100 Women We Love: Class Of 2020

Writer and academic Stephanie Andrea Allen is an interdisciplinary studies scholar with a focus on representations of race, gender, sexuality, and culture in America. A Postdoctoral Fellow and Visiting Assistant Professor of Gender Studies at IU-Bloomington, she’s currently working on “‘Marginal and Forbidden:’ Black Lesbians, Contemporary American Culture, and the Politics of Representation,” a look at how Black lesbian literature and film responds to heteropatriarchal systems that contribute to their invisibility in popular and literary culture. Allen is also the founder of a number of organizations, including BLF Press, a small, independent, Black feminist publishing house where she serves as the publisher and editor-in-chief, and The Black Lesbian Literary Collective, a not-for-profit collaborative focused on creating a nurturing and sustainable environment for Black lesbian and queer women of color writers. “As a publisher, I’ve had the honor of working with several extremely talented Black lesbian and queer women of color writers,” Allen tells GO. “Black LGBTQ folx are often told that our work is ‘too Black or too queer,’ and I started BLF Press to ensure that our stories were centered, not marginalized or erased. One of the reviewers of our latest collection mentioned that it was the ‘embodiment of creating your own table.’ I’m extremely proud of that.” Aside from her own publications, Allen’s writing can be seen in numerous other outlets, such as Black From the Future: A Collection of Black Speculative Writing and Lez Talk: A Collection of Black Lesbian Short Fiction, as well as “A Failure to Communicate,” her debut creative writing collection. —IL

Lupita Aquino — better known as Lupita Reads — is not only a feverous reader; she’s also the co-founder and moderator for LIT on H St Book Club as well as the owner of an Instagram book blog that keeps her heavily active in the local and online book communities. Aquino also writes about her passion for pages as a columnist for the Washington Independent Review of Books and a contributor for the “Reading Women” podcast. While she loves every part of getting to write about books, Aquino says the most rewarding part of what she does is the ability to connect readers with works that make them feel seen or deeply understood in some way. “Growing up, I only read what was available to me through school,” Aquino tells GO. I didn’t have anyone that was a resource for helping me discover Queer books. The most rewarding aspect has been to become one of the many resources now available to the Queer community that helps us feel less alone.” Hoping to help others feel less alone is a common theme for Aquino, who herself felt welcomed into the LGBTQ+ community by those who supported her when she came out. And whether it’s books or friends, Aquino says it’s the people in her life that keep her going and make all the hard work worth it. “Finding a community,” she says, “either online or through certain family members or close friends that are willing to support you is vital for me.” —IL

As National Organizer for the Transgender Law Center, Micky B coordinates a Black, Indigenous, and Migrant Trans-led coalition to build the Trans Agenda For Liberation, a community-led guide for creating a future where we all both thrive and survive. B actively uses Black Trans Circles, a project founded by Raquel Willis, to train Black Trans Femmes in the South and Midwest in healing justice practices and community defense. “Black Trans Femmes and Black Trans Women should be trusted to lead solutions to the violence against us,” says B. “Once we are free from criminalization, everyone is free to experience joy & justice.” B also co-founded Southern Fried Queer Pride, an Atlanta-based nonprofit empowering Black, queer, and QTPOC-centered communities in the South through the arts, in 2014. No matter what project B’s leading, their mission is always to support the healing of Black, Migrant, and Indigenous transgender people, including past generations and those to come. Currently, B’s film about Frances Thompson, a Black trans activist who fought in the 1860s Memphis race riots, is in pre-production. —IL

“As a writer, you will face endless rejection, ruthless criticism, and brutal bouts of bullying,” says author and writer Zara Barrie. “It’s a wildly competitive field that requires you to let go of your need for instant gratification and focus on the long game (which isn’t easy in this quick-fix culture!).” Barrie doesn’t let the obstacles get to her, though. A widely-published essayist, her work can be found at a variety of print and digital international publications including Huffington Post, Bustle, Cosmo, and GO Magazine itself, where Barrie serves as “Most Esteemed Senior Writer.” Her highly-anticipated self-help book “Girl, Stop Passing Out In Your Makeup: The Bad Girl’s Guide To Getting Your Sh*t Together” recently debuted as well. And despite the difficult process, Barrie continues to share her stories as a means to connect with others who relate to her words. “Publishing my words, telling my story, and connecting with others has been the greatest honor of my haphazard, little life,” she tells GO. “If I can help a few people on this planet cleanse themselves of poison, I’ve done my job.” Proudly out throughout her career, Barrie has learned to protect her sparkle by doing what she’s passionate about — and she wants to encourage those in the LGBTQ+ community to do the same. “People like us, we were not meant for a life merely biding our time, sitting on the sidelines of life!” she says. “Get in that game and be your fabulous, expressive, wild, creative, authentic self.” Barrie identifies as a mascara lesbian and lives beyond her means in New York. —IL

“I was raised Catholic, but my dad worked in the birth control industry, and that was verboten at church,” says author, comedian, and actress Sara Benincasa. “There were a lot of mixed messages!” The confusion that Benincasa felt as a child is what led her to come out as bisexual slowly in her mid-to-late-20s. Growing up in a “somewhat isolated and culturally homogenous area” in New Jersey, she loved being able to run around and explore — but Benincasa loves where she’s going just as much. She’s the host of the mental health podcast “Well, This Isn’t Normal” and speaks at universities and corporations about mental health awareness. Benincasa is also the author of five books — her latest being “Real Artists Have Day Jobs” — and spends a lot of time meeting people and listening to their stories. It’s those experiences that make Benincasa’s constant traveling and meetings worth it, and she admits that she shares her own story “as the entry fee in order to hopefully earn access to others’.” “Online or in real life, I get to go out into the wider world and listen to people,” says Benincasa. “What an honor and a pleasure to get to do this work.” —IL

“It is critical to understand the role of intersecting systems of oppression such as racism, homophobia, and transphobia, as the LGBTQ+ community cannot achieve liberation until all LGBTQ+ people are able to live their lives to their fullest potential,” says Dr. Oni Blackstock, Assistant Commissioner for the New York City Health Department’s Bureau of HIV. For Blackstock, creating equity within the LGBTQ+ community means making sure that everyone is included — especially more marginalized groups. That’s one of the reasons she works now for the New York City Health Department’s Bureau of HIV: to ensure people with HIV and those most at increased risk of catching HIV are thought about and cared for. Blackstock does this by overseeing the city’s response to the HIV epidemic in a variety of ways, including supporting hospitals, community organizations, and grassroots organizations; providing HIV testing, prevention, and treatment services; and advocating for positive public policy changes to increase access to those services. Blackstock has worked hard to embed a commitment to racial equity and social justice in all programming and services, which is critical to ending the HIV epidemic among all New Yorkers, and she’s also passionate about racial equity and social justice. As a Black queer woman, Blackstock is honored to be in a visible position for younger folks “who are queer, Black or Brown, and/or self-identified women” and is proud that her identity has opened doors and made connections — only making her career more fulfilling. —IL

