Born in New York City, Adam graduated with a B.A. in economics from the State University of New York at Purchase in 1977. He worked for the Gannett Westchester Newspaper (1977-83), for the New York Daily News (1988-90), and USA Today (1990-1993), then joined the New YorkTimes in 1996.

He is co-author of Out for Good:The Struggle to Build a Gay Rights Movement in America (1999).