Starbucks Pride Network is a network of employees the coffee company Starbucks that focuses on LGBT issues and has multiple chapters all over the world. ¹

History

Starbucks Pride Network originally began as the Starbucks Pride partner (employee) event in 1996, when Starbucks only had around 1,000 stores. The very small gathering was at a bar in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood, with only approximately 15 LGBT employees attending from the company’s headquarters and stores located nearby. In the year after, this group marched together for the first time in the Seattle Pride Parade and were helping rally partners participate in fundraisers and AIDS walks. Then the group started to have regular social gatherings called “Beers and Queers,” and they began to invite employees from other LBGT groups at other companies such as Microsoft, Boeing, and Amazon. The partner group officially became the Starbucks Pride Alliance Network in 2007 and has grown to include thousands of Starbucks employees across the United States, Canada, and all over the world. ²

Activities

LGBT Starbucks employees who are eligible and choose to build their families through adoption, intrauterine insemination (IUI), or surrogacy can be reimbursed up to $10,000 per child to a lifetime maximum of $30,000 per partner. ³

Starbucks Pride Network is partnered with various organizations such as the National Center for Transgender Equality, ⁴ a left-of-center group that advocates for culture and policies favorable to transgender and other gender-nonconforming people. ⁵

Starbucks Pride Network also partnered with Arizona State University to build a free 15-course learning resource, available to all, designed to discuss issues related to gender and sexual identity called the “To Be Welcoming” curriculum. ⁶ The Starbucks Pride Network also sponsors numerous events like the 38^th annual AIDS Walk Los Angeles that raised more than $92 million since 1985. ⁷

People

Angela Lis is the chief partner officer and executive vice president for Starbucks. She is a leading partner in the (Human) Resources sector and is the executive champion of the Starbucks Pride Network. She joined Starbucks just before the company’s initial public offering in 1992, starting out as a part-time barista in Denver. She left the company for a brief time and rejoined in 1995 as a store manager in the Las Vegas market. In 2005, she moved to Seattle and supported multiple business units at the Starbucks Support Center. In 2016, she became senior vice president, and in 2020 she joined the executive leadership team as chief partner officer and executive vice president. ⁸

1. “Starbucks Pride: A Long Legacy of LGBTQ2+ Inclusion.” Starbucks Canada. Last modified May 21, 2020. https://stories.starbucks.ca/en-ca/stories/2020/starbucks-pride-a-long-legacy-of-lgbtq2-inclusion/.
2. “Starbucks Pride: A Long Legacy of LGBTQ2+ Inclusion.” Starbucks Canada. Last modified May 21, 2020. https://stories.starbucks.ca/en-ca/stories/2020/starbucks-pride-a-long-legacy-of-lgbtq2-inclusion/.
3. “Starbucks Pride: A Long Legacy of LGBTQ2+ Inclusion.” Starbucks Canada. Last modified May 21, 2020. https://stories.starbucks.ca/en-ca/stories/2020/starbucks-pride-a-long-legacy-of-lgbtq2-inclusion/.
4. “Starbucks Celebrates Pride and Embraces All LGBTQIA2+ Identities.” Starbucks Stories. Last modified May 31, 2022. https://stories.starbucks.com/stories/2022/starbucks-celebrates-pride-and-embraces-all-lgbtqia2-identities/.
5.  “About Us.” National Center for Transgender Equality. Last modified January 24, 2022. https://transequality.org/about.
6. “Starbucks Pride: A Long Legacy of LGBTQ2+ Inclusion.” Starbucks Canada. Last modified May 21, 2020. https://stories.starbucks.ca/en-ca/stories/2020/starbucks-pride-a-long-legacy-of-lgbtq2-inclusion/.
7. Mason, Rick. “AIDS Walk Los Angeles Returns In-Person on October 16 in West Hollywood.” AIDS Walk Los Angeles 2022. Last modified September 8, 2022. https://aidswalkla.org/aids-walk-los-angeles-returns-in-person-on-october-16-in-west-hollywood/
8. “Angela Lis Net Worth, Biography, and Insider Trading.” InsiderTrades.com. Accessed December 12, 2022. https://www.insidertrades.com/starbucks-co-stock/angela-lis/.