As a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker (LICSW) with over 15 years of experience, Dr. Brandynicole Brooks is deeply knowledgeable about and focused on providing comprehensive family assessments, crisis intervention, and family counseling in a child welfare setting. Since 2015, she’s served as the current director of learning and development with the DC Child and Family Services Agency’s Child Welfare Training Academy, where she focuses on the development of child welfare leaders. Along with issues of child welfare, Brooks is passionate about working with women of color who face oppression through community service and various board memberships. Her book, “Black Single Mothers and the Child Welfare System: A Guide for Social Workers on Addressing Oppression” was published in 2015 by Routledge Publishers. As a young lesbian, Brooks struggled with coming out, but she says seeing other successful queer women willing to share their stories showed her how important it was for her to be out and someone for other young queer women — out or not — to look up to. Now a proudly out lesbian, Brooks lives by a mantra that encourages love not only for herself but for the entire community — a strong force built on love that never gives up. “We, the LGBT Community, are more than what they say we are. We are educated. We are hard-working. We are leaders,” reads Brooks’ mantra. “We are more than just our sexuality, our identity, our gender. We have been faced with hard times and have overcome. We are resilient. We are graceful. We are powerful.” —GP

Dani Campbell may be a familiar face to those of us who love to binge-watch reality shows. As a contestant on “A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila” and a guest star on “Kourtney and Kim Take Miami,” Campbell leaped out of our TVs and into our hearts — so much so that she was dubbed “the first lesbian girl next door.” But while you may know Campbell for standing in the spotlight, her real passion lies in professional firefighting. Currently holding the rank of captain in the Broward Sheriff’s Fire Department, she’s worked as a firefighter/paramedic for over 15 years and plans on taking the Chief’s test in the future. And while being a firefighter is no easy feat, Campbell says having her coworkers by her side is one of the most rewarding aspects of her career. Because they’re responding to nightmare scenarios and are tasked with knowing what to do in times of chaos, having others to debrief and bond with after battles not only makes the job easier but more people-driven as well. “As firefighters, we show up and get the job done with the skills we have learned and polished with time on the job,” Campbell tells GO. “Never forgetting that people’s lives are at stake, we work with a high level of urgency whilst trying to remain calm and collected. While not all of our calls end with a life saved, knowing we did everything we could possibly do is a reward in itself.” —IL

“Innovation is often sparked through diverse thinking, and being different is something that should be celebrated and not shunned,” says Leilani Cannon, Co-Founder of The Vital Plant LLC, which offers clinically-based natural solutions and alternatives to chronic illness. This isn’t Cannon’s first venture into natural medicine; she is also a founding partner of a medically-focused cannabidiol start-up. Regardless of what project Cannon helms, what’s important to her is changing the way people consider treating illness and the gaps that may currently exist in the standard procedures. “The whole premise of our work is to develop organic solutions to chronic illnesses where traditional pharmaceutical drugs are not an ideal option,” she says. “Some medications can be too costly or come with unwanted side effects, or conversely pharmaceuticals might be the only option until a natural alternative is created. There are still many gaps in conventional treatments and being able to fill them naturally is our mission.” And while she’s enjoyed the work she’s been able to do, Cannon often hid her sexuality early in her career in an effort to not draw attention to herself. Once she became less concerned about fitting in, she was able to truly flourish as a person and as a professional. “What I realized was that if you only color within comfortable lines, you will never truly actualize your creative potential,” Cannon says. “Being able to overcome the fear of rejection for being different (whether legitimate or imagined) provided me the courage to express new ideas and innovations openly.” —GP

“When I transitioned, there was no protection for transgender people against discrimination, and living with HIV meant that barriers to a good quality of life were amplified,” Cecilia Chung tells GO. “So when I began to advocate for transgender rights and inclusion, it’s not because I was interested in public policy. I was literally fighting for my life and my rights to exist.” Fighting for the rights of transgender persons and those living openly with HIV is one Chung has been at for nearly thirty years. In 2008, she was elected president of the San Francisco Human Rights Commission, becoming the first transgender woman living openly with HIV to hold the position. Under her watch as Health Commissioner of the San Francisco Department of Public Health, she spearheaded the city’s initiative to become the first to cover gender-affirming surgeries for the uninsured. In addition to serving as Health Commissioner, Chung is also Senior Director of Strategic Projects and Evaluation at the Transgender Law Center, previously serving as the Center’s first deputy director in 2005. As one charged with speaking on behalf of so many, Chung says that her own openness and visibility are a job requirement — a way to let others know they aren’t alone. “I survived the hate and the violence. I stepped out of isolation and reconciled with my family, and I want to make sure others can hold on to that bit of hope I shared until they see their own silver lining.” —RK

Regardless of your faith — whether you practice Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, spirituality, or self-belief — Nicole Conger urges you to embrace it. “In times that chaos may seem unending,” the civil rights lawyer says, “wear what makes you feel bright, release any added layers that you are wearing for others, and simply lean into your faith.” The owner of her own law practice in Austin, Conger brings this warmth and positivity to her work representing clients who have experienced discrimination, harassment, work-place troubles pertaining to sexual orientation and medical leave — essentially anyone seeking legal protection as well as a little sunshine. Conger, who graduated Magna Cum Lauda from St. Mary’s University School of Law in 2011, opened her own practice almost three years ago and has since devoted herself to helping those in need. The most satisfying part of her job, she tells GO, is having the chance to know that she is involved in her community, helping to promote equal rights and diversity. “My passion for helping those in need and nonprofits over the nation is my drive,” she says, “as I know that we can all do our part in giving back.” Conger has been recognized as one of the Top 50 Women in Law by the Diversity Council; she has also been elected a Fellow in the highly selective Texas Bar Foundation. —RK

Filmmaker Thirza Cuthand is paving the way for queer Indigenous artists and filmmakers. Born in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada and raised in Saskatoon, she is of Plains Cree and Scots descent and a member of Little Pine First Nation who currently lives in Toronto. Since 1995, she has crafted experimental films that highlight topics such as sexuality, race, and mental health. Her work has been screened at international festivals such as Berlinale in Berlin, the Tribeca Film Festival in New York City, Mix Brasil Festival of Sexual Diversity in São Paulo, and Outfest in LA. Her art also appears in museums and galleries like the Whitney Museum of American Art, The Remai in Saskatoon, and The National Gallery in Ottawa. Cuthand even dabbles in video game development and created the 2-D game “A Bipolar Journey” based on her own experience with Bipolar Disorder. While she works toward her own creative expression, Cuthand sees her own role as a representative voice in the queer Indigenous community. “I think becoming a filmmaker was inextricably tied with being queer, since I wasn’t seeing representations of myself in the media and created work addressing these gaps,” Cuthand tells GO. “I think the continuing theme of my work is to create representations of my communities as a 2 Spirit/ Indigiqueer person, an Indigenous person, and a Lesbian.” —GP

Hadassah Damien is many things: economic researcher, finance educator, open-source technologist, entrepreneur, and artist — just to name a few. “I work at the intersection of money, social impact, and people’s deepest hopes and dreams for their lives and our world,” Damien tells GO. “My work is simultaneously incredibly deep, intensely practical, and creative.” With her financial consultation platform, Ride Free Fearless Money, Damien offers services like consultation, coaching, and workshops to individuals, community organizations, small businesses, and nonprofits looking to start-up or better manage their money. Her purpose is to help progressive groups develop transparent, inclusive, equitable, and sustainable models of business. The world of finance might seem daunting — especially for people and organizations without a background of economic knowledge or power — but Damien aims to change this. “Seeing people create meaningful workplaces, support social change, and gain control in their lives is truly beautiful because it reminds me we are not just at the mercy of the systems,” she says. “We can build better things together.” In addition to financial education and consultation, she’s also a maker of immersive theater games and a Lambda award-winning writer, for her anthology “Glitter and Grit.” —RK

