Hudson Taylor (he/him) is the founder and Executive Director of Athlete Ally, a nonprofit organization working to dismantle the systems of oppression that isolate, exclude and endanger LGBTQI+ people.
Under Taylor’s leadership, Athlete Ally educates athletic communities at all levels — sport governing bodies, teams, and individual athletes — to understand obstacles to inclusion for LGBTQI+ people in sports and how they can build inclusive communities on their teams or within their organizations. This includes launching Champions of Inclusion, an online curriculum providing coaches and athletic departments with education and resources around critical issues facing LGBTQI+ athletes and tools for creating an inclusive environment for all.
In addition, Athlete Ally works to ensure athletic communities’ policies are as LGBTQI+ inclusive as they should be. Under Taylor’s stewardship, Athlete Ally works closely with teams and institutions to develop clear and accessible policies around LGBTQI+ inclusion. In 2013, Taylor co-authored the NCAA’s first-ever handbook for college athletes, coaches and administrators providing recommendations, instructions and guidelines around best practices and policies for creating LGBTQIA+ inclusive athletic cultures. More recently, the organization launched the Athletic Equality Index (AEI) to measure LGBTQI+ inclusion policies and practices in college athletics. Taylor is also a powerful public speaker, sharing his story of allyship and advocacy both in and through sports.
