On May 25th, IPWS is proud to bring you the third annual IPWS Leadership Summit right here in Shanghai. It will be a professional & personal development experience like no other, giving you the chance to hear high-profile speakers, participate in innovative workshops, and meet and network with China’s top female leaders and influencers.
We are very excited to announce Gabby Gabriel, Founder of LesQueers and Creator of Shanghai Love Notes as a speaker for the day.
Gabby Gabriel is a steady force of confidence, positivity and inspiration, some call her “love notes Gabby” and others know her as one of the defining faces of the LGBT movement.
Gabby believes it is only by embracing who you truly are, that you can reach your full potential: and she has built a global community and brand that centers itself on empowering people to be who they truly are.
View Gabby’s full bio below.
We are so pleased to have Gabby Gabriel as one of our speakers at this year’s IPWS Leadership Summit. Don’t miss your chance to learn and be inspired, so make sure to get your ticket – now available here.
Biography
Gabby Gabriel
Founder LesQueers, Creator Shanghai Love Notes
Gabby Gabriel is an American entrepreneur, artist, activist, writer, and humanitarian living between Shanghai and the United States. She moved to Shanghai in 2012 and is known locally as “The Lesbian Godfather.” In 2017, she was included in Time Out Shanghai’s list of Most Inspiring Queer Women.
Gabby also is the creator of Shanghai Love Notes. Shanghai Love Notes combines photography and poetry to tell stories of Shanghai and stories of the heart. Love isn’t always an obvious gesture; it can be displayed in the most mundane tasks.
Through her work, Gabby sends messages of hope and inspiration from everyday inside stories of humanity that we may pass by without a second notice. She often interviews her subjects to better understand their individual stories. Underneath the photograph, Gabby creates a poem that ties together the photo and the concept of the everyday “love note.” Shanghai Love Notes has a combined social media following of over 30,000.
As the founder of LesQueers, Gabby has made it her mission to build a brand that empowers the LGBTQIA+ community, with an emphasis on community building, international networking and representation in corporate culture. Her goal is both visionary and pragmatic: to put queer people not only on the map, but at the forefront of the mainstream.
In 2014, she formed the WeChat group “L” to combat the absence of a distinctive queer women’s scene in Shanghai. The group later became LesQueers (LQ), which defines itself as a community hub and safe space for Shanghai’s LGBTQIA+ Community. LQ currently enjoys a membership of over 4,000 people globally, and LesQueers also founded China’s first official LGBTQIA+ Diversity & Inclusion training.
She is planning to launch the LesQueers app, which will function as a virtual community space where the LGBTQIA+ Community is prioritized and can find each other both in a personal and professional capacity. The app will be open to all, as a way to build points of intersectionality and understanding of the queer community.
Gabby believes that the rainbow is one of the world’s greatest unifying forces, for no matter where it is found, it carries the same meaning: You are welcome here. Her goal is both visionary and pragmatic: to put queer people not only on the map, but at the forefront of the mainstream. Be who you are, is a motto she has lived through five continents and 36 countries.
Some of Gabby’s popular love notes or quotes below:
