Dwayne Steward is an award-winning writer, speaker and activist. He is currently the Chief People and Culture Officer and Interim Chief Programs Officer at Equitas Health, a regional community health center serving underserved communities in Ohio, Kentucky, West Virginia and Texas.
He is formerly the Director of Community Affairs at Fenway Health in Boston, MA., the country’s leading health care and research facility dedicated to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender communities. Prior to Fenway Health he was the inaugural LGBTQ Health Advocate for the City of Columbus Public Health Department, where he created and implemented the city’s groundbreaking LGBTQ Health Initiative. Dwayne was also the founding HIV Testing Coordinator for the Greater Columbus Mpowerment Center, a federally funded initiative that combats the high HIV infection rate among black and Latino gay men though testing and education at AIDS Resource Center Ohio.
Dwayne is the founder and director of the Make It Better Foundation, a bullying prevention focused on created communities of inclusion in small towns nationwide. In 2010, he was published in the New York Times Bestseller “It Gets Better: Coming Out, Overcoming Bullying and Creating a Life Worth Living” edited by Dan Savage and Terry Miller and contributed to the anthology "Students, Teachers & Leaders Addressing Bullying in Schools," a collegiate textbook published in partnership with Kent State University and New Mexico State University in 2015.
Dwayne received a Bachelor of Science in Journalism from Ohio University. He has written for publications such as Columbus Monthly, PRIZM, The Boston Herald, The Advocate and Newsday, among others. Dwayne is a former columnist of Outlook Ohio (the state’s leading LGBTQ news magazine), where he founded “The Other Side,” a monthly column that focused on the intersections of race and sexuality and served as their Senior Writer for several years, developing in-depth, statewide front page news features on this same topic. He is also the former founding co-host of “Queer Minded,” a top-rated LGBTQ news/entertainment talk show on TalktainmentRadio.com.
Dwayne received his Master of Public Administration from Franklin University and has served on many local and national boards focused on the fight for equity. He currently serves on the boards of the Transgender Emergency Fund of Massachusetts, a housing and social service agency for transgender communities, and Harm Reduction of Ohio, an advocacy organization dedicated to providing culturally humble services to people affected by substance use. He continues to fight for the advancement of marginalized communities through various advocacy and community mobilization efforts.
He is formerly the Director of Community Affairs at Fenway Health in Boston, MA., the country’s leading health care and research facility dedicated to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender communities. Prior to Fenway Health he was the inaugural LGBTQ Health Advocate for the City of Columbus Public Health Department, where he created and implemented the city’s groundbreaking LGBTQ Health Initiative. Dwayne was also the founding HIV Testing Coordinator for the Greater Columbus Mpowerment Center, a federally funded initiative that combats the high HIV infection rate among black and Latino gay men though testing and education at AIDS Resource Center Ohio.
Dwayne is the founder and director of the Make It Better Foundation, a bullying prevention focused on created communities of inclusion in small towns nationwide. In 2010, he was published in the New York Times Bestseller “It Gets Better: Coming Out, Overcoming Bullying and Creating a Life Worth Living” edited by Dan Savage and Terry Miller and contributed to the anthology "Students, Teachers & Leaders Addressing Bullying in Schools," a collegiate textbook published in partnership with Kent State University and New Mexico State University in 2015.
Dwayne received a Bachelor of Science in Journalism from Ohio University. He has written for publications such as Columbus Monthly, PRIZM, The Boston Herald, The Advocate and Newsday, among others. Dwayne is a former columnist of Outlook Ohio (the state’s leading LGBTQ news magazine), where he founded “The Other Side,” a monthly column that focused on the intersections of race and sexuality and served as their Senior Writer for several years, developing in-depth, statewide front page news features on this same topic. He is also the former founding co-host of “Queer Minded,” a top-rated LGBTQ news/entertainment talk show on TalktainmentRadio.com.
Dwayne received his Master of Public Administration from Franklin University and has served on many local and national boards focused on the fight for equity. He currently serves on the boards of the Transgender Emergency Fund of Massachusetts, a housing and social service agency for transgender communities, and Harm Reduction of Ohio, an advocacy organization dedicated to providing culturally humble services to people affected by substance use. He continues to fight for the advancement of marginalized communities through various advocacy and community mobilization efforts.