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.

Shaynee Rainbolt
Sophisticated, smooth, sumptuous: Shaynee Rainbolt’s jazz styling and cabaret performance deserves every bit of the praise bestowed by her peers. A critically acclaimed professional vocalist and talented storyteller, Rainbolt—equally adept at swinging, scatting or crooning music from every era—won a 2012 Backstage Bistro award for her live tribute to composer Russell Garcia. She’s also landed multiple MAC Awards for original composition and for her album Charmed Life, a collection of her interpretations of Garcia’s songs. But her passion for music isn’t limited to performing and albums. She is a longtime advocate for arts education in schools and teaches vocal technique at the Harlem School of Urban Music and Recording Arts; she also manages artists for Park Avenue Talent. “Whether I am performing, managing or teaching, I feel that I am making a difference by supporting and contributing to the arts and culture of our society. I believe that music and art matter—and it gives me great joy and satisfaction to be able to do the work that I do,” Rainbolt says.