People

Rebekah Bruesehoff

Rebekah Bruesehoff

Rebekah Bruesehoff (she/her) is a fourteen year old activist who is on a mission to spread a message of hope and improve support for transgender and LGBTQ youth. Rebekah is transgender.  That means when she was born, everyone thought she was a boy, but she deeply knows herself to be a girl.

Rebekah is especially passionate about LGBTQ+ representation in books, media, and beyond. She launched the Mighty Rebekah Book Drive in June 2019 to collect books that include LGBTQ+ characters, stories, and history and get them into schools, libraries, faith spaces, and community organizations all over the country. Rebekah has received and donated hundreds of books, and she plans to continue this work until every young person has the opportunity to see themselves in the book shelves around them.

When Covid-19 hit, Rebekah took her love of books online to read stories with LGBTQ+ characters and themes of diversity and acceptance on her social media platforms. She was recognized for her work increasing representation and advocating for LGBTQ+ youth as a Top 20 Finalist for Time and Nickelodeon’s 2020 Kid of the Year. Rebekah even shared an Act of Awesome, a story she’d written, on the Kid of the Year special on Nickelodeon, with Neil Patrick Harris introducing her and her work.

At fourteen years old, this is just the beginning for Rebekah. She plans to continue advocating educating, and inspiring. Most of all, she wants to show people that transgender kids are just like other kids. They need to be safe and loved. =

When she’s not busy changing the world, you can find her binge-watching cooking shows, hanging out with friends, and hiking with her family in their home state of New Jersey. She loves musical theater, dance, playing field hockey, and getting straight As.