I Need Diverse Games founder and overall badass, Tanya DePass, works to promote diversity and inclusion in gaming and support marginalized developers in the ever-changing world of video games. She strives for inclusivity in all realms of her life; as a bisexual woman, she knows that her sexuality is not always taken seriously by not only straight people but the gay community as well. “Bisexuality is real, valid, and not to be scoffed at as a phase,” DePass tells GO. “The B is in LGBTQIA+ for a reason.” Tanya is committed to helping underrepresented developers and creators in the gaming community rise to the forefront. She’s the programming & diversity coordinator for OrcaCon and GaymerX and often speaks on issues surrounding diversity, feminism, and intersectionality. She also runs the Dungeons & Dragons gaming show “Rivals of Waterdeep,” which seeks to highlight diverse voices in D&D. Published in gaming publications Green Ronin, Paizo, and Monte Cook Games — as well as Uncanny Magazine, Vice Gaming, and Paste Games — DePass is a driving force in the fight to create better games for all to enjoy. “The most rewarding aspect of my work is meeting people who feel like they belong in game,” she adds, “because of the visibility I’ve gained — or after seeing the D&D show I’m on with an all POC cast and knowing they have a place in the industry.” —GP

Chinyere Ezie embodies the words of her hero Audre Lorde: “Be the change you want to see in the world.” The civil rights lawyer, now at the Center for Constitutional Rights, has been fighting for LGBTQ+ equality her entire career. At the Southern Poverty Law Center, Ezie was lead attorney on Diamond v. Owens, a case that challenged the Georgia Department of Corrections for refusing to grant transition-related medicare for transgender inmate Ashley Diamond. In 2016, Ezie became a trial attorney for the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, where she defended the rights of workers subjected to religious indoctrination by the United Health Programs of America and its parent company. For her clients, Ezie secured a $5.1 million verdict and an injunction against the company to prevent future violations. In 2018, she launched #BoycottPrada after the luxury brand featured racist figurines on display in one of its New York stores. “I feel like being black and queer is my superpower,” she tells GO. “It sharpens my analysis, fuels my advocacy, and gives me empathy to spare.” For her work, she was named one of the country’s “Best LGBT Lawyers Under 40” by the National LGBT Bar Association in 2016. —RK

Filipina LGBTQ+ activist Naomi Fontanos pushes towards systemic change every day in the Philippines — a country currently led by authoritarian president Rodrigo Duterte. And while she’s looking to create major systemic change, Fontanos’ work proves that she knows it can’t and won’t be successful if it’s not an inclusive movement. “As they promote and endorse sexism, misogyny, racism, xenophobia, ableism, religious fundamentalism, militarism, capitalism, classism, [and] elitism and work to roll back hard-won human rights, we are called to harness the power of collective struggle and resist,” says Fontanos. “Our resistance must be informed by a feminism that is decolonized, intersectional, and trans inclusive in order to effectively challenge and dismantle patriarchy and heteronormativity.” As co-founder and current Executive Director of Gender and Development Advocates (GANDA) Filipinas, a “transgender, lesbian, gay, bisexual, intersex, and queer (TLGBIQ)” human rights organization, Fontanos focuses on the issues and needs of the Philippines’ transgender community. In 2015, Fontanos joined the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) of the United States State Department on Preventing and Responding to Bias-Motivated Violence Against the LGBT Community, making her the first trans Filipina to be a fellow in the program. Previously, Fontanos was also named the first trans co-coordinator of Task Pride Force (TFP) Philippines, the official group behind the annual Metro Manila Pride March, in 2008. For Fontanos, though, it’s not about setting records or being the “first;” it’s about advocating for the queer community and influencing policy that makes their lives better, not worse. And even now, with the “rise of strongmen all around the world” who pedal a “rhetoric of hatred and fear,” Fontanos knows progress still needs to be made — and she’s happy to lead the charge. —GP

A 1980 graduate of West Point, Sue Fulton was part of the first class at the United States Military Academy to admit women. While commissioned in the Army, Fulton served as a platoon leader and company commander in Germany and was honorably discharged at the rank of Captain. “Being a lesbian was potentially devastating to my career as a young lieutenant right out of West Point,” Fulton tells GO. “In 1981, there wasn’t a “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy — there was a gay ban. … I remember the feeling after I’d been relieved of duty pending a Criminal Investigation Division investigation into my sexuality – the feeling that everything I’d worked for at West Point and beyond was over.” After leaving the service, Fulton co-founded Knights Out, an organization of LGBTQ+ West Point alumni and allies, and helped found OutServe, an association for actively-serving LGBTQ+ military members. She also played a major role in lifting the military’s ban on transgender service in 2013 as President of SPART*A, a group for transgender people who currently serve or have served in the military. President Obama even recognized Fulton’s work, appointing her the first openly gay member of the West Point Board of Visitors in 2011. Fulton followed up the naming by becoming the first female USMA graduate to chair the Board in 2015. Most recently, Fulton worked with New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy to facilitate the adoption of licensing drivers regardless of immigration status. “Ultimately, being an out West Point grad gave me remarkable credibility in the battle for LGBT rights in the military — a battle we won, then partially lost, and are now re-engaged in,” says Fulton. —IL

“My work is very personal to me,” says Zil Goldstein, Associate Medical Director for Transgender Health at Callen-Lorde Community Health Center. As a member of the transgender/non-binary community for two decades, Goldstein has witnessed first-hand the struggles that the community goes through, from seeing friends be denied healthcare to losing friends to suicide. “I always quote the statistic [that] ‘40 percent of transgender people attempted suicide’ from the US Trans Survey in 2015, but in real life, this means I’ve lost a lot of friends and loved ones,” she says. But Goldstein is doing what she can to reverse this trend. While working in the Mount Sinai Health System, she helped establish the Center for Transgender Medicine and Surgery, the first of its kind in the New York healthcare world. Now with Callen-Lorde, she’s responsible for ensuring accessible health care for over 4,500 transgender persons. While Goldstein knows that there improving the quality of life for transgender persons isn’t straightforward, she’s dedicated herself specifically to the improvement of health care and gender-affirming treatment, because she believes these are the areas that can have the most impact. “Access to these treatments improves everything — from depression and anxiety outcomes to treatment adherence for chronic diseases — and is so important for TGNB people everywhere,” she tells GO. Recently, she has furthered her goals for improved treatment by obtaining funding to start a free clinic for survivors of sex trafficking, which works both with those forced into sex work as well as voluntary, consensual sex workers. —RK

