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Mary Lambert “It changed my life in every single, material way,” Mary Lambert says of the call to write and sing on Macklemore and Ryan Lewis’ hit “Same Love.” From […]

Gina Ortiz Jones “I’ll never forget, one of the very first things I had to do as an Air Force cadet was to sign a piece of paper saying that […]

DJ Mariko DJ Mariko values safe, joyous space. “I remember when I was younger how important it was to have a space that I could go to as gay person,” […]

Imara Jones “The desire to know what’s true, to understand it, and then the need to inform others about what I have come to know is what led me to […]

Tiffany Cabán After serving for nearly a decade as a public defender, Tiffany Cabán ran for Queens District Attorney in 2019. “Initially, I ran because three of my homegirls urged […]

Iman Le Caire The most rewarding aspect of her work “is their metamorphosis,” Iman Le Caire says of the transgender asylum seekers she helps. “The way they look before they […]

Vivian Joiner & Stephanie Tyson “Getting to feed people is a privilege and JOY,” Vivian Joiner (r) enthuses. In 2003, Joiner and partner Stephanie Tyson (l) opened their restaurant Sweet […]

Mary Anne Adams When Mary Anne Adams saw a major resource gap in her queer community, she dropped everything to fill it. In 2017, the public health researcher and trained […]

Keturah Herron The summer of 2020 called many to rethink their lives, including Keturah Herron. “After Breonna Taylor was murdered, I would often speak in different spaces about [how] we […]

Maria Katsikadakou, aka Maria Cyber Maria Katsikadakou, aka Maria Cyber, has been using her voice for decades to fight for equal recognition and rights for Greece’s LGBTQ+ community. “I have […]

Kazi Thomas Kazi Thomas tried to avoid a career in education. She’d volunteer at summer programs, and as a soccer coach, but when it came to her professional life, she’d […]

Jaliessa Sipress At the start of her career, astrologer Jaliessa Sipress spent time at astrology conferences “where my elders’ versions of history and the astrology of it seemed to be […]

Stephanie Battaglino Stephanie Battaglino was corporate vice president of New York Life when she became the first transgender person to come out and transition in the company’s 165+ year history. […]

Shawn Skelly As a teenager, Shawn Skelly was fascinated with aviation. Her mentors were naval aviators, and she soon realized that she, too, could pursue a career in the field. […]

Dana Bolles Working with NASA has its perks, says Dana Bolles, a 27-year veteran with the venerated organization. As a child, she was fascinated with space and now, “I get […]

Rosanna Flamer-Caldera Everyone’s first Pride is life-changing, but Rosanna Flamer-Caldera’s was positively epic. “Harvey Milk headed the parade,” recalls Flamer- Caldera, who moved to San Francisco from her home in […]

Melissa King “Food has a way of connecting people and creating memorable experiences. I love embracing that superpower,” chef Melissa King tells GO. This superpower has helped King soar to […]

Jessica Ware Entomologist Dr. Jessica Ware loves bugs. “Insects are so numerous and there are not enough people studying them,” she enthuses. “Each insect we study is like a time […]

Nina Maresca Growing up in a family full of nurses, Nina Maresca had no plans to become one herself. As a fresh- man in college, she became ill and spent […]

Maura Healey Although originally from New Hampshire, Maura Healey has made a name for herself in neighboring Massachusetts: initially, as the first out Attorney General in the country, and now […]

Linda Villarosa Award-winning journalist and author Linda Villarosa experienced a major setback early in her career. “One of my bosses at the first magazine I worked at out of college […]

Samantha Marie Johnson “I found NYC Pride during a transitional period in my life,” Samantha Marie Johnson tells GO. Four short years later, Johnson serves as the organization’s senior event […]

Naomi Goldberg “I was always good at math, statistics and working with data, but I also wanted to do something that made the world a better place,” Naomi Goldberg tells […]

Tiara Moore Dr. Tiara Moore’s career started on spring break. As a biology major at South Carolina’s Winthrop University, Moore signed up for a Tropical Ecology course “because they were […]

Mercury Stardust Mercury Stardust’s rise to fame on TikTok is nothing short of awe-inspiring. Known affectionately as the “Trans Handy Ma’am,” she uses her platform to educate her audience of […]

Heather Leigh Cullum “I’m only 27, but they say age is just a number, right?” asks Heather Leigh Cullum. She’s already accomplished a lot. Cullum has worked as a freelance […]

Paula Boggs Throughout her childhood and teenage years, music had been central to Paula Boggs “until it wasn’t,” the singer/songwriter tells GO. Despite her early devotion to music, Boggs, a […]

Cindy Buckmaster Dr. Cindy Buckmaster is not an advocate for animal-based research, but she is an advocate “for the strongest science possible and, unfortunately, that still requires research with animals,” […]

Mayra Hidalgo Salazar Originally from Costa Rica, Mayra Hidalgo Salazar is among the first generation of undocumented youth who publicly shared their stories in order to effect positive immigration reform. […]

London Wilmot London Wilmot’s multipotentiality is equal parts impressive and awe-inspiring. She is a writer, athlete-celebrity fashion stylist, and CEO and creative director at Ricco Noir Studios, a bicoastal-based lifestyle […]

Storme Webber “My grandmother set me on this road,” poet and interdisciplinary artist Storme Webber tells GO. It was her grandmother’s “insistence upon joy and creativity [that] made my life […]

Kate O’Brien Kate O’Brien is used to pivoting. The out Canadian’s first (yes, first) championship sport was bob- sleigh pushing: from 2010-15, she competed in nine World Cup races and […]

Mariah Hanson For many queer women, making the pilgrimage to Palm Springs for the Dinah Shore Weekend—“The Dinah”—is a yearly tradition. For others, it’s a once-in- a-lifetime experience. Founder Mariah […]

Andrea Jenkins “I had worked in municipal government for many years,” Andrea Jenkins tells GO, “never really considering running [for office] myself, but in 2016, when America elected an orange […]

Marcia Bernard “My vision is to always be kind and empathetic to everyone I interact with because they might be fighting a battle I know nothing about,” Marcia Bernard tells […]

Margaret Cho Margaret Cho is loved by many, but the comic’s family still has notes. “My grandmother said ‘You look like bloated, as if you’ve been found dead in a […]