Advocating for the LGBT community
All too frequently overlooked and underrepresented, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) aging issues nevertheless provide enormous opportunities for change.
For his dedication to making strides in this area, Brian Gilad Wilson, a graduate student at the USC Davis School of Gerontology, who also is pursuing a Certificate in Gender Studies at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, was honored with a scholarship from the USC Lambda LGBT Alumni Association.
Making history as its first male recipient, Wilson was honored with the Amy Ross Scholarship in Lesbian Health Studies, named for one of the founding members of USC Lambda.
“I am thrilled that my scholarship in LGBT health issues went to Brian. He is a shining example of leadership, scholarship and vision in our community,” said Amy Ross, a biologist at the California Institute of Technology. “His work on LGBT issues in Israel and his commitment to bettering the lives of LGBT seniors through his studies at the USC Davis School of Gerontology are an inspiration to us all.”
Wilson served as the first director of development for Israel’s largest LGBT civil rights organization, The Aguda in Tel Aviv, as well as the West Coast manager for the Human Rights Campaign. He also has extensive professional experience in multiple HIV/AIDS-related nonprofits.
“It is a great honor to receive this scholarship. My ultimate goal is to continue to serve as a relentless advocate on behalf of the disenfranchised and often despised LGBT minority in their twilight years when they are all the more vulnerable,” Wilson said. “I strive to find opportunities to make right too many wrongs and to become a positive and transformative leader in the LGBT community and perhaps beyond.
