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.

Judith Davidoff
When Wisconsin voters followed the money and chose to keep controversial Republican Gov. Scott Walker in office in June, Judith Davidoff and the staff at Isthmus were helping break the story. The News Editor of Madison’s weekly alternative newspaper and website has “always [been] interested in public policy and politics, especially in relation to the underdog,” and the Badger State’s roiling political scene has proven a fertile landscape for Davidoff’s pursuit of the truth. In addition to directing news coverage, she writes cover stories and a bi-monthly news column, and co-created an election-year blog that is a partnership between Isthmus and Progressive Magazine. Over her 20-year career in journalism, Davidoff has focused on bringing the political developments in the upper Midwest to light—and she was honored by Wisconsin Women in Government with its “Woman of Achievement” award for journalism this year. “I truly believe that the fourth estate exists to keep the powerful in check and to make sure the voices of the disenfranchised are heard,” Davidoff says. “I also love good writing and believe the presentation of a story is as important as the story itself. If a story is not clearly written and compelling, it likely won’t get read. “