Windy City Times: Tell me about the planning of this event. I assume it started after the previous summit ended [ in Philadelphia, Penn. in 2007 ] .

Jim Pickett: [ Laughs ] Actually, yeah. A number of Philadelphia people kind of cornered me one morning at the continental breakfast and [ asked ] , "What do you think of Chicago hosting the summit next time?" I said, "That's a really great idea but I can't speak for Chicago," so I came back and worked to pull together a coalition. So we have key partners involved, like the health department [ Chicago Department of Public Health ] , Howard Brown Health Center, AIDS Foundation [ of Chicago ] , Test Positive Aware Network, Center on Halsted, etc. We wanted to make sure that they were on board and were willing to do some of the heavy lifting. Serious organizing for this summit began in earnest in November.

WCT: Let me get a few basics down. How many people have registered? Also, if you could talk about the workshops...

JP: Sure. We're expecting about 300 people. Workshops will [ run ] the gamut of LGBTI health, advocating for transgender inclusion in health insurance to [ issues involving ] medication to sexual racism to bisexual health issues. They'll be things that'll be very academic and things that are more experiental. The summit is designed for anyone who's interested in health.

The first day is specially about bi health...

WCT: Why is the first day specifically about bi health?

JP: There's a growing bisexual-health movement. Also, it's often one of the letters [ from LGBTI ] that gets less attention or is often misunderstood. A lot of people [ attach ] some sort of stigma to bisexuals: "Why are you on the fence?" Being bisexual is being bisexual; it's not necessarily that they're on the fence or playing a role. Bisexuals wanted a day that really focused on their issues. We planned it to be the kickoff to the whole summit. Of course, there'll be bisexual health content throughout the summit.

WCT: I was pleasantly surprised to see the bi summit because there are plenty of people who think you're one or the other. I personally believe that there's a whole spectrum [ of sexuality ] .

JP: Oh, yes. If you look at the Kinsey scale, there are Kinsey 6's ( gay, gay, gay ) and 1's ( het, het, het ) . I think I'm definitely a 6, but the majority of people are somewhere in between, and may be in different places in different times of their lives.

There was a great article called "Why are people afraid of bisexuals?" [ at www.alternet.org/sex/141770/why_are_people_so_afraid_of_bisexuals/ ] . It's written by a bisexual woman, and she says, "That's what I am."

If we're afraid of people and have biases, are we going to deliver competent health care?

If you go to the Web site, there's a link to what's going to be happening, and it's really fierce. We have some national and international leaders, and we also have some fabulous people right here in Chicago, such as Dr. Grady Garner and Dr. Wendy Bostwick, who are major forces in LGBT health. I'm really psyched for the whole summit, but I think Friday [ the day of the bi summit ] is going to be really, really special.

WCT: One thing I like about the Web site is that people can join vairous groups.

JP: We designed the Web site from the very beginning to be interactive, so people could create or join groups, based on their interests. There are also groups dedicated to helping pull the summit off, like, "I want to help with programming" or "I want to volunteer." We wanted people from all over to be involved. They could help shape the summit, and what we hope is that this continues beyond Aug. 18—that people will connect with each other online. People will also be able to see the presentations, with PowerPoint slides, on the site as well. We also want this to be a bridge to the next LGBTI summit, wherever that will be.

A lot of people won't be able to make it this year; people who had travel budgets with organizations don't have them. So, we want to make sure we have something that those people have access to the information and have ways to dialogue.

WCT: Aside from the fact that this is going to be in Chicago, how is this event different from previous summits?

JP: Well, we've had four summits; this will be the biggest city [ hosting one ] . We've learned ways to improve access and make it more interesting and entertaining for people. Hopefully, this summit will show that we've learned a few lessons. We had a broad-based group who helped pull this off, and I don't know if we've had that with every summit.

Also, it's a really significant year. It's been 40 years after the Stonewall rebellion, which kicked off gay pride and the gay-rights movement. Forty is an important number, spiritually; it's a very good year to reflect on where we've been, where we are and where we're going.

I think another critical part [ involves ] the serious debate going on about healthcare reform. It's at the top of the nation's agenda, and LGBTI people have very important roles to play in that discussion. We're loud, creative and fabulous—and we should be playing those roles.

See www.2009lgbtihealth.org to register and to find out about the summit's many workshops. Individuals can also register on site.