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

100 Women We Love 2012

June 15, 2012
“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.

Nicole Albino
Since their 2004 debut smash single “Move Ya Body,” Queens-bred Nicole Albino and her twin sister Natalie, a.k.a. Nina Sky, have toured the world with their infectious dance sound—and Nicole came out as a lesbian, to the delight of her female fans. The twins grew up in a home filled with the music of their Puerto Rican heritage and the latest house party jams. “Our dad deejayed from sunrise to sunset. It’s because of him that we learned to appreciate all genres of music,” says Nicole, who picked up her head-turning turntable skills as a kid. Nina Sky made a splash at The Dinah in Palm Springs this year, and wowed the crowd at Rome’s Gay Village festival in 2011. Away from gigs, the duo has lent their adorable look to fashion campaigns for Rachel Roy, Converse and G-Shock. Now, Nina Sky is eagerly anticipating the release of its first album in eight years Nicole & Natalie, available for free on July 31. “To have turned my childhood hobby into a full-time career as an adult makes every day of ‘work’ the biggest reward that I could’ve asked for,” Nicole says.

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