On this episode my guest is Brian Bond, Executive Director of PFLAG, Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays, the first and largest organization for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) people, their parents, families, and allies. With over 400 chapters and 200,000 members and supporters crossing multiple generations of families in major urban centers, small cities, and rural areas across America, Brian leads PFLAG providing support and initiatives to ensure the equality of LGBTQIA persons. Brian is no stranger to being front and center on positions of what some people would identify as controversial, but instead of sidestepping these initiatives he finds himself embracing the opportunities. It’s doubtful Brian had much of a choice considering his mother was a notable leader in the Missouri Democratic party and he himself came out publicly to his parents in high school launching him on a path of leadership that he continues forward with to this day. Brian was the former executive director of the Victory Fund, the executive director of the Democratic National Committee Gay and Lesbian Leadership Fund, the National Constituency Director of Obama For America and the Deputy Director of the White House Office of Public Liaison during the Obama Administration. Anyone in the LGBTQIA community in the United States would be hard pressed not to have benefitted from the life long dedication to equality that Brian has been committed to his entire adult life. https://pflag.org