WAYNE
BESEN
Wayne Besen is an author, activist, columnist and public speaker.
He is the author of a book nominated this year for two Lambda Literary Awards, "Anything But Straight:
Unmasking the Scandals and Lies Behind the Ex-Gay Myth".
Besen made international news when he photographed "ex-gay" poster boy John Paulk cruising in a gay bar in
Washington, D.C.
Besen is a former spokesperson for the Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest gay and lesbian
advocacy group. He has appeared as a guest on leading news and political talk shows including: the NBC
Nightly News, The Roseanne Show, CNN's Talk Back Live and The Point, Fox's O'Reilly Factor and Hannity
and Colmes, Hard Copy, MSNBC News and PAX's Faith Under Fire.
Prior to working at HRC, Besen worked in corporate communications for Edelman Public Relations Worldwide
and as a press secretary for democratic Maine State Senator Sean Faircloth's bid for the U.S. Senate.
In 1992 Besen co-founded Sons & Daughters of America (SDA), a gay and lesbian public awareness
campaign based in Fort Lauderdale.
Besen graduated from the University of Florida with a B.S. in broadcast journalism in 1993. He is a native of
Fort Lauderdale, but has also lived in Houston, Washington DC, New York and graduated from Kaiser High
School in Honolulu. His hobbies include playing and watching basketball, traveling, reading and writing.