In 2015, Arlan Hamilton was homeless. But at the same time, she was building Backstage Capital, a fund that invests in start-up founders who identify as people of color, women, and/or LGBTQ+. It all started when Hamilton became deeply interested in start-ups and entrepreneurship and dove deep into the world of venture capital. What she found fueled a need to create major change in the industry. “I found out that only 0.2 percent of venture capital funding was allocated to Black women founders, and that most of the time, venture capitalists had a ‘type’ they invested in,” she tells GO. “I wanted to show that people like me: people of colour, women, and those in the LGBTQ community, were just as smart, inventive, and worthy of investment as the straight white men of the world.” Since its founding, the fund has raised more than $10 million and has invested in 130 companies that are often overlooked and underestimated. Hamilton expanded her mission In 2018 when she started Backstage Studio, which launched a number of accelerator programs for underestimated founders in Detroit, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and London. The same year, she became the first Black woman non-celebrity featured on the cover of Fast Company magazine. And whether she’s speaking in a boardroom or posing for a photoshoot, Hamilton doesn’t try to be anyone but herself. “You are a unique person,” she says, “and only you can provide your point of view, so speak up, let yourself be heard, and let yourself be seen!” Hamilton’s book, “It’s About Damn Time,” about her life and the transition from “food-stamp recipient to venture capitalist,” is out now. —GP

Phyllis Harris is the Greater Cleveland LGBT Community Center’s first black lesbian director in its 45-year history, but, she says, she tells people her identity is not why she works with the center. “I work there because I’m a nonprofit practitioner, and I happen to proudly identify as a lesbian,” she tells GO. “I believe in servant leadership. I believe in the power of charity work. I value being able to bring my intersectional, lived experience to the work that I do, and the LGBT Community Center’s mission allows for me to do it with a goal to thrive as a leader.” As the current director, she oversaw the Center’s transition to its new home in Gordon Square on Cleveland’s west side in June 2019 and has increased the Center’s budget and staff in the process. Harris — who has previous experience working with the Rape Crisis Center, Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Greater Cleveland, and Planned Parenthood of Northeast Ohio — understands the impact that nonprofit work and advocacy have on those who’ve been forgotten or marginalized. “Let us remember that our goal is not conformity to the status quo,” she says. “That leaves too many of us out of life, love, and liberty. We are part of a movement for the rights and respect of all Queers. Support of leadership development in our movement to advocate for better quality of life options for LGBTQ+ people is worthwhile. We dare not leave anyone behind.” —RK

Since being elected to the Colorado General Assembly in 2016, Representative Leslie Herod has strived for major reform for all in her district— but especially marginalized communities. A Black queer woman, Herod notes that being out at work is nothing short of an advantage; it gives her an intersectional approach, allows her to be her authentic self, and helps forge a stronger connection to her constituents. “The more I speak honestly about my story, the more people are willing to share theirs with me,” says Herod. “It is in that extremely personal space that I learned how many of us are struggling and how little elected officials like me are doing to help.” Now in her second term, Herod has passed over 68 bills addressing criminal justice reform, mental health, addiction, youth homelessness, and civil rights protections. In addition to her role in the State Legislature, Herod also championed Caring for Denver, a ballot initiative that raises $35 million annually for mental health and substance abuse treatment and services. Although she was told “it was never going to work,” Herod pushed ahead to create the largest mental health foundation in the state in an effort to her community. “After hearing from so many people struggling, I knew that I had no choice but to try,” she tells GO. “We are tackling these systemic issues head-on, addressing barriers, and ensuring those who really need the support get it.” Herod strives every day to represent her constituents — particularly those who have not traditionally been invited to the table — through her governmental work. “I am extremely honored to be able to represent my hometown,” says Herod. “I pride myself in being able to pass legislation that makes a real difference in the lives of real people.” —GP

“As I got older and started to understand what it meant to be a Black gay woman in this country, along with the experiences I’d had in corporate America prior to starting the business, it was very clear that this was the field I needed to be in,” says Tiffany Hudson, co-founder of the Nova Collective, a women and Black-owned business that helps other companies build inclusive cultures. Developing an interest in diversity, equity, and inclusion work as a child thanks to her parents — who were both involved with the programs at their respective companies — Hudson kept her passion alive into adulthood and through a corporate job. However, she quit that successful career to help create The Nova Collective, which delivers a number of different identity and learning programs, trainings, products, and consulting with an explicit focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion. Through her work, Hudson makes it her mission to challenge corporate workplace norms and “business as usual” as a means to create cultural evolutions and center the experiences of folks who have often been marginalized. Ultimately, Hudson hopes to help companies and organizations create a more equitable workplace and environment by dismantling the systems of oppression that exist within many workplaces today. “To know that we are doing what we can to not only educate workforces around DEI [diversity, equity, and inclusion] topics and issues, but also create behavioral change within workspaces, is what keeps me going every day,” says Hudson. “I want those folks who are experiencing pain, whether emotional or physical, to wake up one day and be happy about going to work.” —GP

“Me being out and visible means that some black queer kid somewhere in the South sees someone that looks like them talking about issues that affect them,” Kendra R. Johnson, Executive Director of Equality North Carolina, tells GO. “Working in a mainstream equality organization but talking about Black and Brown unity, incarcerated folks, resource-poor people, sex workers, trans and GNC liberation, and undocumented people means changing the narrative that the only thing that matters is marriage equality and bathrooms.” It’s this commitment to creating a more equitable South through diversity, safe schools, inclusive institutions, and welcoming communities that fuels Johnson’s passion, and it’s what has always made her a social changemaker, from her college days at Spelman — where she started their first lesbian and bisexual support group in the ‘90s — to volunteering communications services for Brazil’s first historically Black college. Johnson’s drive lies with creating equality regardless of identity, she says, because her own life has been so defined and judged by others. “The choices society presented me were filtered through the lens of race and gender and later sexual orientation,” she says. “It took a long time to find my voice and discover the impact I’d had and have on people.” But now, Johnson says she has the ability to help others feel powerful and inspired — unlike when she was growing up — and her favorite part of the work she does is knowing she’s making a difference. On top of working for Equality North Carolina, Johnson is also a former chair for Southerners on New Ground (SONG) and currently sits on the House of GG’s, created by trans activist and legend Miss Major Griffin-Gracy. —GP

“Being in the closet eats up so much energy and causes stress and anxiety,” says Nina Kennedy. “There’s strength in numbers, and people won’t know how many of us there are unless we come out.” Coming out has been nothing but good to Kennedy, a classical pianist, orchestral conductor, award-winning filmmaker, TV personality, and author. Holding a master’s degree from Juilliard, the multihyphenate presented her first complete piano recital at age nine and appeared as a soloist with the Nashville Symphony at age 13. She currently hosts “The Noshing with Nina Show,” an award-winning monthly talk show on Manhattan Neighborhood Network (MNN). Aside from her current success, being an out lesbian allowed Kennedy to relate to and understand her audience, making her projects — like writing lesbian erotica, producing short films, and doing spoken-word — more relatable and popular. Kennedy just released “Practicing for Love,” her first book in a series of memoirs about her early life as a child piano prodigy, her young adulthood, and her “budding sexuality.” The music video for “Blue White and Red,” a trap/classical single, dropped on Juneteenth. —IL

