Sam Dylan Finch is on a mission to ‘queer things up.’

rh41lqn_400x400 (1)Writer. Editor. Advocate. Media Strategist.

Sam Dylan Finch is a leading advocate in LGBTQ+ mental health, having gained international recognition for his blog, Let’s Queer Things Up!, which first went viral in 2014.

Since then, LQTU! remains one of the most recognizable resources in queer mental health, with over 30,000 regular subscribers. The blog is a source of affirmation and hope for LGBTQ+ people, as well as a lifeline that offers critical guidance in self-advocacy and navigating psychiatric care.

Bringing his combined expertise in public health and digital media, Sam currently works as Social Editor at Healthline — the fastest growing health information site — where he focuses on creating expert content for Healthline’s audience of 85 million monthly readers.

Since 2011, Sam has also worked with leading social impact platforms like Upworthy, GOOD, and Everyday Feminism. With a passion for finding new ways to harness the power of digital media for impact, Sam has served as an editor, writer, social media manager, and content strategist, taking on roles in virtually every area of content creation.

A storyteller at heart, Sam has used his unique voice to empower diverse communities. Whether it’s a breakdown of anti-trans legal tactics, a harrowing personal essay about being psychiatrically hospitalized, a compelling profile on fat activist and author Jes Baker, or consulting experts on the impact of complex trauma on memory, Sam is driven to find new and ambitious ways to tell stories for good — and just damn good stories.

With a focus community empowerment, Sam also volunteers his time as a media strategist and mentor, advising non-profit organizations on how to expand their digital impact, as well as running a monthly workshop to teach queer and transgender people how to build careers in digital media. He’s also given lectures around the country at universities like Princeton and University of California-Irvine, particularly as it relates to transgender health.

Sam holds a BA in Anthropology with a focus on public health, a BA in Women’s & Gender Studies, and a certificate in Writing from the University of Michigan-Dearborn. He also pursued postgraduate studies in Creative Non-Fiction at Mills College in Oakland, CA.

 

Listen to Sam’s recent interview on ‘Giving Voice to Depression’:

Testimonials

  • He is a ray of light. Not sunshine — Sam’s light is more complicated than that. It comes from somewhere else, somewhere that is delicate and ferocious and vulnerable and courageous all at once. We don’t have a word for it in English either. I think the closest we can get is transcendent. That’s Sam, and the light he shines on his little corner of the world — a corner that is getting bigger and bigger everyday.

    Jenni Berrett

  • Sam Dylan is an incredibly thoughtful and insightful writer. His work is purposeful and important and he puts his soul into everything he does . . . I read almost anything Sam Dylan writes, because he takes great pride and care in his work, and puts in the effort to make sure to write about complex, stigmatized and difficult topics with such a compassionate voice.

    Alaina Leary