Bruce Knotts was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Ethiopia, worked for Raytheon in Saudi Arabia (1976-80) and on a World Bank contract in Somalia (1982-4), before he joined the Department of State as a U.S. diplomat in 1984.  Bruce had diplomatic assignments in Greece, Zambia, India, Pakistan, Kenya, Sudan, Cote d’Ivoire and The Gambia, where he served as Deputy Chief of Mission.  While in Cote d’Ivoire, Bruce served as the Regional Refugee Coordinator for West Africa.  Bruce worked closely with several UN Special Representatives and observed UN peacekeeping operations in Sierra Leone from 2000-2003. 

Bruce retired from the Foreign Service in 2007 and began directing the Unitarian Universalist United Nations Office (UU-UNO) in 2008.  Bruce founded faith-based advocacy for sexual orientation/gender identity human rights at the United Nations and continues to advocate for the rights of women, indigenous peoples and for sustainable development in moral terms of faith and values.  Bruce is frequently invited to speak on various topics at venues around the world including recently in the United States, Canada, Mexico, China, Republic of Korea, Ghana, The Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam.  

Bruce is co-chair of the UN NGO Committee on Human Rights, the chair of the NGO Committee on Disarmament, Peace and Security, a member of the NGO UN Security Council Working Group, serves on the Board of the NGO UN Committee on Sustainable Development and he was chair of the NGO/DPI Executive Committee which represents 1,400 DPI affiliated NGOs at the UN.  Bruce is a trustee of the Parliament of the World’s Religions and a Commissioner for the Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation.  

In 2006, Bruce and Isaac Humphrie were wed in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.  Isaac works internationally in special events. He’s also a venue manager for New York Fashion Week, event environmentalist, photographer, website designer, and social media consultant.