Best known for her performance in the Broadway musical “The Prom,” Tony-nominated actress Caitlin Kinnunen strives to work on projects that portray people with raw honesty and truth. “It’s so wonderful getting to see how everyone responds to that and really opens up to me because of it,” she tells GO. In “The Prom,” Kinnunen played a Midwestern lesbian teen named Emma, whose prom is canceled because she wanted to bring her girlfriend. Kinnunen’s Broadway credits don’t stop there, though. She has also starred as Thea in “Spring Awakening” and Carolyn in “The Bridges Of Madison County,” as well as Natalie in the national tour of “Next to Normal,” a rock opera focusing on mental health and family ties. As an advocate for real and relatable stories, Kinnunen is also looking for ways to amplify and highlight voices that deserve to have the spotlight. And while she’s working to call attention to queer voices in theater, Kinnunen tells GO the best way to do it in everyday life is just to be visible. “Show up each day and be unapologetically you!” she says. “It’s so important to be true to who you are. It will empower you to be better each day and show others it’s ok to be yourself.” —GP

Chef Alex Koones left working in Michelin starred restaurant behind to start her own pop-up supper club for queer women, trans, and nonbinary people: Babetown. Built around the experience of dinner parties and social gatherings as safe, comfortable, and fun spaces for queer folk, Babetown thrived as a major event planner for the community with often sold-out get-togethers. But the company did a full 180-degree change when Coronavirus struck and hit New York City hard. Koones decided she would use her resources to keep bringing the party to those that were most affected by the pandemic through a meal delivery service called Babe Deliveries. It started out as a way to help a close friend stay fed through the pandemic, though Babe Deliveries blossomed into a major service that sells out quickly and takes up Koones’ entire day. “I am a person in a pandemic with the resources and ability to bring affordable meals to my people, and many of the people I deliver to are really in situations where they can’t leave the house,” she tells GO. “I think Babe Delivery, being able to do this now and bring food that is playful and whimsical and seasonal and colorful to queers in quarantine, that’s the most rewarding aspect of my career. I’ve made a lot of dumb decisions in my life and I’ve done so much wrong, but no matter what, if I make it to old and gray, Babe Delivery will be the thing I know I did right.” —GP

“I’m all about challenging traditional and patriarchal mindsets,” says Gabrielle Lenart, founder and CEO of the New York-based queer food collective This Queer Kitchen (soon to be The Queer Food Foundation). “If we can confront these issues within our current broken food system, then we can build a better foundation that supports and uplifts minorities such as LGBTQIA+ and QTBIPOC individuals working in food.” With This Queer Kitchen, Lenart and her team use food as a centerpiece for community-building events that cater to the LGBTQ+ and other marginalized groups; events include charity dinners, PRIDE potlucks, and networking opportunities for womxn chefs and business owners. Lenart, who graduated with an M.A. in Food Studies from New York University and who also worked freelance for the James Beard Foundation, tells GO that she wishes to be the kind of role model she’d wanted as a child. “I knew whatever I decided to do in my life, I would do it with the intentions of being unapologetic, authentic, and purposeful,” she says. “Growing up, I never found a queer role model, let alone one who dealt with important issues around food.” When COVID-19 struck, she provided food resources for those affected by the coronavirus outbreak, and for those who are looking to help the afflicted and to support queer-owned eateries. Her current intention with This Queer Kitchen is to shift it into the nonprofit sector in order to promote, create, fund, and support queer food spaces. The most rewarding part of her job, she says, is “being part of something bigger and more important than myself. The queer food era is now, even during the pandemic, and it’s not going anywhere.” —RK

“I understand what it feels like to be marginalized — and what many LGBTQ youth are going through — because I have experienced it myself,” says Amazin LêThi, Vietnamese LGBTQ+ sports and human rights advocate. “I don’t want anyone else to go through [it].” Suffering a great amount of discrimination and bullying as a child and teenager, LêThi has faced homelessness, poverty, and deep depression. But rather than succumb to the difficulty, she decided to work to help others avoid falling into similar positions. She created the Amazin LêThi Foundation to support homeless LGBTQ+ youth through leadership, development, and sports as a platform for change, and in 2019, she launched the first-ever Asian LGBTQ Southern Voice event in Georgia. LêThi’s work extends outside of the US, too. She was the first international activist working in Vietnam to give scholarships to transgender youth, and she piloted the Leadership Sports and Education Program in Vietnam, which fast-tracks homeless LGBTQ+ youth into career development and is set to launch in the US in 2021. Being an author, athlete ally, Stonewall sports champion ambassador, and advocate has allowed LêThi to share her personal story, live freely as an openly out Asian woman, and connect to audiences on a deeper level with shared experiences — something she hopes to pass on through her work. “Sharing my story and living authentically and unapologetically gives me the freedom to realize that my emotions are real, that how I feel inside matters, and that I’m worthy of owning the space that I’m in,” she says. —IL

One might be forgiven for overlooking the subversive potential of a Ben & Jerry’s marketing campaign, but for author and professor Kristin Lieb, subverting pop culture is all part of a semester’s work. Lieb, a professor at Boston’s Emerson College and author of “Gender, Branding, and the Modern Music Industry: The Social Construction of Female Popular Music Stars,” recognizes the power of representation in shaping — or re-shaping — our cultural perspectives. After working as a high-level executive in the music industry, Lieb switched gears, joining the academic world “because I knew it would allow me to live an interesting and unconventional life and spend my time thinking, writing, and teaching about things that genuinely interest me and influence our culture.” In her classes, she tells GO, this might mean having students meld issues like prison reform awareness into a new campaign for a popular ice cream brand or recreate music videos to challenge stereotypes about gender, sexuality, and race. In her writing, both academic and mainstream, she addresses how gender, sex, and sexuality influence the treatment, branding, and marketing of female artists. Lieb’s work has appeared in such outlets as “Buzzfeed”, “Billboard”, “Rolling Stone,” and numerous academic anthologies. When not actively engaged in subverting pop culture, the self-professed “middle-aged, alt-rock nerd” can be found “listening to music, traveling to climb a mountain, or hanging out with her cat or somebody else’s dog.” —RK

Katherine Linton is an award-winning producer, director, and showrunner who has been working on documentaries and series for stations like LOGO, Bravo, PBS, A&E, MTV, and HBO for more than 25 years. The content she creates is heavily LGBTQ+-focused, and Linton even brought queer issues to the national television screen as early as 1993 with “In the Life,” an LGBTQ+ newsmagazine. Her work is heavily-awarded, too. Linton wrote and produced “AIDS: A Pop Culture History” for VH1, which won her a Cable Poz Award for Best History Documentary and was nominated for a GLAAD Award for Outstanding TV Journalism, and “Black Las Vegas: In Through the Backdoor,” which was given the International Television Competition World Medal and a Bronze Telly. But it’s not the awards that keep Linton going; it’s the people she meets and the stories she gets to hear. “I get to go to people’s homes and see where they live and learn what it’s like locally and in their families directly,” she says. “And in doing research for any project, I speak to even more people than I meet. I get the pulse from the source.” To fuel her connection-based documentaries, Linton launched her own production company, Linton Media, in 2004 with “The Evolution Will Be Televised,” a 90-minute special that launched the LOGO TV network. In 2019, she created, co-directed, and wrote “Rebellion! Stonewall,” and MSNBC special about the gay rights movement and the Stonewall Uprising. Linton’s latest project was a one-hour broadcast special and digital series called “Prideland” about queer people living with immense obstacles in the deep South. —IL

