people. Students who attend O4U, young professionals who lead our volunteer teams and advance to OutNext, the emerging talent development program created by Out Leadership, will be some of the best prepared, brightest and committed leaders available to take companies forward into a equitable and profitable future."

Dr. Cindi Love
Out for Undergrad
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