Benjamin Brooks (he/him), newly elected Vice President of Communications for GLAA, believes in the power of art and culture to transform society. Ben’s love of art comes from his continent-spanning childhood, where he grew up in a multi-generational family of artists. He learned from his mother that the act of creation can unlock hidden truths and express the otherwise inexpressible. In his life (and as an INTJ on the Myers-Briggs), Ben examines the role of culture in producing our social structures and tries to find more ways to bring liberation and joy into the world. In his role as a health policy analyst at the Whitman-Walker Institute, Ben works as an advocate to advance health equity in DC. As a queer man, Ben enjoys deconstructing masculinity and learning about the history of queer ingenuity using science and art to respond to the threat of HIV/AIDS and how their work and lives affected the progression of scientific research and art history and provided the foundation for the work that he does.