For photojournalist Syd London, being out and visibly queer is a way in with the LGBTQ+ people she documents in her photographs. “People can feel that my goal is to honor their story rather than exploit, and this has a profound impact on a person’s willingness to honestly share their experiences,” she tells GO. And it’s a good thing she’s welcomed, as gaining trust is essential for the intersectional and often marginalized communities whose stories London’s photographs tell. “Ground Surge: Communities Rising” — her first solo show that ran at the Kean Institute for Human Rights in 2016 — chronicled the impact of racial, age-based, and economic discrimination affecting various communities, including people of color, gender non-conforming individuals, low-income households, and aging LGBTQ+. Her documentation was a ten-year labor of love and captured evolving landscapes of accessibility and organization within these communities. “At a time when too few of our stories were being told, I wanted to contribute to increasing the visibility of queer lives,” she says. “Storytelling is one of our oldest forms of learning and validation. When we don’t see ourselves reflected in the world’s media and we don’t have a family who accepts us at home, it’s easy to feel very alone.” London continues to explore the underrepresented in her work, turning her lens on healthcare and eldercare access in the Catskills, her new hometown. —RK

An emergency room nurse for 13 years, Clare Madrigal currently serves both on the frontline of the COVID-19 pandemic and as the LGBTQ+ Resource Nurse for two Johns Hopkins Medicine hospitals, where she trains hospital staff on LGBTQ+ health, acts as a patient and employee advocate, and organizes community outreach. She’s also the owner of REACH: Rainbow Education And Consulting for Health, LLC, where she assists organizations in creating affirming and inclusive practices. Her passion for the position only grows, and Madrigal’s goal is to make everyone feel welcome and listened to in medical facilities. “Over the years, as I’ve educated myself on LGBTQ health, my passion for providing this important education has grown,” she says. “LGBTQ patients often feel more comfortable sharing more personal details of their health history with someone that they know is LGBTQ or an ally.” As an emergency nurse at Frederick Health Hospital, Madrigal has implemented queer health education and encourages inclusive practices within the organization. She says that while being an out queer woman was not celebrated when she first started working as a nurse almost 14 years ago, it’s now an important part of her career. Both staff and patients alike look to Madrigal for knowledge and support, and she knows that being visible in her role is one step toward helping those she’s treating and working with feel proud of who they are. “I wear rainbow accessories, a pronoun pin, [and] a queer haircut to be visual to patients and co-workers,” says Madrigal. “Sharing my personal experiences as a queer person, and as a fellow healthcare provider, helps form a connection.” Madrigal was recently awarded the Johns Hopkins Achievers Award, meant to “recognize and highlight underrepresented minorities who exemplify excellence and models of the Johns Hopkins Medicine core values.” —GP

As a nationally recognized writer, poet, activist, and educator, Roya Marsh always seems to have the right words to say. From Poetry Magazine to the Huffington Post, Marsh’s work can be seen in multiple publications, and “dayliGht,” her debut collection of poems, was published in March 2020. While she writes to express herself, Marsh has also found that her visibility as a queer Black writer — and its consequences — are what make her work worthwhile. “The most rewarding aspect of my work has been the response from youth of the LGBT+ community,” she tells GO. “My hope has always been to inform and inspire, and knowing that there are young people looking to me as a role model further encourages me to keep writing and continue fighting.” The combination of her visibility and passion for intersectionality in the LGBTQ+ community and dismantling systems of oppression fuels Marsh in the projects she takes on, like working “to shift the cultures of schools in some of the most troubled communities” and to bring more attention to the need for stronger arts education. And while being visible and proud makes the work worth it, Marsh is an educator at her core, and she knows the knowledge gained is the most important thing. “Representation isn’t the only perk,” says Marsh. “There’s also this moment when young people see someone that has done away with respectability politics and debunks preconceived notions to stand before them and tell them they deserve to be heard — to encourage their creativity and allow them to talk freely about how the world affects them.” —GP

General Surgical Trainee Greta McLachlan was so tired of seeing all-male panels at healthcare conferences that she founded, along with four other doctors, Women’s Speakers in Healthcare (WSH). Since its creation in 2019, McLachlan’s company has become the world’s largest database of women speakers and male allies for healthcare events. “The response to [WSH’s] creation, and the support we have received from both women and men, has shown us just how much this initiative is needed. Whilst our name is about women, we are about diversity of all kinds,” McLachlan tells GO. “The hope is that by promoting all types of diversity at events, speakers can be role models for the future leaders in healthcare and increase diversity and representation — because it’s hard to be what you can not see.” Most recently, McLachlan has been working in the NHS England and Improvement’s Strategic Planning and Development Cell in response to COVID-19. While the role includes working on national strategy, national guidance, and response coordination, McLachlan had to step away from the role for a bit after herself falling ill with what was likely Coronavirus. Prior to her current work, she also acted as an Anatomy Demonstrator at King’s College London and President of the Alcock Society, which organizes an annual national conference for surgical trainees and anatomists. No matter what role she’s taking on, though, McLachlan is conscious to some extent that others look to her — for healthcare guidance, leadership advice, and how to live their lives out and unapologetically. “I consciously try and make references to my wife in talks, conversations, or stories,” McLachlan says. “I’m not sure I can change the world, but I am going to keep on trying, and hopefully bring a few friends.” —IL

Model and actress Jillian Mercado has always been immersed in fashion. With a mother and father who worked in an embroidery factory and shoe store respectively, Mercado knew almost everything about clothing before she could even put together her own outfits. With years of playing with her mother’s sewing machines under her belt, Mercado pursued a degree in merchandising management from the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT). Although she didn’t seriously consider modeling after graduation, Mercado ended up submitting herself to an open call for the clothing company Diesel. Two weeks later, she received the call that she was chosen for the brand’s campaign. Since then, Mercado has starred in campaigns for major companies — like Olay, Calvin Klein, Target, and Tommy Hilfiger — and a number of editorial pieces. In 2018, Mercado was even featured on Teen Vogue’s first digital cover. “I will forever be grateful for that privilege [that gave] me the opportunity to not only choose exactly the career that I want but to diversify an industry that has not been able to fully cater to my communities,” she tells GO. It’s the ability to be visible as a queer, disabled, Latinx woman that drives Mercado in tandem with her passion. Off-camera, she devotes her time to working as a disability advocate, speaking at summits such as Business of Fashion’s 500 Symposium and Adweek’s Women Trailblazer Summit. And with her role as immigration attorney Maribel Suarez on “The L Word: Generation Q,” Mercado is bringing awareness and visibility for the LGBTQ+ community to the forefront as well. “I feel that in my heart representation matters a lot, and it can assure that our stories are being heard through people who live it on a daily basis,” she says. —IL

Vivienne Ming is a theoretical neuroscience, entrepreneur, author, mother, and wife. She co-founded Socos Labs — her fifth company — with her wife, Dr. Norma Ming, as a “mad science incubator” dedicated to providing solutions for some of the world’s modern and pressing issues. While it may not be easy work, Ming says that exploring how everyone from educators to policymakers can change the outcomes of the lives they touch is rewarding. “These are messy, complex human problems: inclusion, health, inequality,” Ming says. “It’s immensely rewarding to both discover a new understanding that might change a life and then share stories of our adventures in mad science to change so many more.” Ming’s career extends outside of Socos Lab and encompasses a variety of scientific fields, from cybernetics to neurodiversity. Independently, she uses AI systems to research and create solutions for health issues like diabetes and to predict manic episodes in those with bipolar disorder — research that allows her to use her knowledge for the greater good. “I have learned one single truth: If you want to lead an amazing life, give it to someone else,” she says. “Across all of these domains, my only interest is, ‘Are we better people in the end?’ Understanding how our lives, brains, and biology interact to make us different should be a celebration rather than a diagnosis.” —GP

