Breaking Through and Building Up: Using Your Story to Inspire Action
Wednesday October 21, 2026
12:00 – 1:00 p.m.
Hoversten Chapel, Augsburg University
We are living at a time when the need for community and truth is more urgent than ever. The barriers we face are political, technological, and cultural. They feel larger than any one person or organization can handle. Yet, in spite of all these barriers, people are organizing around pressing issues and breaking through bubbles of mis- (or dis-) information with authenticity, personal connection, and storytelling. Their motivation for action comes from a variety of sources, but a shared calling is moving people to identify problems and pragmatically work toward solutions, inspiring others to action in the process. Ross will help you understand the influence you already wield and how to inspire and equip people to act for social justice through your media platforms and real-life communities.
Ross Murray (BA ’00, MBA ’09) is the Vice President at the GLAAD Media Institute, where he uses GLAAD’s best practices to provide activist, spokesperson, and media engagement training/education for LGBTQ and allied community members, the media industry, and advocacy organizations to accelerate acceptance.
He is also a founder and director of The Naming Project, a faith-based camp for LGBTQ youth and allies featured in the film Camp Out and the Our America with Lisa Ling episode “Pray the Gay Away?”. An ordained Deacon in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Ross specializes in the relationship between religion and LGBTQ people, bridging faith and LGBTQ communities. He was named to the 2021 OUT100.
Key Works & Media
- Books Author: Made, Known, Loved: Developing LGBTQ-Inclusive Youth Ministry and The Everyday Advocate: Living Out Your Calling to Social Justice (Fortress Press).
- Books Contributor: Queerfully and Wonderfully Made, and Welcoming and Affirming (focused on LGBTQ Christian youth).
- Podcast Producer: “Yass, Jesus!“, a queer Christianity comedy podcast hosted by Daniel Franzese (Mean Girls, Looking) and Azariah Southworth (former host of The Remix on TBN).
- Media Coverage & Commentary: Secures national media interest in LGBTQ equality stories and has written for or appeared on CNN, MSNBC, Al Jazeera, USA Today, The Washington Post, Huffington Post, and Religion News Service.