Christian Fuscarino

Fuscarino grew up in Belmar, New Jersey. After moving to Maplewood, New Jersey, he attended Columbia High School, where he started organizing at local high schools. He studied at Hofstra University. ==Career==

From a young age, Fuscarino has been an organizer and activist in the LGBT community. He began at GLSEN, an education network that aimed to improve students lives who were members of the LGBT community, by reducing discrimination and increasing knowledge through education. While at GLSEN, Fuscarino encouraged young LGBTQ students to start Gay-straight alliances in their schools. Fuscarino joined the Pride Connections Center of New Jersey in 2007 as a program developer serving gay inner-city youth. He won a student Emmy award that year for his End the Silence public service announcement. In 2008 Fuscarino established the Pride Network, a national leadership development non-profit. In 2016, it was announced that Fuscarino would become Garden State Equality's new executive director. Following the announcement, he was interviewed by The New York Observer, stating what he wanted to achieve as the new executive director. He stated, “people all over the country are wondering what an organization in a post-marriage state looks like. They’ll find out in New Jersey,” Mr. Fuscarino told PolitickerNJ. “Over the next few months we’ll roll out our plan to engage the LGBT community in a broader social justice movement.” As director Fuscarino said that he wanted to tackle issues such as curbing HIV transmissions, protecting LGBTQ youth from opiate addiction, and care for the elderly. Senator Cory Booker and Congressman Frank Pallone both publicly voiced their support for Fuscarino following the appointment. After becoming the executive director for Garden State Equality, the PolitickerNJ listed Fuscarino in their Power 100. He was also second highest LGBTQ New Jersey–based activist and politician on the list. In March 2017, Fuscarino spoke to the press following an attack on the Garden State Equality building where a window was smashed, where the rainbow flag was displayed. The attack, was similar to one carried out earlier in the same year at the Equality Florida headquarters. Vice Media's Broadly website listed Fuscarino as the most influential activist in the state of New Jersey. ==Personal life==

On November 11, 2018, Fuscarino married U.S. Marine and Neptune City, New Jersey councilman Aaron Williams in a traditional military ceremony at Trinity Church, an Episcopal parish in Asbury Park, NJ. The wedding, notable for taking place in the years following the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell", was attended by New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy and Congressman Frank Pallone, and received national coverage within the USA Today network. The couple later quietly separated in November 2024, while continuing to co-parent. According to an affidavit of probable cause, Fuscarino had disclosed to a resource worker weeks prior to authorities becoming involved that there had been "an episode of physical contact". An initial court-issued no-contact order was lifted, leaving any determinations regarding future visitation strictly to the discretion of the New Jersey Division of Child Protection and Permanency (DCP&P). ==See also==