Congratulations to Clemson LGBTQ+ Alumni Council past president and current Board member Brian Cave for receiving the Clemson Alumni Association’s 2019 Frank Kellers III Volunteer of the Year Award! The Alumni Association announced on April 7, 2020 that it selected Brian for his “extensive support of the alumni association and the university along with his unwavering advocacy for initiatives promoting Clemson.”
Brian is a strong Clemson supporter and has been a leader in the LGBTQ+ Alumni Council from the beginning. He was one of six founding committee members who in November 2008 petitioned the Alumni Association to issue a charter for the Clemson Alumni Society for Equality (CASE), the official name carried by our forerunner organization. Brian shares that in order to gain approval, the word ‘gay’ was intentionally omitted from the organization’s original name to overcome objections to the charter request.
The name has changed, and the LGBTQ+ Alumni Council has since grown from some 60 founding members to over 500 members today and is flourishing with the full support of the Alumni Association. After serving and leading all these years, Brian will be stepping down from the Council Board in June, but he says he plans to stay involved and is excited about the new energy he sees for the work of the Council and LGBTQ+ initiatives at Clemson.
Brian graduated from Clemson in 1997 with a degree in Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management. He is a Charleston, SC native and currently resides in Union Township, New Jersey with his husband of 15 years, Kevin, and their three rescue dogs Gumbo, Dasher & Jane. Brian works in New York City as Senior Manager of Operations for Issey Miyake USA Corp., the USA division of Issey Miyake Inc. headquartered in Tokyo. He is also on the Board of the New York City & Tri-State Area Clemson Club as the Secretary and Co-Chair of the Membership, Networking & Fundraising Committee.
Thank you, Brian, for your tremendous leadership in getting us to where we are today!