100 Women We Love: Class of 2017

Every June, GO compiles a select list of talented tastemakers, influencers and all-around inspirational women who are making their mark on the LGBT community and on the world at large.

Mira Krishnan

Photo by Teri Jourdan

Mira Krishnan’s favorite part of her job is “setting the bar really high for what happy LGBTQ people can look like.” “When I get it right, straight people I work with really get that we can add a layer of richness to their world,” Krishnan says. “And LGBTQ people and the people who love us are like, ‘Yes! Nobody ever talks about us that way; this makes me proud to be who I am!’” A neuropsychologist and consultant based in Grand Rapids, Mich., Krishnan works with state and federal government agencies, non-profits, for-profit corporations and organizations to “thrive through celebrating diversity and empowering people with differences and disabilities,” an opportunity for her to marry her work as a psychologist with helping to make communities more inclusive. “Just as I was coming out, Grand Rapids was launching a first in the country LGBTQ professional development program, through its mainstream chamber of commerce,” Krishnan says. “So the amazing thing was, for me, coming out didn’t hurt my professional network at all—everybody’s been so supportive. But then I have this whole new professional network of LGBTQ professionals, who I wouldn’t have gotten to know if I hadn’t come out. I’ve actually had so many opportunities I wouldn’t have had. Now the trick is to get it so everybody has that experience.” What she hopes is that LGBTQ people will see is how lucky they are to have been given such an incredible opportunity to share with humanity. “I think we have a gift to give the world,” she says, “and we shouldn’t give it because they deserve it—they don’t always—but we should give it because it’s why we’re here. We make the world a better place.” —TB


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