The company’s support for LGBT partners and customers goes back even further. The affinity group has been around for about 15 years and in 2007 it became an official partner network. Hesseltine is one of about 400 members of Starbucks Partner Pride Alliance Network. The group goes on to become the Starbucks Pride Partner Network and grows to include thousands of partners in the United States, Canada, and around the world. LGBTQ partners meet informally at Seattle area bars, which eventually becomes Starbucks LGBTQ partner affinity group.
