Jacob "Jake" Reitan (born 1982) is an LGBT activist who founded the Soulforce Equality Ride.
After experiencing harassment during his senior year, he told the school principal he planned to come out and found a gay-straight alliance before graduation.
To serve as faculty advisor to that organization, the principal chose geography teacher and football coach Tim Walz, a future Minnesota governor and the Democratic Vice Presidential candidate Tim Walz[2][3] He graduated magna cum laude from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, majoring in Communication Studies and Political Science.
[9] He wrote a regular column called "Faith in Action" that appeared in Lavender, a Minnesota LGBT news magazine.
[12] When questioned in 2024 about his dealings with Tim Walz while in high school, Reitan praised him work both in supporting LGBT students and confronting bullies.