100 Women We Love, Queer Women We Love, Wonder Women

100 Women We Love 2012

June 15, 2012 Destiny Dejesus

“Knowing that my election showed Charlotteans and the world that we are not bound by discrimination wakes me every morning with pride,” proclaims LaWana Mayfield, the City Council representative for District 3 in Charlotte, NC, and the city’s first openly gay elected official. Last November, she trounced her Republican opponent in the council election with 78 percent of the vote, replacing an eight-year incumbent. Now, continuously building on her 15 years of activism, her other leadership posts include the Charlotte Mecklenburg Community Relations Committee, Mecklenburg County Development Corp. Board, Smart Start Board and the Charlotte Lesbian and Gay Fund Board of Advisors. Prior to the election, Mayfield took an active role in LGBT activism as the Human Rights Campaign’s Diversity Co-Chair. “I believe that my role, along with growing the City of Charlotte, is to open the door for LGBTQ dialogue and to create pathways to service. I have this amazing opportunity to help direct the growth of the City of Charlotte through my vote,” Mayfield says. “I am right where I am supposed to be, and I love my job!”

Drum roll, please! We’re excited to present this year’s 100 Women We Love—our most diverse group of out entertainers, artists, athletes, activists, business principals and elected officials yet. Each of these women is a superstar in her own right. Their achievements and contributions shape our lives —and elevate us in the eyes of the world . They’re working to raise LGBT awareness, increase our visibility and quicken our progress toward a just society.

We are extremely proud to present the class of 2012. There are no rankings or numbers. They are all leaders.

Lisa McNulty
Did you catch Cynthia Nixon in Wit a few months back? If so, then you experienced the behind-the-scenes magic of Lisa McNulty. Now Manhattan Theatre Club’s Artistic Line Producer, McNulty has worked on 16 productions at MTC, including the Pulitzer Prize-winning Ruined by Lynn Nottage, Terrence McNally‘s Master Class and David Ives’ Venus in Fur. Before MTC, McNulty spent two seasons as Associate Artistic Director at the Women’s Project, after working as a line producer at Princeton’s McCarter Theatre Center. During her extensive career in New York’s dynamic theatre scene, McNulty has helped bring some of the most critically acclaimed productions to the stage, including The Cataract by Lisa D’Amour and Yellowman by Dael Orlandersmith. Despite her chosen profession in the queer-friendly world of theatre, McNulty acknowledges that all LGBT people should be role models. “In a world where gay kids are still committing suicide, it’s every gay person’s duty to be out of the closet, especially where it’s uncomfortable to do so,” McNulty says. “There’s no excuse for secrecy any more, and so much to be gained by being honest about who you are.”