Brian Rusch, an Icon of Change in Barcelona

Icons of Change International Awards 2025

Brian Rusch
Board Member & DEI Strategist, Rotary International
Founder, Out For Equality
Strategic Advisor to Nobel Laureates

Sustainable Development Goal 16 – Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions
Changemaker for Global Peace, Equality, and Youth Empowerment (Barcelona)

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Few changemakers in the modern era have bridged the worlds of humanitarian leadership, global advocacy, and storytelling with the consistency and impact of Brian Rusch. Over decades of work spanning nonprofit, corporate, governmental, and media sectors, Brian has harnessed his expertise to advance human rights, equality, and peace worldwide, transforming strategic insight into tangible, life-changing outcomes.

In 2022, building upon decades of humanitarian engagement, Brian founded Out For Equality, a U.S.-based nonprofit that empowers grassroots DEI organizations around the world. Through strategic guidance, funding facilitation, mentorship, and capacity-building programs, the organization has helped dozens of local initiatives in Africa, Asia, and Latin America expand their reach, implement human rights campaigns, and influence policy reform. By connecting local activists with international resources and media strategies, Brian has strengthened networks that directly impact thousands of lives.

Brian’s influence extends to the highest echelons of global peacebuilding. He has led foundations for Nobel Peace Laureates including Archbishop Desmond Tutu and His Holiness the Dalai Lama, and continues to advise Kailash Satyarthi on strategic initiatives to end child labor and exploitative practices worldwide. As a board member of Leymah Gbowee’s U.S.-based organization, he supports campaigns that empower women and children in post-conflict regions, amplifying voices often excluded from decision-making processes.

A founding member of Rotary International’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Task Force, Brian helped design and implement the global DEI strategy across 1.4 million members, ensuring representation in leadership, developing inclusive community programs, and strengthening institutional transparency. He also serves on Rotary’s Enhancing Participant Engagement Committee, advising Trustees and the Board on embedding DEI principles into long-term strategic planning. Through these initiatives, Brian has directly influenced Rotary chapters in over 60 countries, encouraging programs that support minority leadership, refugee inclusion, and intercultural dialogue.

Brian is equally committed to youth empowerment and education. He has developed pioneering programs that equip young people with the tools to engage in ethical leadership, conflict resolution, and peacebuilding. One initiative, piloted in collaboration with Rotary and international youth NGOs, brought together students from post-conflict communities to participate in peacebuilding simulations, mentorship sessions with human rights activists, and storytelling workshops designed to cultivate empathy and global awareness. Hundreds of participants have since become advocates for change in their local communities, applying skills learned in dialogue facilitation, advocacy campaigns, and civic engagement.

Before dedicating himself fully to nonprofit and humanitarian work, Brian built a remarkable career in entertainment media. Beginning as a celebrity fashion stylist in Hollywood and as celebrity fashion editor for Vanidad magazine, he later founded three multimedia companies, authored four books, produced two audio CDs, and directed or produced over 70 films, including the award-winning documentary Aloha Life. His pioneering platform, FashionTeen.com, became one of the earliest intersections of fashion, celebrity culture, and digital media, studied at MIT as a groundbreaking example of digital pop culture innovation.

Brian’s exceptional ability to translate storytelling into advocacy has earned recognition in major media outlets including The Wall Street Journal, California Apparel News, The Oregonian, Prevention Magazine, Playboy Magazine, The Boston Globe, and The Los Angeles Times. His work demonstrates how creativity and strategy can amplify marginalized voices, mobilize communities, and inspire policy reform.

Aligned with Sustainable Development Goal 16 – Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions, Brian’s career exemplifies the power of courage, vision, and collaboration. His initiatives—ranging from grassroots LGBTQ+ campaigns to youth peacebuilding programs, and global DEI strategies—illustrate how individuals and organizations can create systemic change that resonates across continents.

In honoring Brian Rusch with the Icons of Change International Award 2025, we celebrate not only a distinguished career but a life dedicated to transforming empathy into action, advocacy into policy, and vision into measurable impact. He is a changemaker, a storyteller, and a living testament to the power of peace, equality, and human dignity.

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