BCW’s Brian Ellner Named to City & State’s “Pride Power 100 List”June 29, 2020

NEW YORK, June 29, 2020 – BCW (Burson Cohn & Wolfe), a leading global communications agency, today announced that Brian Ellner, Executive Vice President, Growth and Marketing, New York, BCW, has been ranked number 41 on City & State magazine’s 2020 Pride Power 100 list. The list celebrates 100 people in the LGBT community who are key players in the world of New York politics, government and journalism.

“Brian has been named to this list each year since its inception and for very good reason – he is an incredibly committed and very vocal advocate for not just LGBTQ rights but human rights,” said Jillian Janaczek, President, New York, BCW. “He is also a tremendous role model in our agency, leading by example to show our colleagues how to make an impact for clients and the community at large. He is a trusted partner to our Fortune 500 C-suite clients and is highly regarded for his expertise in managing complex corporate issues. I couldn’t be happier that Brian has once again been recognized as a power player in New York.”

In addition to leading BCW’s North America Corporate Practice, Ellner is the executive sponsor for the New York chapter of BCW PRide – the agency’s LGBTQ+ employee resource group. He is also working to secure the passage of the Equal Rights Amendment and The Equality Act.

In 2011, Ellner was the lead strategist for the Human Rights Campaign's (HRC) successful effort to win marriage equality in New York. He also created HRC's Americans for Marriage Equality campaign and provided strategic counsel on the 2012 marriage equality wins in Maine, Maryland, Minnesota and Washington. Earlier in his career, he was a senior aide in the administration of Mayor Mike Bloomberg, working with the NYC Department of Education to transform public education.

Brian is also a founding board member of Athlete Ally, a non-profit focused on ending homophobia and transphobia in sport and activating the athletic community to exercise their leadership to champion LGBTQ equality. In 2015 he won the ADCOLOR’s Advocate Award given annually to an advertising, marketing or media professional who increases awareness of LGBT causes within and outside of the communications industry.