Seth Forbes

Seth Forbes is an entrepreneur, writer, and digital analyst with an M.A. in Organizational and Professional Communication & Development from Ball State University and will soon graduate with an MBA and M.S. in Digital Technology from the Questrom School of Business. Raised between rural Indiana and Plano, TX, Seth is a first-generation, neurodivergent, LGBTQ+ college student who initially became estranged from half of her family at the age of 13.

A fearless doer, self-aware queen, and trauma-informed champion, Seth prioritizes mental wellness and has forged paths of hope, healing, and community for herself and others who’ve gone through disruptive family events.

Together Estranged was founded by Seth Forbes in 2020, with a mission to support and empower those estranged from family while enhancing social understanding for the de-stigmatization of estrangement. Serving students, women, and the LGBTQ+ community, Seth advocates for those who’ve suffered from family abuse, childhood trauma, neglect, or a lack of acceptance after coming out.

To date, the organization has over 1,000 email subscribers and over 350 private support group members from around the world. The 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization has received competitive grant funding from The Boston Foundation, Boston University’s Diversity & Inclusion Center, and Walmart, alongside a generous donation of free therapy sessions from the mental health platform BetterHelp.

Prior to her philanthropic work, Seth was a Virginia Ball Center for Creative Inquiry Scholar where she worked to build awareness of discrimination, racism, and prejudice in her local community. Seth is both a ROMBA Fellow and an Estée Lauder Vital Voices Visionary Fellow, and she has previously spoken as an expert on estrangement at the 2022 Moving Beyond Family Struggles event hosted by the Center for Family Understanding.

Most recently, Seth Forbes was featured on BU Today for a successful pilot support group program, “Overcoming Family Challenges”, in coordination with the Sexual Assault Response Prevention Center (SARP) and the Queer Activist Collective at Boston University – a service offering that will continue running in future semesters. Currently, Seth is working on writing her first book detailing her experiences with estrangement.