GO Magazine’s Publisher and Editor-in-Chief Amy Lesser is thrilled to announce the appointment of Zara Barrie as GO’s new Executive Editor. Barrie will be responsible for leading the GO editorial team in developing and implementing new, unique and bold online and print content, as well as refining the signature GO features the LGBTQ community has known and loved for the past 15 years. Barrie will, effective immediately, assume the duties of Trish Bendix, who joined the magazine’s team in 2016.
“I’ve had the privilege of working with Zara for the last several months. She is an exceptional writer and a fresh and powerful voice within and beyond the LGBTQ community,” said Lesser. “Zara is and has been a genuine and enthusiastic fan of GO, and I believe we’re in sync about the wide ranging changes we both wish to see in GO’s content and overall evolution. Zara is the consummate team player who thrives in a collaborative environment. She enjoys cultivating new talent and she’s an unselfish and uniquely effective teammate as well as a positive and energetic leader. Most important to me, Zara cares very deeply about this community. I trust and respect Zara implicitly, as does our entire staff.”
Barrie, a New York City-based writer and editor, has been professionally immersed in media for over a decade. She’s the former “Senior Sex & Dating” writer at the popular millennial digital publication Elite Daily. At Elite Daily, Barrie founded, edited and oversaw Elite Daily Queer Culture, the website’s first-ever LGBTQ+ topic page. She has published over 1400 essays for a variety of publications (both in print and online) and has cultivated a diverse, loyal and hyper-engaged audience across the world. Her work is often described as “raw” and “intimate,” and she consistently and happily shares her most “humiliating” personal experiences in order to help others feel less alienated about their own. Barrie’s articles have been picked up by Cosmo, The Huffington Post, The Real, The View, The Talk and The Sex With Emily Podcast. She regularly sits on panels discussing digital media, mental health, queer culture, sex, dating and style. She’s a founding board member of The Stonewall Inn Gives Back Initiative, a nonprofit that works tirelessly to help underserved youth in the LGBTQ community.
Barrie is ecstatic to be joining GO Magazine as Executive Editor.
“I’ve been devouring GO Magazine since I was an inquisitive, closeted teenager living in the suburbs of Connecticut,” said Barrie. “GO made me realize that high school was temporary, that there was a big lesbian world out there, and most importantly, that an entire network of successful, proud, gay women existed. Women who were unapologetic and secure in their sexuality. Seeing all of this in print—having an actual magazine with journalistic integrity, that I could hold in my two hands at such a vulnerable, impressionable age—was incredibly validating to me and my sexual identity. I can’t wait to lift and empower the women of my community through GO Magazine, the same way GO has lifted and empowered me. It all feels very full-circle and ‘meant to be.’”
GO Names Corinne Werder Managing Editor
Lesser also announced the ascension of Corinne Werder to the position of Managing Editor. Werder—who joined GO as Associate Editor in 2016—has been instrumental in implementing many of the recent and positive changes at GO.
“Corinne is a passionate, creative and tireless staffer, without whose dedication and outstanding work this publication might not exist today,” Lesser said. “Corinne’s versatility, expansive skill set as a researcher, writer and manager, coupled with her ‘can-do attitude,’ have made her indispensable this past year. We all rely on Corinne’s counsel, intimate knowledge of, and deep concern for the issues related to the most underserved members of our community. In many ways, Corinne is GO’s moral compass. I know that she will absolutely excel in the position of Managing Editor.”
Werder is a writer, editor and sex educator currently living in Brooklyn, N.Y. With a background in nonprofit communications at the Hudson Valley LGBTQ Community Center, she’s equipped to tackle a diverse range of tasks. Before GO Magazine, Werder ran the social media marketing team for tech company BCM One.
As Managing Editor for GO Magazine, Werder will work to uplift the voices and experiences of all LGBTQ women.
“The past year I’ve spent with GO has been a whirlwind. I’ve not only grown as a writer and editor in this time; I’ve also made amazing community connections,” Werder said. “I remember the first GO Magazine I picked up when working at the Hudson Valley LGBTQ Community Center. Living in a rural area, it was amazing to see that there were queer women paving the way. As a staff member at GO, my favorite part of the journey has been hearing stories from longtime GO readers about the instrumental role our publication plays in the community by providing ‘space’ for LGBTQ women. I’m so excited to continue growing the impact we will undoubtedly have on the community with Zara and Amy. Together, we make an unstoppable team.”
Werder obtained her BA from The College at Brockport, SUNY in 2012, with an international development-focused study abroad experience at the University of Western Cape in South Africa. From her experiences living and teaching abroad, Werder has gained an international perspective which she integrates into her writing, allowing her to uplift voices from diverse backgrounds.
In her free time, Werder volunteers with the RAINN Speakers Bureau, at Bellevue Hospital as sexual assault ER advocate, and writes for Teen Vogue. She will also be presenting at the 2017 Woodhull Sexual Freedom Summit on how to create accountability structures outside of the criminal justice system for sexual assault survivors.
Werder, Lesser, Barrie and the publication’s entire team are equally thrilled for this new era of GO Magazine and excited to continue to fulfill GO’s mission.
Founded in 2002, GO Magazine has served as “The cultural Roadmap For City Girls Everywhere” for fifteen years. GO’s mission is to inform our readers of significant news and events relevant to the LGBTQ community and to celebrate the organizations, events and individuals who enhance our lives as lesbians and as women. GO offers in-depth profiles on women making a difference within and beyond our community through our annual signature pieces including “100 Women We Love,” “Women at the Helm: America’s Most Influential Business Leaders,” and “America’s Most Captivating Couples.” GO also provides timely and well researched voting guides and recommendations for legitimately lesbian/gay friendly businesses and travel destinations.
