Brian Sims

Background

About Brian Sims

Brian Sims is a distinguished civil rights advocate and public policy expert from Philadelphia, PA. A 5-term member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, Sims became the first out LGBT member of the Pennsylvania General Assembly when he was elected in 2011. He has extensive experience lecturing internationally to corporations and universities about the policy and legal implications of diversity and the modern LGBTQ+ civil rights movement. In addition to serving in the State House, Sims, who is the former staff counsel for policy and planning at the Philadelphia Bar Association, served as Special Counsel to the Philadelphia-based law firm of Saul Ewing LLP and serves on a number of non-profit & public interest Boards. Prior to taking public office, Sims was a member of the national campaign board of the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund and chairman of the Gay and Lesbian Lawyers of Philadelphia. He also instructed and lectured regularly at the Center for Progressive Leadership. He holds a bachelor of science degree from Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania, a juris doctor degree in International and Comparative law from the Michigan State University College of Law, and completed Fellowships at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government in 2013 and Stanford’s Graduate School of Business in 2018. In Sims, the son of two retired Army lieutenant colonels, came out to his football team after helping to lead them to the Division II national championship game as their captain. He remains the only former NCAA football captain to have ever come out, and is one of the most notable collegiate athletes to do so in any sport. Today he continues to serve on the Boards of the Ben Cohen StandUp Foundation, Campus Pride, and the GLSEN Sports Advisory Council and as a contributor to The Huffington Post, The Advocate, and Philly.com. Sims also appears regularly on MSNBC's "Hardball with Chris Matthews,""The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell,""The Rachel Maddow Show," and "The Ed Show" as well as NPR's "Fresh Air with Terry Gross," and "Radio Times with Marty Moss-Coane."