The 2025 ROMBA Conference will take place September 25- 27th at The Hilton New Orleans Riverside, located at Two Poydras St, New Orleans, LA 70130.

We have three ticket categories set at various price points, with price increases following the August 21st and September 14th deadlines. You can find more information about our ticket prices in the table below. Registrants will get a 20% discount when they register for both IRIS and ROMBA conferences. Details in the second table below.

IRIS + ROMBA BUNDLE PRICING:

For anyone who identifies as a woman, trans, NB/GNC, or ally, and plans to attend ROMBA, we encourage you to consider attending IRIS as a prelude to ROMBA.  Learn more about IRIS here.

Registrants will get a 20% discount if they register for both conferences.

This year, the Career Expo will take place on Friday, September 26th, on-site at the ROMBA Conference from 2:15-6:15 PM CT. Companies must be active partners to participate in the Expo. Packages start at $10,000. 

Meals will be available to those with a full conference registration at all major plenary sessions. More details will be shared in the coming weeks. Stay tuned!

Alongside the ROMBA Conference, we are offering the PRIZM Experience, tailored specifically for LGBTQ+* professionals, including MBA alumni, looking to explore the next phase of their careers. Participants enjoy full access to ROMBA’s flagship offerings while connecting with our PRIZM corporate partners and other like-minded professionals. To learn more about the PRIZM Experience, visit the PRIZM page on our website.

Ticket refunds, minus the $50.00 processing fee, will be available by request (at info@reachingoutmba.org) until Friday August 29th, 2025. Please include REFUND REQUEST as the email title.

After that date, any canceled/forfeited fees will be considered a donation to the ongoing work of Reaching Out MBA.

For information on our current health & safety policies, please visit this page.

You can learn more about corporate partnership opportunities on our Become a Partner page.

At Reaching Out MBA, we’ve always embraced the power of allyship—and that commitment remains strong. Allies are always welcome at our events and programs and your presence can help strengthen the impact of our mission. In fact, ROMBA intentionally includes allies in our definition of LGBTQ+. Reaching Out MBA uses the “+” as part of LGBTQ to intentionally embrace all individuals who are working towards building communities of inclusion, respect, and belonging, including allies of the LGBTQ community and those who are not fully represented by the letters LGBTQ.

The recommended ROMBA Conference attire is “business casual authentic” – you are welcome to wear whatever business casual clothing is the most authentic to your identity. Jeans are fine, and suits/blazers certainly aren’t required. Most people tend to dress a bit more formally for the major events, which will be announced soon.

Registration will be available via a direct link to our registration page which will have information on all the different attendee categories, including current MBA students. Leaders of each of the business schools’ affiliate LGBTQ+ clubs will be issued the registration link to assist in spreading the word.

If your school does not have an LGBTQ+ club, you can visit our website to navigate to the registration page.

Applications to the James Robertson LGBTQ+ Student Access Fund will open in mid-June. Thanks to the generous support of individual and corporate donors, the LGBTQ+ James Robertson Student Access Fund enables LGBTQ+ MBA students to attend Reaching Out events, helping them grow as leaders. We invite students to apply for funds when covering the cost of travel would provide a financial burden. We have also created this support letter to help those seeking financial support from their school or employer to attend the Conference. 

We ask that students capable of personally covering travel costs and those that receive funding from their school or LGBTQ+ Club reconsider applying. This allows us to provide funding to more students that otherwise would not be able to participate.

While this conference is designed by LGBTQ+ MBA students for LGBTQ+ MBA students and allies, we welcome LGBTQ+ and allied graduate students in other programs to attend. While programming will be tailored to the business student and professional experience, those of all academic/professional backgrounds are welcome to attend. 

Corporate Partners will post job opportunities and pre-screen resumes for interviews on the Reaching Out Career Portal this summer. Your best chance for interviews is to make sure your information is up to date when companies begin searching.

Visit the Reaching Out Career Portal (GradLeaders) as soon as you register by following the link in your registration confirmation email. The Reaching Out Career Portal is where you can access our job board, upload your current resume, and apply for current jobs. This is also how employers will learn more about you.

NEW THIS YEAR! We have partnered with nSpire AI to integrate a 24/7 AI candidate coaching with resume and interview guidance called Theo directly into GradLeaders. You can use Theo to evaluate your resume for a job match, get real-time feedback while practicing mock interviews, and perfect your elevator pitch and professional storytelling skills. nSpire AI is built-in to GradLeaders, and we encourage you to use it as you recruit for your next opportunity. **nSpire AI is built-in to GradLeaders, so you you will need to register for the conference in order to gain access to both GradLeaders and nSpire.**

No, but we highly recommend you post it as soon as possible if you are seeking a job or internship. Recruiters will be looking at candidates all summer. The later you post a resume, the less likely it is you’ll be able to pre-schedule interviews or coffee chats.

Without posting your resume, employers will not be able to find you to offer pre-scheduled interviews. We highly recommend posting your resume or curriculum vitae as soon as possible.

We have created a table that shows what functions our corporate partners are recruiting for, their preferred experience levels, and whether or not they can sponsor candidates for a U.S. work visa. As new corporate partners join, their information will be added here in real-time, so we encourage you to regularly check this table, especially in the weeks leading up to the ROMBA Conference.

Yes. ROMBA competitions allow students and alumni to showcase their business acumen and compete for cash awards. More information regarding the 2025 competitions will be shared later this summer! You can read here for information on the 2024 competitions.

While this year’s ROMBA Conference overlaps with the 2025 National Black MBA Association Conference, there is an opportunity for you to attend both and make the most out of connecting with the community and recruiters, given the close proximity between Houston and New Orleans! Learn more about how you can attend both conferences here.