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.

Leigh Guldig
Since emerging onto the professional illustration scene late last year, South Boston-based artist Leigh Guldig has made the big time: she frequently contributes editorial designs to The New York Times, counts The Gap and Old Navy among her clients, and has been recognized by the leading directory of illustration talent American Illustration. After completing her undergraduate degree in graphic design, she earned a masters degree in illustration from the Savannah College of Art and Design, where she also received the SCAD award for Outstanding Excellence. Her illustrations are replicas of the past reinterpreted into the future, using images of quotidian objects in the style of Victorian engravings, and take into account current social issues in an effort to spark and ignite change. “Excitement happens for me when I can build a new meaning from the subversion of old imagery,“ she says. She and her partner are both advocates for social justice including LGBT rights, animal rights and the environment. “Visuals can have a simple yet persuasive impact on generating change within society,“ Guldig continues.“I intend to contribute to that change with my illustrations.”