Named “the godfather of gay diversity training” by The New York Times, Brian McNaught is considered one of the world’s leading corporate diversity consultants dealing with lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer issues in the workplace.


Brian has authored thirteen books on LGBT issues, some of which have been used as college texts, and the focus of seven DVDs, three of which were aired on public access television stations throughout the United States.


Since 1974, Brian has drawn on his personal experiences, and his skills as a sexuality educator, to help audiences understand what it’s like to grow up gay, and to deal with the common, daily challenges faced by LGBTQ people at work, at home, in their churches, and in their neighborhoods around the world.


He has addressed hundreds of professional and university audiences throughout North America, Europe, Australia and Asia, including those at Merrill Lynch, Toronto Dominion Bank, Deutsche Bank, Bank of America, Citigroup, JP Morgan Chase, UBS, Chrysler, Ford, Morgan Stanley, Merck, DuPont, Hewlett-Packard, Motorola, S.C. Johnson & Sons, Chubb, SONY, St. Paul Cos., Credit Suisse - First Boston, AT&T, Lehman Brothers, Goldman Sachs, Lucent, Avaya, Agilent Tech., NCR, the National Security Agency (NSA), Brookhaven National Labs, Battelle, and over 200 Colleges/Universities, including Harvard, Vanderbilt, Indiana University, Holy Cross, Penn State, MIT, and UCLA.


The LGBTQ educational resource DVDs that Brian produced and/or is featured in include: Understanding and Managing Gay and Transgender Issues in the Workplace, On Being Gay, Gay Issues in the Workplace, Growing Up Gay and Lesbian, Homophobia in the Workplace, Gay/Straight: Can We Talk? and Anyone Can Be an Ally-Speaking Up for an LGBT-Inclusive Workplace. He is the author of "A Disturbed Peace – Selected Writings of an Irish Catholic Homosexual" (1981), On Being Gay – Thoughts on Family, Faith and Love (1988), Gay Issues in the Workplace (1993), Now That I'm Out, What Do I Do? (1997), Sex Camp (2005), Are You Guys Brothers? (2008) and Brian McNaught’s Guide on LGBTQ Issues in the Workplace (2017) many of which are used as college texts on campuses throughout North America. He wrote a syndicated column in the gay press for 12 years and has contributed to numerous national publications. His work appears in six college textbooks and in several anthologies of gay/lesbian non-fiction literature. He was the co-host with Ron Robin of a radio program, and hosted himself the Provincetown television program, Stonewall Portraits - Profiles in Pride.
During the early 1980's, Brian served as the Mayor of Boston's Liaison to the Gay and Lesbian Community. As such, he conducted a citywide study of constituent needs, initiated and coordinated the city's response to the AIDS epidemic, and trained police, health and other service providers. Brian also served as an advisor to former Surgeon General at Morehouse School of Medicine on his national sexual health initiative.


Brian earned his B.A in Journalism from Marquette University. He is certified by the American Association of Sex Educators, Counselors and Therapists (AASECT) as a sexuality educator. He and his husband Ray Struble live in Ft. Lauderdale, FL.
Between Age 26 and Today Gay Activist in the Catholic Church

• Started the Detroit chapter of Dignity, May 15, 1974


• Attended the historic first conference on Homosexuality and the Catholic Church, held at the Bergamo retreat center outside of Dayton. I met there Frank Kameny, Fr. Paul Shanley, Sr. Jeannine Gramick, Jim Kempner, Fr. John Harvey, Fr. John McNeill. May, 1974


• “Gay/Straight, Love is the Goal” My column in The Michigan Catholic newspaper on June 12, 1974 created an uproar in the Detroit Archdiocese and beyond.


• Agreed to interview in Detroit News on July 8, 1974


• My popular column, Write On, is dropped by The Michigan Catholic, July 11, 1974, because of threatening calls from advertisers and subscribers.


• Media coverage of column being dropped is national. New York Times, Advocate, National Catholic Reporter


• Commence Dick Gregory’s hunger strike, the beginning of August. Twenty-four days without solid food, seventeen on water.


• Secretly attended the Catholic Press Association conference in Chicago. Stood and asked that someone write the truth about homosexuality. Editor of the U.S. Catholic asks me to write the article.


• Bishops Thomas Gumbleton and Joseph Imesch write letter to end my fast. “We have a serious obligation to root out those structures and attitudes that discriminate against the homosexual as a person.” 1974


• Fired by The Michigan Catholic newspaper immediately when fast ended, 1974


• Wrote “The Sad Dilemma of the Gay Catholic” for the U.S. Catholic magazine, August 1975


• Article wins “Best Magazine Article of the Year” from Catholic Press Association.1976


• Successfully represent gay people at U.S. Catholic bishops historic, bicentennial gathering, “A Call to Action.” 1976


• Dignity publishes my book, A Disturbed Peace – Selective Writings of an Irish Catholic Homosexual 1981


• Unexpectedly speak at Boston Gay Pride rally to chastise Charley Shively for burning the Bible during his speech. 1979


• Attend and am honored among other early Christian activists at the first and only “Rolling the Stone Away” gathering in St. Louis, November 1, 2017, sponsored by the National Gay and Lesbian Archive Network.

