Opening Keynote – Jamie and Rebekah Bruesehoff

Jamie Bruesehoff (she/her) is an award-winning writer, speaker, and advocate. She is an openly queer woman married to a Lutheran pastor and mom to three spirited children, including a thirteen year old transgender daughter. She is passionate about sharing her family’s story, because she believes our stories are bridges to understanding, compassion, and celebration.

Jamie started writing as I am totally *that* mom eleven years ago as a way to not totally lose herself in the 24/7 chaos of parenting tiny humans. Over the years, she shared candidly about life, motherhood, self-care faith, depression, and more. She wanted other moms, parents, and families to know they weren’t alone and to empower them to show up better for themselves, their families, and their communities. This continues to be her hope and passion today.

Jamie’s oldest child is named Rebekah, a 13 year old girl with a big heart and a whole lot of sass. She also happens to be transgender. That means that when she was born, everyone thought she was a boy but she deeply knows herself to be a girl. Rebekah socially transitioned at 8 years old. Jamie works with her daughter Rebekah to spread a message of hope for LGBTQ+ people of all ages and to show the world that transgender are just like other kids. Their work has been featured by media outlets and organizations around the world, including but not limited to NPR, Good Morning America, Teen Vogue, British Vogue, GLAAD, the Human Rights Campaign, Good Day Philadelphia, and Good Morning Britain. Most recently, her family was featured in Episode 5 of Marvel’s Hero Project streaming in Disney Plus. Jamie’s journey parenting a transgender child and advocating for the LGBTQ+ community inspired her to claim her own identity. She came out as bisexual a few years ago, and she strives to speak openly working to combat bi-erasure and misconceptions about bisexuality.

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.