How has being out affected Jasika Nicole’s career? “I truly don’t know,” she tells GO. “It’s the same as asking me how being black has affected my work — it’s hard to tell because I haven’t ever been anything else, so I haven’t experienced anything else.” As an actress, she recognizes that more roles go to cisgender, straight white women, but Nicole also understands how her identity as a biracial queer woman has afforded her privileges others don’t get, considering she is cisgender, light-skinned, and able-bodied. “Yes, I have been discriminated against because of my race and my sexuality, but I have no right to complain about these things if I can’t also recognize the advantages I have had which have allowed me to forge a successful career in film and TV,” she tells GO. And Nicole has found success, landing roles in high-profile TV shows like “Fringe” and “The Good Doctor.” She’s also voiced the protagonist Keisha in the hit podcast “Alice Isn’t Dead”, which chronicles a truck driver’s surrealist search for her missing wife. The most rewarding aspect of her career, Nicole says, is that she is always learning and being challenged. “As an actor, I can only portray a character through the lens of my own history and experience, and since our lives and world are ever-evolving, it means that my perspective is, too. I could play the same character at various moments in my life and the performance would be different every single time.” —RK

World-renowned HIV researcher Chloe Orkin chose her career path after losing her friend Steven to the virus in medical school. Orkin has since committed herself to help others with HIV have a different experience. She is currently a professor of HIV medicine at Barts Health NHS Trust in London and previously served as the Chair of the British HIV Association, where she provided medical evidence to challenge discriminatory laws against people living with HIV. She was also the lead researcher on a trial of the first-ever monthly injectable HIV drug and fronted the “Going Viral” HIV testing campaign. Currently, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, Orkin has switched her focus to coordinating the research of the pandemic-causing illness at the five hospitals of Barts Health NHS Trust. Aside from her work with viruses, Orkin is vice president of the Medical Women’s Federation, where she fights to achieve gender equality in medicine — something she’s seen a major lack of in the industry. “Language [in medicine] is important, and it is often heteronormative and used to entrench the patriarchy,” Orkin tells GO. “We can change that by using different words that empower women and by being visible. I have short blue hair and believe that a doctor can look like anything — not limited to a man in a suit.” —IL

While many in the LGBTQ+ community have felt isolated or rejected by organized religion, Reverend Dr. Nancy Petty of Pullen Memorial Baptist Church is certain that God’s love is unconditional. “I am passionate about the message to the LGBTQIA+ community that God loves us just as we are with no need to be any different,” she tells GO. “God created us and the world with great diversity, and we honor God most when we fully live into being the person God created us to be.” It’s a message of inclusion that Reverend Petty brings to her ministry at Pullen in North Carolina, where she has served since 1992 — the same year that Pullen was expelled from the Southern Baptist Convention for the acceptance of LGBTQ+ Christians. In addition to speaking out for gay rights and inclusion, Reverend Petty is also an advocate for interfaith dialogue with Raleigh’s Muslim Community and has been an active voice in North Carolina’s “Moral Mondays,” AKA progressive protests against the state’s increasingly conservative legislation. She received the Minister of the Year Award from the North Carolina NAACP in 2014 and was named one of nine ministers to watch by the Center for American Progress in September 2019. The foundations for her success, she tells GO, are due to the trust, honesty, and authenticity she brings to any relationship. “We are successful in life when we live our most authentic life,” she says. “Being an out pastor has opened up opportunities for me that I could have never dreamed of. As I have shared my story, I have met some of the most incredible and courageous people in the world. It has not always been easy, but every step of the journey has been a blessing — even the hard parts.” —RK

Anchorage Assembly member Austin Quinn-Davidson decided to go to law school when she realized that lawmakers have the “power to lift up those who are disadvantaged (or not) and power to shape the future of our communities.” Quinn-Davidson grew up in a small, rural town in a low-income family, but in law school, she realized most of her fellow students were from wealthy backgrounds — which shaped their experiences and priorities. She came to understand that if members of affluent backgrounds are responsible for creating laws that impact everyone, the outcome is not likely to reflect the reality of the broader community. “We need diverse representation in elected office so that all of our backgrounds and experiences are honored,” she says. “I’m proud to serve as an elected official, and especially proud to bring another perspective to the table.” Now, in her position with the Anchorage assembly, Quinn-Davidson strives to better serve vulnerable local communities. Since taking office in 2018, the assemblywoman has supported Native partners in their work to better identify murdered, missing indigenous women (MMIW) as well as Anchorage’s Climate Action Plan — the strongest climate change plan in Alaska. When an earthquake struck, Quinn-Davidson worked with Alaska’s federal delegation to change FEMA guidelines, making more homeowners eligible for disaster relief. She is committed to drug and alcohol reforms to better support her community, co-sponsoring a city-wide alcohol sales tax that will generate revenue to fund social programs related to public safety, homelessness, and Pre-K programs for Title 1 schools. “The most rewarding aspect of my work is the ability to make positive change that affects my community in a tangible way,” Quinn-Davidson says. “I love that I get to incorporate a vision for the future into what I do every day.” —IL

Model, Instagram star, and Libra Jazzmyne Robbins picked her career wisely. “I wanted to be a representation for fat Black lesbians who love to switch up their style!” she tells GO. When she began her internship at BuzzFeed, “There were no personalities that I really saw myself represented by, so I took advantage of that. I made sure that whenever I was on screen, I was in a different lipstick, or a dress this time and street style the next time! I wanted to show diversity in what being a lesbian was.” Now, whether crushing the runway at New York Fashion Week or rocking lingerie from Rihanna’s Savage X Fenty line on social media, Robbins is showing the world just how much style she has. Her vibrant, colorful, and fun fashion — along with her celebration of body positivity — have made her one of Instagram’s brightest stars, not to mention a pop-cultural activist and inspiration to all those who see themselves as “different.” Although she knows how easy it is to compare ourselves to others, she’s embraced the philosophy that having confidence in and loving oneself isn’t about competing. “The most important part of understanding your self-love journey is not to compare but to remember to support each other,” she says. “We all have different struggles, but supporting each other through them is what will let each and every one of us learn and grow. By doing this, we can all be on the path to self-love!” —RK

“When I was little all I could think about was just being on some kind of stage, whether it be on a live stage, whether it be on a set stage,” actress Mj Rodriguez tells Variety. “It didn’t matter. I just wanted to try to see if I could make myself the person that I always wanted to be, to be truly comfortable in the skin that I was in.” Growing up, Rodriguez found that space in the ballroom community, joining her found family and ballroom house at 14. In this space, she was able to feel comfortable in her body and not afraid of being judged. Now, Rodriguez has once again found that community on FX’s “Pose,” which follows the ballroom scene during the HIV/AIDS epidemic in late-1980s/early-1990s New York City. As Blanca, the mother of House of Evangelista, Rodriguez is the caregiver and supporter of a number of LGBTQ+ teenagers and young adults who — although they’re fictional — are following in many of the actress’ real footsteps. As a trans woman of color, Rodriguez told the Times that she’s always lived “by simply existing” and that nothing’s changed now that she’s representing these communities on TV. “‘Pose’” has put a lot of trans women of color on the map, and shown that we have much more to our lives than just the stigma,” Rodriguez says in an interview with the New York Times. “It shows that we have chapters to our lives. We’ve always known this about ourselves, but a lot of people haven’t.” —IL

