100 Women We Love: Class Of 2018

Each one of these women, in her own unique way, is a role model who exemplifies the best of the LGBTQ community.

Sarah Kate Ellis

Photo by Sarah Kate Ellis

As the president and CEO of GLAAD, Sarah Kate Ellis has a mission to ensure the fair and accurate portrayal of the LGBTQ community in the media, and the work goes beyond that. With a successful career as a media executive behind her before she took on her current role in 2014, Ellis has a deep understanding of how media influences acceptance. In addition to providing resources to media on how to better cover the community (such as when Caitlyn Jenner came out), GLAAD also works with prominent media figures to get their opinions heard on issues important to LGBTQ people, such as discriminatory bills in Tennessee and Georgia. For Ellis, the goal isn’t just to see more queer characters on TV shows, though that’s certainly important, too. Instead, she considers and helps propagate the positive role media can have on society as a whole. “When I look at my two children, I want them to be able to grow up in a world where their moms have full acceptance and equality under the law,” she says. “I want my wife and I to be able to freely show affection anywhere without fear of retaliation or violence.” In the current political climate, in which fake news runs rampant — some of it with a decidedly homophobic streak — she says, “This is more important than ever — and I am more resolved than ever to make the world I want to see for my family.” —SEJ


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