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February 27, 2025 50 mins

When Brian McNaught was in eighth grade, Sister Claire Marie, IHM, a nun at his school in Birmingham, Michigan, pulled his mother aside and proclaimed, “Your son is a prince of a boy.” 

‘Did Sister Claire Marie say that because I was well behaved? Nice? Funny? Or did she see in me a vibration as the empathetic soul I aspired and imagined myself to be.” writes McNaught in his new memoir, A Prince of a Boy.

It was that vibration that led Brian McNaught towards a life of service, a renowned speaker, educator and leader in the field of gender advocacy, Brian spent 50 years as an educator on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer issues in colleges, government agencies, and corporations. 

Born in Detroit in 1948, Brian McNaught was one of seven Irish Catholic children. He was a civil rights and anti-war activist and filed as a conscientious objector to the American war in Vietnam. Called by the New York Times “the godfather of Gay diversity training,” he’s the author of 15 books, and is featured in seven DVDs.  He lives with Ray, his husband of 49 years. in Wilton Manors, FL.

You can learn more about Brian McNaught here.

You can purchase A Prince of a Boy here.


Do you know someone who has a story to tell? Someone who is giving back to their community? Working to make our world a better place? Send an email to suzanne@suzannemaggio.com. Nominate them for a future episode of From Sparks to Light.

To learn more about Robert Maggio, the composer of "Where Love is Love," our theme music, please check out his website.

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To learn more about the inspiration for this podcast, please check out Suzanne's memoir, Estrellas - Moments of Illumination Along El Camino de Santiago

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