LGBTQ+ Advocate Brandon Wolf Leaves Equality Florida, Joins Human Rights Campaign

Prominent LGBTQ+ activist and gun violence survivor Brandon Wolf is leaving his position at Equality Florida for a new job in Washington, D.C.

Wolf, who has been press secretary for the Florida LGBTQ+ rights organization since 2022, announced his departure in a letter to colleagues Tuesday. In his farewell, he explained that while his work at the organization ends Tuesday, he will continue his advocacy at a national level as he takes on a new position.

“It is with both excitement and sadness that I am sharing the news: today, my time on staff at Equality Florida comes to a close, and I head to our nation’s capital to serve as National Press Secretary for the Human Rights Campaign,” Wolf wrote.

The opportunity is a powerful testament to Equality Florida’s critical work, the insight the organization has gained from fighting Gov. Ron DeSantis’s censorship agenda, and Florida’s role as a national warning symbol, he said. “I am honored to have been on this incredible team, who pour their hearts into the fight for a better future every day.”

He added, “I can’t wait to continue partnering closely with them – and all of you – as we continue the battle for full equality.”

Wolf, 34, noted that the country is “at a pivotal moment in history” when the entire concept of freedom is up in the air.

He said that he hopes to help Americans ask themselves hard truths in his new role.

“[Does freedom] mean the freedom to read, or will it mean empty bookshelves?” he asked. “Will it mean the freedom to learn or a whitewashed history and propagandized curriculum? Will it mean the freedom to make decisions about our own bodies or government control over our most intimate choices? Will it mean the freedom to love or a society held hostage by puritanical demands for conformity?”

He thanked Equality Florida for taking “a leap of faith” with him, bringing him on to the staff four years ago.

Wolf has been an advocate for LGBTQ+ rights and gun control. He survived the deadly Pulse nightclub shooting in 2016. Wolf has also spoken about growing up as a biracial queer kid in an all-white and straight environment in his memoir A Place for Us. In the book, he discusses the aftermath of the shooting that saw his best friends murdered.

“Same fight – new frontier. Let’s make good trouble,” Wolf wrote on X, formerly Twitter, after news of his new job broke.