ABOUT
LGBTQ Advocate // Filmmaker // Health Educator // Consultant
Featured in 2020 Teen Vogue as one of GLAAD's 20 Under 20 Rising Stars, Alex Escaja is an award-winning filmmaker, an advocate for the LGBTQ community, and a recent graduate from the University of Vermont with B.A.s in Film & Television Studies and Gender, Sexuality, & Women's Studies. As a German-Spanish-American speaking three languages at home, Alex was exposed to different cultures and viewpoints at an early age, which has translated into his work. Winning a film contest hosted by NASA at twelve years old, Alex has made videos ever since, with multiple festival screenings across the country.
Outside of film, Alex has worked alongside an assortment of organizations, including Outfest, GLAAD, and Planned Parenthood, as a consultant and advocate for transgender representation and LGBTQ rights. Alex was a Youth Representative Board Member at Outright Vermont, where he toured as a panelist and advisor on the importance of inclusivity in classrooms. Other positions of leadership have included serving as the President of the UVM Film Club, Activism Committee Chair of the Queer Student Union, and the president and founder of his high school’s Gender and Sexuality Alliance Club. Alex has interned at a variety of multimedia companies and film festivals in addition to independent film production.
NOTABLE AWARDS AND HONORS
Warner Bros. Discovery Early Career Bootcamp from Warner Bros. Discovery Access and the Transgender Film Center (2021)
Excellence in Film & Television Studies Award from Film & Television Studies Depertmant, UVM (2021)
Oustanding Senior Award from Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies Department, UVM (2021)
20 Under 20 Rising Stars from GLAAD and Teen Vogue (2020)
Choice Champion Award from Planned Parenthood of Northern New England (2018)
Outright Youth Activist of the Year Award from Outright Vermont (2016)
Hugh O'Brian Youth Leadership Award from HOBY Foundation (2015)