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Brian Rusch
A former fashion stylist and tech entrepreneur who went on to run foundations for the Dalai Lama and Desmond Tutu, our founder Brian Rusch connects with audiences - whether speaking at the United Nations or to a high school classrooms.
Brian regularly speaks on issues of human rights, peace building, LGBTQIA+ Equality, DEI, inclusionary leadership, and mental health.
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Brian has spoken at some of the most prestigious events in the world, and regularly gets invited to present to companies, universities, and nonprofits.
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Brian is comfortable delivering remarks in his native English, as well as in Spanish and Portuguese.
Prince Manvendra Singh Gohil
Prince Manvendra created shock waves when he declared himself gay in the media, becoming the first openly gay royal in the world. Passionate about LGBT rights, Manvendra talks about the importance of diversity in the corporate world and how to be more tolerant and accepting, linking them to how he battled societal challenges.
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Manvendra is the Chairperson and Co-founder of Lakshya Trust, which is the first organisation in Gujarat to focus on HIV prevention amongst Men having sex with Men (MSM) as well as transgenders. He has since been focusing on establishing a dignified status for homosexuals in the society.
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With formal training on HIV/AIDS issues, Manvendra went on to become the Western India representative of Integrated Network for Sexual Minorities, the largest Indian network of NGOs working on HIV/AIDS for sexual minorities in India.
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He is also the Founder and Chairperson of Ekta Transglobal Foundation registered in USA, aiming at providing a platform for global advocacy on social issues. And an Ambassador Consultant (India) to AIDS Healthcare Foundation, the oldest organisation in USA working on HIV/AIDS.
Simeon Vasilev
Simeon Vasilev is the Chairman and co-founder of GLAS Foundation, a Bulgarian organization that works for a positive change to the lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in Bulgaria.
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Simeon regularly speaks with corporate audiences, governmental agencies, the media and young people about the need for acceptance of LGBTQIA+ people in society. He regularly leads discussions on corporate inclusion of LGBTQIA+ individuals, and has sat on numerous panels throughout the world discussing these important topics.
Shobhna S. Kumar
Shobhna is an Indian female entrepreneur, who started India's first online queer (LGBT) bookstore, Queer-ink.com in 2009. She and her partner invested an amount of Rs 10 lakh in the bookstore. The store showcases a lot of Indian Queer stories, including, You Are Not Alone by Arun Mirchandani and a number of magazines like Bombay Dost and Swikriti Patrika. Before getting into publishing and starting Queer INK, she worked with Humsafar Trust, a Mumbai-based NGO, where she counselled Queer women.
Trained as a community worker, she studied spirituality in San Francisco. She did consultancy work for several NGOs in India, ranging from HIV-AIDS awareness and prevention and brought about changes in the NGO policy.
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Shobhna regularly speaks on LGBTQIA+ empowerment and the need for us to tell LGBTQIA+ stories.
