There are few at CNBC or NBCU at-large that have done more to drive DEI initiatives forward than Ruggiero. He’s not only the chair of the OUT@NBCUniversal ERG, but also is the brains behind the company’s Spirit Day in partnership with GLAAD, an event that is 10 years running. Most recently, he was named President of the New York Chapter of the Association of LGBTQ+ Journalists. Ruggiero is most concerned about the rise of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation in America and how creating a hostile environment can have severe impacts in individual lives and how they show up to environments like work. “This undermines the principles of equality and human rights and sends a harmful message that being LGBTQ+ is somehow lesser or unworthy of societal recognition and protection,” he says.
