Today we’d like to introduce you to Rickie Kreuzer.
Rickie, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us. Where does your story begin?
Growing up, I always knew I didn’t quite “fit in.” Now, my work centers on making sure kids don’t have to fit in—but can thrive as their unique selves.
I was adopted at birth, raised by older parents, and grew up as an only child in a small-business household. I spent a lot of time around adults and learned early how to keep myself occupied. As a kid, that showed up as imagination. As an adult, it looks like pacing around my downtown Grand Rapids apartment, thinking through solutions to complex community problems.
I was diagnosed with depression and anxiety in fifth grade, and later OCD as an adult. Realizing I was gay in eighth grade added another layer—especially since my parents were deeply religious and not accepting at the time. After years of tension, I moved out during my junior year of high school at 17. I entered an abusive relationship that caused lasting trauma and led to a series of poor decisions, including a misdemeanor charge after a fight with my father.
Rather than get too comfortable with rock bottom, I enrolled in community college and earned my associate’s degree in business administration. During that time, I was hired into a supervisory role with a Fortune 500 company, managing new-concept stores in fast-paced environments with limited corporate support—often supervising people older than me.
At the same time, I was volunteering with a national LGBTQ+ organization that had once felt like a far-off beacon of hope when I was a teenager. That experience pushed me to transition into nonprofit political advocacy full-time while completing my bachelor’s degree at Ferris State University.
After working at national, regional, and local nonprofits, I noticed a pattern: meaningful work happening inside toxic organizational cultures. In response, I founded Chosen Family of Michigan in the spring of 2022.
Since then, I’ve been appointed by Governor Gretchen Whitmer to the State Board of Nursing, joined the Michigan HIV/AIDS Council, became a board member with the American Red Cross of Southwest Michigan, and serve as a consultant on Medicaid quality improvement initiatives. To better serve my community, I also began pursuing a Juris Doctorate law degree, which I’m now close to completing.
Along the way, I worked through trauma, balanced school and work with limited financial resources, and rebuilt my relationship with my parents—who are now some of my strongest supporters. That reconciliation alone proves people can change.
Today, I’m running for State Senate in Michigan’s 30th District, continue to lead Chosen Family of Michigan, and recently published my first book, I Relate: Unpacking 25 Years. I turn 27 in February, and I’m just getting started.
The work I’m proudest of includes testifying before a House Committee on Child Welfare in an effort to improve long term mental healthcare, submitting a brief to the Michigan Supreme Court on LGBTQ+ discrimination, helping overturn the FDA’s ban on blood donation by men who have sex with men, expanding absentee voting, and protecting voting rights statewide.
But the real joy comes from the individuals who write to tell me how this work has impacted them personally. I keep those messages and reread them when the work gets tough. Their stories shape the policies I believe in.
My personal mission—and the mission of Chosen Family of Michigan—is simple: “Uplifting individuals into opportunity.” I just want the road ahead to be easier for future generations than it was for me.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road? If not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced?
The road has been anything but smooth. Financial instability has been a constant backdrop—making decisions based not on what was ideal, but on what was possible. Balancing full-time work with school meant operating in survival mode for long stretches, where burnout felt inevitable and rest felt like a luxury.
Moving out at such a young age forced me to grow up quickly, often without the safety nets many people take for granted. At the same time, managing depression, anxiety, and OCD required learning how to advocate for myself while still showing up for others—a balancing act that remains ongoing.
I’ve also had to unlearn the impacts of abusive relationships, which distort your sense of worth and boundaries in ways that don’t disappear overnight. Healing while leading, building, and serving is complicated, and it requires intentional work and humility.
Finally, the nature of political and advocacy work itself presents challenges, and it’s not just from the divisiveness most people reading can probably relate to. Even working with or for folks who agree with me on any given issue, it can be disheartening to see how performative engagement often replaces meaningful action—where outrage is abundant online, but sustained commitment, volunteering, and tangible support are harder to find. Still, those realities have clarified my values and reinforced why community building, not just commentary, is essential to real change. While I’m proud to be an advocate and community leader, we can’t do it alone.
What should readers know about Chosen Family of Michigan?
Chosen Family of Michigan exists to provide advocacy and support services to the LGBTQ+ community. We fight for inclusive policies, educate the broader community to foster understanding and empower allies, and provide a direct service—preventing LGBTQ+ youth homelessness.
The term chosen family is deeply rooted in queer culture. When people face rejection at home, they often create family through friends, mentors, and community. We strive to be that support system for those who feel isolated, unaccepted, or unable to live authentically.
Founded in 2022, our current initiatives range from book-ban prevention and supporting inclusive faith spaces to HIV prevention, legal name change assistance, and more. All donations are tax-deductible, and every dollar helps us build more equitable communities.
What were you like growing up?
People thought I was shy, but I was really just observant. I was chatty with people I trusted and watched everyone else closely—something I still do.
As mentioned, I was incredibly imaginative. I spent years creating long, detailed storylines with my toys. I also lied a lot as a kid about small, silly things. Looking back, I think it came from feeling like I didn’t fit in or wasn’t enough.
I was lonely, depressed, and exhausted as teenager—but also deeply hopeful and inquisitive. That duality still defines me. The dandelion in Chosen Family of Michigan’s logo represents growth, resilience, and hope—the idea of making wishes and thriving where you’re planted, and spreading seeds of change where it matters most.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.chosenfamilyofmichigan.org
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chosenfamilyofmichigan/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chosenfamilyofmichigan/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/chosenfamilyofmichigan/
- Twitter: https://x.com/chosenfamilymi
- Other: https://www.facebook.com/rickiekreuzerofficial/
