Brent Nicholson Earle

b.1951

Brent Nicholson Earle is an artist and an early activist, notable for his long-distance runs raise money for AIDS service organizations in the effort to promote AIDS awareness.

People Magazine named Earle one of its "20 individuals who shaped the 1980s." His first major run, the American Run for the End of AIDS (A.R.E.A.) in 1986-87, started and ended in New York City, covering 9,000 miles around the perimeter of the United States. His second, in 1990, started in San Francisco and ended in Vancouver, the site of Gay Games III. His third, in 1994, involved leading a seven-person team on roller skates from San Francisco to New York City, the site of Gay Games IV. In 2010, he was named as the winner of the Tom Waddell Award, the highest honor of the Federation of the Gay Games. He created the International Rainbow Memorial Run, in which runners carry a rainbow flag from San Francisco around the world to the city hosting that year's Gay Games, promoting both AIDS and breast cancer prevention.

In his professional life, Earle worked in New York City as an actor, writer, stage manager, lecturer, archivist, photographer, optical designer, curator and art gallery administrator.

He is a long time member of ACT UP.