Brandon Wolf
LGBTQ Civil Rights advocate and nationally-recognized gun safety activist Brandon Wolf is a dynamic public speaker with a powerful personal story of community, love, and resilience in the face of adversity.
On June 12th, 2016, life changed for Brandon. He crouched in a bathroom while a gunman opened fire at Orlando’s Pulse Nightclub, killing his best friends, Drew Leinonen & Juan Guerrero, and 47 others. Rather than be swallowed by the anger and fear of tragedy, Brandon set out to honor the victims’ legacies with action. In the immediate aftermath of the shooting, Brandon co-founded The Dru Project, a nonprofit organization that works to empower youth and provide future leaders in the LGBTQ community funding for higher education. To date, the organization has given over $100,000 in college scholarships to rising leaders. He also became an outspoken activist in the gun violence prevention movement, partnering with March For Our Lives, Everytown, Giffords, and others to demand legislative solutions to the epidemic. In 2019, he became the first survivor of the tragedy at Pulse Nightclub to testify before Congress.
A powerful public speaker, Brandon now serves as the National Press Secretary for the Human Rights Campaign (HRC). He previously served as Press Secretary for Equality Florida, the state’s LGBTQ civil rights organization. Wolf is a frequent guest on MSNBC (The Reid Out & American Voices), CNN, and in print publications (CNN.com, USA Today, Newsweek, Teen Vogue, Washington Post, The Advocate, Out Magazine) weaving his story into calls to action. He has been recognized by HuffPost as one of “30 modern-day LGBTQ pioneers” and Business Equality Magazine as one of 40 LGBTQ Leaders Under 40. Brandon’s debut book, A Place For Us, is an unforgettable memoir of getting through the darkest times with healing, hope, and resistance. “With our backs against the wall,” he writes, “we find a way out together.”
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Advocating from the Intersections
As the country comes to terms with the task of creating an inclusive democracy, Brandon’s insight into the power of advocating authentically is invaluable. This online presentation explore the need for intersectionality in movement building; the limitless power of sharing our authentic stories and the links between the multiple crises facing our nation.
There has never been a more urgent time to bring new voices to the table. These new, unlikely perspectives in the fight for change will illuminate the path to getting us there.
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Self Care: How I Learned What It Means To Survive
Audre Lorde said, “caring for myself is not self indulgence, it’s self-preservation”. Following the shooting at Pulse Nightclub, Brandon quickly learned the power – and necessity – of self care.
This presentation explores the real life application of self care; the challenges of caring for one’s self in a world that prioritizes productivity; and the incalculable need for community when healing. The truth is, you don’t have to save the world to earn your place in it. This talk will empower the audience to demand the ultimate form of resistance: self care.
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More Than Surviving.
In this talk, Brandon takes the audience on a journey from growing up as a queer, Black man in America to finding chosen family and belonging thousands of miles from home to narrowly escaping the tragic shooting at Pulse Nightclub. The group will explore how to do more than simply survive adversity by turning pain into purpose and acknowledging that with our backs against the wall, we only find the way out together.
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Unlock the Potential of Authenticity and Belonging.
This conversation, designed for businesses, organizations, and equity initiatives, explores the untapped individual and team potential when we create spaces that foster authenticity. When we are able to bring our whole selves to our work without fear of shame or discrimination, the possibilities are endless.
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Backlash 2023.
After decades of progress on LGBTQ equality, the nation is reeling from intense backlash against the community. This talk breaks down current legislative and social efforts to unwind progress on LGBTQ issues, identifies the key players, and explores what it will take to move the country forward once more.
See Brandon Wolf in action.
Brandon Wolf is a nationally recognized LGBTQ civil rights advocate, leader in the movement to end gun violence in America, and survivor of the 2016 shooting at Pulse Nightclub.
Brandon Wolf is a nationally recognized LGBTQ civil rights advocate, leader in the movement to end gun violence in America, and survivor of the 2016 shooting at Pulse Nightclub. After narrowly escaping that night, during what was the deadliest mass shooting in US history at the time, Brandon channeled his life into fighting for a safer world for future generations and honoring victims of injustice with action.
He is a frequent face on MSNBC and CNN, and an opinion contributor in Oprah Daily, CNN digital, Newsweek, USA Today, and others. Brandon has graced the cover of Dazed Magazine and LGBTQ publications nationwide, having been named one of the Logo TV’s 30 LGBTQ Changemakers, Huffington Post’s 30 LGBTQ Influencers under 30 and Business Equality Magazine’s 40 LGBTQ Leaders Under 40.
Brandon’s work has made him a respected thought leader on the political intersections of LGBTQ civil rights, racial justice, and gun violence. He was a national surrogate for Senator Elizabeth Warren’s Presidential Campaign and an advisory committee member for President Biden’s General Election bid. In 2019, he became the first survivor of the Pulse tragedy to testify before Congress and was returned in 2022 to testify on the rise of anti-LGBTQ hate violence before the House Oversight Committee. Brandon is a co-founder and current Vice President of The Dru Project, a nonprofit organization that empowers safe spaces in schools for LGBTQ youth, and recently served as the Press Secretary for Equality Florida, the state’s LGBTQ civil rights organization. He is currently National Press Secretary for the Human Rights Campaign (HRC).
His debut book, “A Place for Us”, was released to great acclaim and became an instant best seller in July 2023.
Our speakers get attention.
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HRC’s Brandon Wolf reflects on Trump’s victory, path ahead for LGBTQ movementHuman Rights Campaign National Press Secretary Brandon Wolf and Washington Blade White House reporter Christopher Kane spoke with Rated LGBT Radio on Thursday, following Donald Trump’s victory over Vice President…
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I Survived the Pulse Nightclub Shooting. How I’m Honoring My Late Friend’s Memory 8 Years Later (Exclusive)"I replay the moments that led up to us being at Pulse almost every day," recalls survivor and activist Brandon Wolf
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In This Group Chat, Pop Culture Meets PoliticsA meme-sharing group of progressive, young politicos is charting new ways to fuse politics with pop culture. They’ve celebrated Elton John’s Gershwin Prize at the Kennedy Center; p
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Activist and Pulse survivor Brandon Wolf talks with Chasten Buttigieg about his new memoirBrandon Wolf, press secretary for Equality Florida and a survivor of the 2016 Pulse nightclub shooting, discussed his new memoir during an event with Chasten Buttigieg on Wednesday at the…
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7 Years After the Pulse Nightclub Shooting, Florida Must Reject HateGrowing up in rural Oregon, I often dreamt of a world where I could be all of myself. A world where I didn’t feel the nagging societal pressure to be…
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The Weekly: Pulse survivor Brandon Wolf discusses recent mass shootings, gun reformIn the wake of the recent mass shootings in Buffalo, Uvalde and Tulsa, there’s a renewed debate surrounding gun control in America. Pulse nightclub survivor Brandon Wolf joined anchor Justin…
