100 Women We Love Class of 2010
A Houston, Texas native, Annise Parker has remained close to her roots. She was sworn in as the 61st mayor of Houston in January, becoming only the second woman and first openly gay person to hold that office. She graduated from Rice University and worked for two decades in the oil and gas industry, with 18 of those years spent at the Houston-based Mosbacher Energy Company. For ten years, she co-owned Inklings, a Houston-based independent gay bookstore. Parker was involved in Houston politics for several years prior to becoming mayor, serving six years as a member of the City Council and one six-year term as Houston City Controller. -CB
As the first decade of the new millennium comes to an end, we take a moment to celebrate 100 out lesbians who have made the past year one of inspiring change and amazing progress.
Kim Turrisi
From development to writing to post production, Kim Turrisi has seen all sides of film and TV. After receiving an MA in Communications from Florida State University, Turrisi packed her bags for the west coast and landed jobs at Forbrooke Entertainment and Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Entertainment. Beyond scriptwriting, the sports lover has also published numerous articles on women’s professional soccer and collegiate softball. As a close friend of daytime soap actress Crystal Chappell, Turrisi helped segue the Guiding Light lesbian storyline, affectionately dubbed “Otalia” by fans, into its next incarnation: Venice. Turrisi and Chappell’s new Web series chronicles the life and loves of a lesbian businesswoman, offering the LGBT community relevant programming. Turrisi is the series’ co-creator, executive producer and writer, having taken on such a big role in the production of Venice in the hopes that “people who watch this walk away and realize ‘gay’ is simply a label someone slapped on us, it does not affect how we feel, think or behave.” -KD
