Dallas will welcome more than 1,200 LGBTQ+ MBA students, professionals, executives, entrepreneurs, recruiters, and business leaders when the 2026 Reaching Out MBA Conference comes to the Hilton Anatole October 1 through 3. Known as ROMBA, the annual conference is one of the largest gatherings of LGBTQ+ MBA talent and business professionals in the world. Its arrival in Dallas puts our city in front of people who are making hiring decisions, building companies, leading major organizations, and deciding where they want to invest their time and talent.
The conference will offer three days of professional development, leadership programming, networking, recruiting, and social events. More than 40 employers are expected to participate, including Accenture, Bain & Company, Boston Consulting Group, Bank of America, Capital One, Hilton, JPMorganChase, McKinsey & Company, Morgan Stanley, Pfizer, The Cigna Group, and Wells Fargo. That is a serious room of people, but ROMBA is not only for someone currently earning an MBA or searching for a corporate job. Dallas-area professionals, entrepreneurs, employers, nonprofit leaders, and people trying to grow their networks are also invited to participate. If you have been looking for a way to meet more LGBTQ+ leaders outside your usual circle, this is one of those events worth putting on your calendar.
This year’s theme is “Bold Roots, Bright Horizons,” which feels right for Dallas. Our city has a long LGBTQ+ history, including generations of people who built businesses, organizations, gathering places, and support systems when doing so involved real personal and professional risk. ROMBA’s theme honors those roots while asking what LGBTQ+ leadership should look like next. That conversation matters at a time when many companies are quietly changing their commitments to LGBTQ+ employees and communities. Visibility inside business cannot be treated as something that only matters when it is easy or fashionable.
ROMBA has already begun building relationships in North Texas through partnerships with the North Texas LGBTQ Chamber of Commerce, Visit Dallas, SMU Cox School of Business, and the Resource Center. Earlier this year, the organization brought LGBTQ+ MBA student leaders from across the country to SMU for its Club Leadership Summit. Those local partnerships give visiting attendees a way to meet the people who are already building businesses, serving our community, and creating change here in North Texas.
The Oak Lawn Gayborhood will also be part of the conference experience. ROMBA plans to bring attendees to the historic Round-Up Saloon for one of its signature evening events. We love seeing a national organization recognize that you cannot tell Dallas’ LGBTQ+ story without bringing people to Cedar Springs. The Round-Up is part of the living history of the Oak Lawn Strip, and a visit there gives conference attendees a chance to experience our neighborhood instead of spending three days inside a convention hotel. We hope they will stay awhile, meet our people, support nearby businesses, and see why this neighborhood remains so important to Dallas.
“The power of ROMBA has always been community,” said Dr. Ryn Skultety, executive director of Reaching Out MBA. That is really the heart of this event. Someone may come looking for a job and leave with a mentor. A local entrepreneur may meet a future client or partner. An employer may find the person who changes the direction of a team. We cannot predict which conversation will matter, but those conversations only happen when people make the decision to show up.
Registration is open, and early-bird pricing is available through August 31. Review the conference details and register for ROMBA 2026. This is a major LGBTQ+ business conference coming directly to Dallas and into our Gayborhood. Let’s welcome them, make some new connections, and remind everyone why Oak Lawn continues to be one of this city’s greatest treasures.