June 01, 2026
Michelle Mittelman
From visibility to voice: Jared Fox ’09 on pride, community, and creating space for others
Before Jared Fox ’09 ever set foot on Lake Forest College’s campus, he had already learned what it meant to stand up—and to be pushed out.
“I was in a Catholic school,” Fox recalled. “And I was forced to leave because I was openly gay.”
That moment could have narrowed his world. Instead, it expanded it.
The expulsion ignited a lifelong commitment to education, identity, and advocacy—one that would eventually take him from Cleveland to Lake Forest, to New Orleans classrooms, to New York City leadership, and ultimately to Microsoft. But its roots, Fox said, are deeply tied to the place where he first felt he could fully be himself.
Finding a place to belong
Fox’s path to Lake Forest College was anything but conventional. A low-income student from Cleveland public schools, he wasn’t the typical student. In fact, he jokes that he may have landed on the College’s mailing list by accident. And yet, when he visited campus, something clicked.
“I stayed overnight, and my host was another openly gay person,” he said. “I got to see what being gay at Lake Forest was like, and I was just like, ‘Okay—I can see myself at a place like that.’”
That sense of belonging mattered. It gave Fox not just a college, but a community.
“I felt a lot of kinship with international students,” Fox explained. “We were all in a completely different environment. We didn’t speak the language of money or privilege the same way as others. That bonded us.”
Programs like the College’s First Connection pre-orientation for newly admitted students helped him find his people early and form relationships that would carry him through both celebration and challenge.
Pride, resistance, and resilience
Fox arrived at Lake Forest already an activist: he had founded one of the first LGBTQ+ youth organizations in Cleveland.
At the College, that activism only grew. During his freshman year, he ran for student government with a bold campaign slogan: “I’m gay, but I’ll be straight with you.”
Fox won the election and was instrumental in advocating for one of the College’s early gender-neutral housing policies—then a groundbreaking move in higher education.
And in a full-circle moment, Fox went from being targeted for who he was to being celebrated for it, eventually being named Homecoming King his senior year.
A career rooted in impact
Fox’s Lake Forest experience set the trajectory for a career at the intersection of education, equity, and identity. What began as a commitment to being visible as his authentic self evolved into a larger mission: helping others find their voice and ensuring institutions create space for people to be heard, valued, and empowered to lead.
After graduating, he joined Teach for America and taught in New Orleans, where restrictive policies meant he could not openly discuss LGBTQ+ topics in the classroom.
“I had gone from having ‘I’m gay’ on posters in the cafeteria at the College to an environment where I couldn’t even say the words ‘gay’ or ‘lesbian’ in a school building,” Fox said.
Even so, he found ways to lead with empathy and affirmation. That commitment deepened after a life-altering experience: a brutal hate crime attack while visiting Cleveland.
“I was beaten so badly my eardrums ruptured. I lost my hearing,” he shared. “It changed my life.”
In the aftermath, Fox re-engaged with activism on a new level. His work increasingly shifted from personal advocacy to systems change—creating pathways for LGBTQ+ students, educators, and employees to have a voice in institutions that historically had not always made room for them. That work eventually led him to become the first-ever LGBTQ+ liaison for the New York City school system, serving more than 1,800 schools, and over one million students.
“It was one person for the largest school system in the country,” he said. “Everything—from students to staff to curriculum—came through me.”
From there, Fox earned a doctorate from Harvard and later brought his expertise to Microsoft, where he now works as Senior Program Manager for Culture and Inclusion. As a leader focused on culture and inclusion, he helps build communities, develop employee resource groups, and create opportunities on a global scalre for people from diverse backgrounds to contribute, lead, and be heard.
The power of visibility—during Pride Month and beyond
For Fox, Pride Month is both a celebration and a responsibility.
“Visibility is the thing that is so important,” Fox said. “Not everybody can afford to be visible. So, if you can, you should. Especially during times when there are people actively trying to make others invisible.”
But he’s quick to emphasize: Pride is not just a month.
“Pride Month is one month out of 12. But we need to make sure we’re proud of LGBTQ+ people 365 days a year,” Fox said.
Fox encourages others to think intentionally about how they support LGBTQ+ communities in everyday life: through philanthropy, allyship, advocacy, or the cultivation of safe spaces where others can exist fully as themselves.
“It doesn’t have to mean marching in a parade,” he said. “There are small things you can do every day that make a difference. Making sure people know they are loved and supported matters.”
A Forester for life
Looking back, Fox credits Lake Forest College with not only shaping who he became, but also helping him discover how to use his voice in service of others. The community he found at Lake Forest gave him the confidence to be visible, and the experiences he had helped him learn how to create opportunities for others to be seen, heard, and supported.
“To be a Forester is to be part of a community that’s way bigger than yourself,” he said.
Through the support of faculty, mentors, peers, and friends, Fox found a community that helped him navigate both triumph and trauma. That lasting impact is also what inspires him to give back financially today, supporting future generations of Foresters and investing in the institution that so profoundly shaped his journey.
“I’m able to give back now because of a place like Lake Forest,” Fox said.
Photo: Jared Fox ’09 (right) with mentor and friend Brant Dykehouse ’94 (left)
Looking ahead with hope
In a world that can feel increasingly divided, Fox finds hope not in sweeping change, but in everyday connection.
“I love finding hope in the mundane,” he said. “It’s about finding your people and sticking with them.”
His message to students, especially during Pride Month, is simple but powerful: “Find your community and support each other. You need each other.” And perhaps most importantly: “In a world of AI and technology, remember to be human. That’s what gives me hope.”