Domenico "Dom" Ruggerio

Raised in the Philippines and on Long Island, Domenico Ruggerio is a transformative leader and social justice educator. Domenico is the executive director of We Are Family, the oldest nonprofit in SC providing life-saving and life-affirming programs for LGBTQ+ youth. They earned a master’s degree in humanistic/multicultural education at SUNY New Paltz, and a B.A. in sociology and anthropology at Colgate University. Prior to joining We Are Family, they served as the director of education, advocacy, and systems transformation at Teach For America South Carolina.

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Previously, they held administrative positions in higher education that supported and empowered students of color and LGBTQ+ students and communities. They ran the Bonner Program at the College of Charleston— an access to education leadership program that centers service learning and civic engagement in larger social justice contexts. Domenico also directed the ALANA (African American/Black, Latinx, Asian/Asian American and Native American) Cultural Center and LGBTQ Center at Vassar College, was an academic advisor at Bard College, and was the assistant director of the Multicultural Resource Center at Oberlin College in Ohio.

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Domenico is one of the co-founders and facilitators of the Transformative Teaching Collective, a predominantly female, LGBTQ+, and BIPOC-owned cooperative that provides social justice education and consultation to non-profit organizations, university faculty and student groups, government organizations, k-12 teachers, volunteer groups, and faith-based organizations. They are also formally certified in social justice mediation from the Social Justice Mediation Institute, UMass Amherst, and has skills in multipartial mediation, facilitation, and conflict resolution.

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In their free time, Domenico serves on the boards of the Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art, Charleston City Paper, and is an active member and vice president of the Charleston Blockade Rugby Club— the state’s first queer and inclusive sports team. In 2023, they were awarded the LGBT+ Icon Award by the Carolinas LGBT+ Chamber of Commerce, a Forty Under 40 honoree by the Charleston Regional Business Journal, and a Jefferson Award by Multiplying Good South Carolina.