Political Activist

• Met Ray Struble on May 4, 1976, my first day in Boston. We were roommates.


• Wrote “Dear Anita – Late Night Thoughts of an Irish Catholic Homosexual” the night she won in Dade County. Article gets national play. Anita Bryant has her executive director call me to say she liked the article. October, 1978


• Flown from Boston to Miami to debate Anita Bryant Ministries on TV program To the Point, 1979


• Appointed by Boston Mayor Kevin White to be his Liaison to the Gay and Lesbian Community, the first such full time post in the country. 1982


• Secured appointment of a Police Liaison to Gay and Lesbian Community. 1983


• Created Mayor’s Commission on AIDS, first of its kind, to help coordinate Boston’s response to the epidemic. 1983


• Created The Boston Project, a report to the Mayor in 1984 on the effectiveness of the city in meeting the needs of gay and lesbian community. Report represented months of public hearings.

Dear Anita - Late Night Thoughts of an Irish Catholic Homosexual

Dear Anita - "Late Night Thoughts of an Irish Catholic Homosexual"

was written the night Anita Bryant successfully blocked a non-discrimination ordinance in Dade County, FL. Initially scheduled to be published in The New York Times Sunday Magazine, it was published in Impact, Journal of National Family Sex Education Week, October, 1978. Anita Bryant read the article, and had her executive director call me at home to say she liked it, and wanted to publicly respond. It remains one of the most reprinted and studied gay-themed essays.

The Boston Project Executive Summary
The Boston Project Executive Summary was my report to Mayor Kevin White in January, 1984, on the results of my year long survey, as his official Liaison to the Gay and Lesbian Community, on the effectiveness of the city in meeting the needs of its gay and lesbian citizenry. Public hearings were conducted on the Police, Health and Human Services, Women’s Issues, and a number of other areas of concern.
National Security Agency

Speaking to a packed auditorium of both military and civilian leaders of the National Security Agency, and getting a long standing ovation, has been a highlight of my career. Also in the audience were representatives of the CIA and FBI. The next day, I got an e-mail from one of the NSA leaders that told me I changed his life. He went home, and as asked to do, he spoke to his family about attending a session on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer issues. (I urge people to say the words.) An hour later, his teenage daughter came out to him. He said “Thank you for telling me,” as I encouraged them to do. He and his daughter both hugged and cried in loving affirmation.


These badges were presented to me in recognition of my presentation on LGBT workplace issues to the senior leaders of the National Security Agency.

College Speaker and Sexuality Trainer

• One hour presentation at 200 colleges and universities – Harvard, Indiana University, UCLA, MIT, Oberlin, Dennison, 1975 to 1986


• One week SAR (Sexual Attitude Reassessment) “The Annual Workshop on Sexuality" at Thornfield Conference Center, Cazenovia, NY 1976 to 2006


• First openly gay person to give keynote address to the American Association of Sex Educators, Counselors, and Therapists, San Francisco 1988

Corporate Diversity Trainer and Speaker
Named “Godfather of gay diversity training” by The New York Times. Pioneered eight hour workshops, four hour workshops, two hour presentations, one hour presentations at major Fortune 50 corporations and government agencies in U.S., Canada, England, Singapore, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Australia, and Mumbai, India. Clients included NSA, Bell Labs, Merck, Eli Lilly, Chubb, AT&T, Microsoft, Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch, Lehman, J.P. Morgan Chase, the Federal Reserve, and dozens more. 1986 to present.

CLIENT LIST
AT&T
Agilent Tech.
Avaya
Bank of America
Battelle
Brookhaven National Labs
Citigroup
Chrysler
Chubb
Credit Suisse-First Boston
Deutsche Bank
DuPont
Eli Lily
Ford
Goldman Sachs
Hewlett-Packard
JP Morgan Chase
Lehman Brothers
Lucent
Merrill Lynch
Merck
Microsoft
Morgan Stanley
Motorola
NCR
NSA
S.C. Johnson & Sons
Sony
St. Paul Cos.
Toronto Dominion Bank
UBS
and 200 Colleges/Universities

“Rolling the Stone Away” Conference
The individuals in these personal photos from the “Rolling the Stone Away” conference in St. Louis, Nov. 1, 2017 are all prophets, martyrs, and pioneers in their respective Christian denominations. Unlike myself, who moved from religious activism in the Roman Catholic Church, to City Hall, and then to sexuality education in college and corporate presentations, these heroes stayed within their denominations for four decades to create space in which LGBTQ people feel safe and valued.

My experience underscores that anyone can be an ally, and that building bridges of mutual respect requires putting a face on the issue. I hope you'll find here the support you're looking for in addressing these issues. If not, please don't hesitate to email me.