Paul Boskind

Paul Boskind, Ph.D. is a psychologist, Chief Executive Officer, national LGBTQ activist, philanthropist, and Tony Award-winning Broadway producer.

In overcoming life struggles, Boskind personifies the meaning of a self-made entrepreneur — not just in the behavioral health arena, but also in diverse business ventures such as the hotel, restaurant, grocery and liquor store, and real estate development sectors. A diagnosis of Stargardt’s disease with progressive blindness at age 21 propelled Boskind to diligently earn his psychology degrees and Ph.D.

A business-savvy psychologist, Boskind founded Deer Oaks Behavioral Health Organization in 1992. Beginning as a sole-practitioner clinic, the organization now provides behavioral health services at nursing homes throughout the United States. Deer Oaks also provides Employee Assistance Program (EAP) services throughout the US as well as internationally and is one of the largest employers of psychologists in the nation.

Boskind’s decades-long track record for activism has impacted countless lives and shaped the status of equality in the United States. His financial generosity and strategic guidance helped spearhead the initiation of the Human Rights Campaign’s (HRC) global expansion, the Tyler Clementi Foundation, and other initiatives.

Throughout his activism, Boskind has consistently served as a crucial bridge and unifying voice between LGBTQ organizations, successfully stressing the competing groups to realize the fruits of collaboration. In this capacity, Boskind, time and time again, helped coalesce organizations such as Equality Texas, the HRC, and the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN) and was an esteemed guest at President Obama’s historic signing of the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”

At the frontlines of political movements, Boskind has also hosted numerous Democratic fundraisers for Presidential, Senatorial and Congressional candidates.

With his finger on the pulse of social change, Boskind counsels national groups, in turn driving progress through political action, lobbying, elections, public policy, international relations, and the advancement of equal rights. He serves on the National Finance Committee of the DNC, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC), the Board of Directors of HRC, the National Democratic Institute (NDI), the Victory Institute, All OUT International, mothers2mothers (a pediatric HIV prevention organization in Africa), as well as the Tyler Clementi Foundation Advisory Council, the Board of Trustees for the Center for American Progress (CAP), and the Foundation Fighting Blindness Leadership Council.

As a celebrated producer, Boskind creatively orchestrated his gay-themed plays and musicals to entertain as well as to effectively promote understanding around LGBTQ equality issues.

In 2007, Boskind produced “Southern Baptist Sissies” at the Church Theater in San Antonio, which he owned and operated, leading to his passion for producing gay-themed shows on Broadway. His Broadway credits include sold-out and highly acclaimed runs of “Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (2011),” “The Best Man (2012),” and “Mother and Sons (2014).”

Boskind won the Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play for the 2011 Broadway debut of the “The Normal Heart.” The groundbreaking drama showcased the tribulations of the early 1980’s AIDS crisis in New York City.

Boskind graduated from the University of Texas at San Antonio and holds a Masters of Arts in Psychology from St. Mary’s University. He earned his Masters and Ph.D. in clinical and school psychology from Hofstra University in New York.

Due to his Irish ancestry, Boskind splits his time between his penthouse in Times Square, New York and his 15th Century Clonbrock castle in Ireland.