Russ López is a historian and author based in Provincetown and the South End of Boston. He has worked at Boston City Hall and the Massachusetts State House and has decades of experience with LGBTQ and straight politics. With his masters from Harvard and a doctorate from Boston University, Lopez's scholarship is focused on urban studies and the issues affecting people who live in cities, especially those who are often disenfranchised or rarely have an opportunity to have their voices heard. His history books include Boston's South End, Boston 1945 - 2015, and The Hub of the Gay Universe: An LGBTQ History of Boston, Provincetown, and Beyond. He is also the author of numerous short stories and other articles that have been published in magazines and journals ranging from Xinachtli Journal-Journal X to the Journal of the American Medical Association.