Aaron Ridings

WORK HISTORY

EDUCATION

ABOUT AARON RIDINGS

Aaron Ridings (he/they) is a respected nonprofit executive and advocate for equity in education who has served nonprofit and government organizations at the national, state, and local level in executive leadership, management, operations, policy, program, and campaigns for more than 25 years. They are a member of the 2025 Pahara Fellowship and freelancing as an executive consultant during a career transition. Aaron previously served as the Executive Vice President of PFLAG National where he prioritized mobilization of the organization’s membership through parent and family engagement programs in K-12 education systems. At PFLAG, they also led the creation of organization’s inaugural diversity, equity, and inclusion initiative and first Indigenous Parents and Families Advisory Council. Prior to joining PFLAG National, Aaron served as Chief of Staff and a Deputy Executive Director at GLSEN, the nation’s leading organization on LGBTQ+ issues in K-12 schools. At GLSEN, he worked closely with federal, state, and local education agency officials and was a member of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights Education Task Force’s delegation to the Presidential Transition Committee in 2020. Aaron began his career in Oregon working on education issues in the state and 197 school districts. They relocated to Washington, D.C. to begin their work as an Associate Director at the Center for American Progress. He has a Master of Public Administration specializing in Nonprofit Management from Portland State University and is the recipient of many awards recognizing his relentless advocacy for equity in education, including from Queer Heroes Northwest, the City of Portland, Ore. Human Rights Commission, and the Native American Youth and Family Center. They are a proud member of the LGBTQ+ community and identify as nonbinary. He is a grandson of the Seneca Nation (NY) and Tribal communities in Shawnee and Purcell, Oklahoma.