Michael Roberson
Michael Roberson is a public health practitioner, advocate, activist, artist, curator, and leader within the LGBTQ community. He is the co-creator of the nation’s only Black Gay Research group and National Black Gay Men’s Advocacy Coalition. He is also an Adjunct Professor at The New School University/Lang College NYC and Union Theological Seminary NYC. He is an international art and politics consultant in addition to being a member of the international sound art collective entitled “Ultra-red.” Michael is a scholar-in-residence for the Center for Race, Religion, and Economic Democracy, as well as recent TED Media Resident, where he performed a global TED talk about the underground Black/Latinx House/ball ballroom community, entitled “The enduring legacy of ballroom”. For Black History Month 2021, Michael co-authored an article in Time Magazine titled “Why Voguing and the Ballroom Scene Matter Now More than Ever.” Michael also co-created a “Respect in The Workplace” curriculum and training for Vice Media and trained all of Vice’s staff in their Brooklyn offices and Los Angeles offices. In addition, Michael served as a cultural consultant for the Pose FX television show. Additionally, he was a public health advisor and community engagement specialist for the NYC COVID-19 contract tracing initiative. Lastly, Michael is both the new Senior Editor of the online international publication Arts Everywhere Ballroom Freedom School section as well as the Director of the Invoking the Pause Climate Challenge National Cohort for the San Francisco based Clean Energy Leadership Institute.
