Andrew Marin
Andrew Marin (born December 16, 1980) is an American author and President and Founder of The Marin Foundation, a 501(c)(3) public charity that works to build bridges between the LGBT community and social, theological and political conservatives.
Education
Graduated from Waubonsie Valley High School in 1999
BA in Applied Psychology from the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) in 2003
MA in Urban Studies with concentrations in Social Change and Theology from Eastern University in 2011
Biography
Andrew grew up in the suburbs of Chicago as a self-professed "bible-banging homophobe," when the summer after his freshman year in college his three best friends all came out to him. That prompted Andrew to move into the predominantly LGBT Boystown neighborhood in Chicago. After years of living in the neighborhood talking to his new neighbors and community, going to gay bars and public events with a goal of listening and learning, he clearly noticed that the LGBT/conservative disconnect was the single reason for so much unnecessary pain and trauma in a lot of people's lives. The Marin Foundation (TMF) was birthed out of this realization, and TMF works to fill the disconnect at the root of these problems.
The Marin Foundation
The Marin Foundation is most well known for their I'm Sorry Campaign, where their LGBT and straight members attend gay pride parades and hold up signs apologizing for how Christians have treated LGBT people. The now famous and viral photo, "Christians Hugging a Gay Man in his Underwear" has been shared over 20 million times between sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, BuzzFeed and Instagram. It was also recently named by BuzzFeed as the #1 Picture to Restore Faith in Humanity. Besides the I'm Sorry Campaign, The Marin Foundation holds their Living in the Tension gatherings twice a month in Chicago, as well as around the US. Among a variety of TMF media appearances on major conservative outlets such as the 700 Club, and LGBT outlets such as The Gay Agenda Show, the BBC World News recently featured The Marin Foundation's regular gatherings held at a popular gay bar in Boystown, in print and on a 30 minute World News special.
Controversy
Both The Marin Foundation, and Andrew Marin individually, will not answer hot topic "yes/no" questions like "is homosexuality a sin?" with a one-word yes/no answer. Instead, they seek to live in their principles of engagement for peaceful and productive dialogue regardless of one's belief system. This has made a number of activists from both the left and the right very upset. Despite what some of these activists claim, The Marin Foundation continues their bridge building work through unique partnerships with the left and the right, bringing each together through local gatherings and forums in Chicago, as well as regular teaching, training, lecturing and consulting with organizations such as the United Nations, The White House, secular and Christian universities across the US and UK, progressive and conservative churches, and at LGBT groups.
Publishing
Love Is an Orientation: Elevating the Conversation with the Gay Community(2009) - book
Love Is an Orientation DVD and Participant Guide: Practical Ways to Build Bridges with the Gay Community (2011)
Click on the reference for a list of published articles that Andrew has written
Awards
Attended UIC on a Division I athletic baseball scholarship
In 2002 Andrew was awarded as the NIDRR Scholar to conduct research through UIC's Department Of Disability and Human Development
In 2003 Andrew was awarded the UIC's Chancellor's Student Service & Leadership Award
Andrew's first book, Love Is an Orientation: Elevating the Conversation with the Gay Community (InterVarsity Press, 2009), won the following awards :
2010 Outreach Magazine Resource of the Year Award: Culture Category
2010 Leadership Journal's Golden Canon Leadership Book
Relevant Magazine: Top 20 Best Overall Books of 2009
Englewood Review of Books: Top 20 Best Overall Books of 2009
Christian Manifesto 2009 Lime Award for Top 10 Best Nonfiction Books of 2009
Besides the Bible named Love Is an Orientation as One of the One Hundred Books of All Time that Have, Should or Will Create Christian Culture