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Meet New Jersey's Trailblazing 28-Year-Old Organizer

Christian Fuscarino

Since he was a teenager, Christian Fuscarino has used his voice to advocate for LGBTQ people in the Garden State and beyond. 

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Christian Fuscarino may only be 28 years old, but the gay activist has a list of accomplishments of someone with twice his years -- including becoming one of The Advocate's Champions of Pride.

A New Jersey native, Fuscarino has dedicated his life to fighting for LGBTQ equality in the Garden State and beyond. As a teenager, he advocated for other queer youth through his work at the Pride Connections Center of New Jersey, and the mute PSA he produced in 2008 for GLSEN's Day of Silence garnered him a student Emmy.

In 2008, he founded The Pride Network in order to further empower young LGBTQ leaders. His activism has been recognized by New Jersey Sens. Robert Menendez and Frank Lautenberg, and Gov. Jon Corzine, as well as The Observer, which included him in its Power List 100 in 2016.

Fuscarino is currently the executive director of Garden State Equality. As head of New Jersey's largest LGBTQ education and advocacy group, Fuscarino has led the charge on legislation that added LGBTQ-inclusive curriculum to public schools and instituted the country's first statewide Interagency Transgender Equality Task Force. According to Fuscarino, GSE's work on advocating for LGBTQ inclusivity within schools, healthcare facilities, and senior communities can be "a model for the nation to build equality from the ground-up."

"At Garden State Equality, we're building an institution that is thriving in a post-marriage equality nation with community programs and services that lift up LGBTQ people beyond the letter of the law," said Fuscarino.

Fuscarino currently resides in Asbury Park with his husband, Aaron, an active-duty U.S. Marine. The pair married in a traditional military wedding in 2018.

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Daniel Reynolds

Daniel Reynolds is the editor of social media for The Advocate. A native of New Jersey, he writes about entertainment, health, and politics.
Daniel Reynolds is the editor of social media for The Advocate. A native of New Jersey, he writes about entertainment, health, and politics.