How are you working with and for the LGBTQ+ community at Wolfe Video?

I am currently Head of Content at Wolfe Video, the long-standing leader in LGBTQ+ film distribution. I am tasked with sourcing the independent film market for high-quality LGBTQ+-themed movies that I can acquire and distribute through innovative theatrical and streaming strategies. During my time at Wolfe Video, I have managed sales and marketing for a catalog of over 100 titles, including Hurricane Bianca, a comedy starring drag icon Bianca Del Rio; Sue Bird: In the Clutch, a documentary about the WNBA legend; and National Anthem, an LGBTQ+ western drama that released on Hulu earlier this month. 

What inspired or motivated you to do this work advocating for the LGBTQ+ community?

I discovered Wolfe Video in my junior year at UD, while I was on my own journey living as an out gay young adult in college. At the time, UD had a limited LGBTQ+ community and a majority of my peers were in Greek Life. When I participated in Winter Session my senior year, I took an LGBTQ+ Film Studies class that opened my mind up to this specific genre of film that deeply resonated with me. I look back at my UD experience as the key to my motivation in finding my purpose in the entertainment industry without having to compromise myself as a LGBTQ+ person. My UD experience and the lifelong friendships that originated on campus inspired me to make a difference within and for the LGBTQ+ community. 

If you could share any message with Blue Hen alumni during Pride Month, what would it be? 

While I found a sense of community at UD as a Blue Hen Ambassador and studying abroad in Granada, Spain, I always felt my identity as a gay man hindered my social opportunities and it was a struggle to find my place. I am thrilled by the progress I can see that UD has made towards LGBTQ+ inclusion. My message for Blue Hen alumni is to support the LGBTQ+ community now because it’s simply the right thing to do in these unprecedented times.

How are you working with and for the LGBTQ+ community at Northern Arizona University?

I teach a course on Global Queer Cinema every year or two, and in my French classes I make sure to represent diverse types of people and families in my curriculum. I'm even developing my own first-year French textbook because I’m dissatisfied with the representation of queer and BIPOC people in current materials. I regularly participate in our Rainbow Convocation, and this year I was on the planning committee. I've been a member of our LGBTQIA Commission ever since it was a lowly task force, and I’ve been donating to the commission’s scholarship fund for over ten years. As a faculty senator, I helped draft a resolution in favor of gender-affirming healthcare for our community. 
 

What inspired or motivated you to do this work advocating for the LGBTQ+ community?

As an undergrad, I saw some great things happening on campus, but there were definitely places where I could see a need for improvement. I decided that, as a professor, I was going to work hard to make the kind of environment I wish I had as an undergraduate. 
 

If you could share any message with Blue Hen alumni during Pride Month, what would it be?

Be true to yourself, and make sure to support your community in any way you can.