For Melissa Sklarz, becoming the first transgender person elected to office in New York State marked the beginning of a long and prosperous career as a political activist. Her success as an Elected Judicial Delegate in the 66th Assembly District is even more remarkable considering that she’d entered the political arena not that long after coming out as trans at the end of a long and rocky journey. “Until that point, I was tortured trying to maintain a life that had no meaning,” Sklarz tells GO about her transition. “I had no relationships and no esteem as a person. Transitioning was terrifying, but I’d already lost everything due to substance abuse. Learning to be authentic opened pathways to unimagined journeys of encouragement and joy.” Those journeys have taken her further into community organization and political activism. Since her election in 1999, she has served on numerous Democratic and LGBTQ+-related committees, including the Trans United Fund Political Action Committee and the Stonewall Democrats of New York City. She’s been a member of the Trans United for Obama (2012) and Hillary (2016); has served as the North East Regional Chair for the National Democratic Committee LGBT Advisory Committee; and, in 2016, was an Electoral College Member and Delegate for Hillary Clinton. Sklarz now works as a staff member at SAGE, as an advocate for LGBTQ+ elders. Her work, she says, “is to add visibility and support for LGBT elders. If we are lucky, we will get older, and if so, then I hope SAGE will be there for all of us.” —RK

Kiara St. James recognizes that being out — although liberating — isn’t easy. “It hasn’t always been a pleasant journey for me, because for years it made me a target,” she tells GO. “[However,] being thrown into the flames and coming out on the other end has made me realize my purpose, and that is to pour knowledge and love into all the communities I am part of.” She’s living her purpose as the founder and current executive director of the New York Transgender Advocacy Group (NYTAG), a trans-led nonprofit organization that advocates rights and opportunities for transgender, non-binary, and gender-nonconforming individuals. Her efforts, along with those of her fellow advocates, led to the New York State conversion therapy ban and the 2019 passage of the Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act — both were legislation Kiara had promoted for nearly 20 years. Although her aim is to create a positive, safe, and inclusive space for transgender and non-conforming people, she knows more needs to be done thanks to her own struggle with gender identity. “Even today, I have to decide when and where it is safe to come out as a Trans black woman,” she tells GO. But still, she persists, to help us imagine a better world for all persons, regardless of their identity. “We have a duty to dismantle [the system] and create it in our own image.” Presently, as the world faces its greatest medical crisis in over a century, Kiara is hard at work on a Covid-19 relief fund for transgender and non-conforming individuals. —RK

These days, with soaring medical costs and a lack of accessible treatment to many segments of the population, the bridge between “healthcare” and “healing” may seem infinitely wide, though, not for Dr. Anjali Taneja, the Executive and Medical Director of Casa de Salud, a nonprofit care facility that combines primary care models with holistic treatments. “I see my work as bridgework between healers and healthcare providers, and in building creative, independent models of community care and healing,” she tells GO. “I am passionate about the right to health and about the potential for healthcare to build power with communities.” The Albuquerque-based Casa de Salud is one such community, offering a diverse range of treatments including care for transgender persons, opioid addiction, and counseling along with services like acupuncture, reiki massage, and indigenous healing circles. But Taneja’s work goes beyond Casa de Salud, which she joined in 2015; she also works as an emergency room physician in a rural hospital in the Navajo Nation, providing services to indigenous communities. In her line of work, where progress can be difficult to come by, being open about who she is has been invaluable. “Being out has added an additional layer of resilience and resolve to the work that I do, building innovative health care systems in a traditionally more conservative (and white) landscape of health leaders,” she says. “It has also been a connecting point for patients I treat at Casa de Salud. Seeing their physician is ‘out’ has strengthened their trust in the clinic.” Among her distinctions, she is a Clinical Scholar with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, a leadership program focused on health equity and community development. —RK

Rabbi Rachel Timoner’s decision to become a rabbi was inspired by her commitment to social justice. While working with LGBTQ+ youth in San Francisco, she got her “foundational ideas about our limitless potential to contribute our gifts to the world and to transform our societies to be characterized by justice, hope, freedom, and equality,” she tells GO. “I believe in us. And in the process of coming to believe in us, I started to believe in G-d, too. I started to tap into my spirituality and realize that spiritual practice in the context of community — in other words, religion — is necessary for my well-being.” Timoner is currently the Senior Rabbi at the Congregation Beth Elohim in Park Slope, Brooklyn, where she carries out her commitment to effecting positive social change. She has initiated weekly classes, rabbinic conversations, and study series on issues such as antisemitism, systemic racism, and the refugee experience. She launched a Dismantling Racism Team as part of successful state-wide campaigns for criminal justice reform, including raising the age of criminal responsibility. She is also co-founder, along with City Councilmember Brad Lander, of #GetOrganizedBK, a grassroots coalition of groups that fight for positive social change around issues such as racial justice, climate change, and voter outreach. Reaching out speaks to what Timoner loves most about her job. “The most rewarding aspect of my work as a rabbi is that it gives me endless opportunities to love people,” she says. “I get to comfort and guide people through difficult times. I get to inspire people and help them believe in their ability to change the world. All of these are ways of loving people.” —RK

Healthcare provider and LGBTQ+ leader in the Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (ED&I) space Dani Tomko graduated from Penn State with a degree in biology before receiving her doctorate in Pharmacy with an expertise in Oncology and Medical Aesthetics from Temple University. With years of experience under her belt, Tomko is now the Oncology Senior Medical Science Liaison at AbbVie, a research-driven biopharmaceutical company that develops new approaches to today’s health issues. Tomko is also the company’s current LGBTQ ERG Leader, working to keep a robust and inclusive environment for patients and employees alike. Being out is a relatively new reality for Tomko. Noticing that many co-workers struggle to be out at work because they believe conformity is critical to their career advancement, Tomko worried that her delay in coming out may have contributed to that belief. She knew the only way forward was to be out — and proudly. “At some juncture, the only ethical option was to move forward in finding practical ways to weaponize my privilege and pave the way for those who are more marginalized,” she says. Now, Tomko challenges herself — both in her professional role and as an individual — to seize these visible opportunities to claim and use her voice. It’s not an easy process, and she often deals with embracing her own identity despite internal fears and phobias, but Tomko is committed to creating space for everyone. “While striving to find a cure for cancer is central to my job as an oncology expert, removing my mask; diagnosing the malignity in our culture; and working with my team to cultivate a more equal, diverse, and inclusive environment is central to my work,” she says. “I’d even deem it essential.” —IL

“Multifaceted” is how you might describe Candida Valentina, thanks to the skills and talents she has acquired over her career. Valentina is an actress, model, and burlesque dancer, but she’s also the founder-producer of Queerly Beloved Revue, a bicoastal artist collective. As an artist herself, she prides herself most in community-building through performance. “When I first started to perform, it was just to have a creative outlet for myself,” Valentina tells GO. “That led me to producing shows to shed light on our local queer entertainers, [and] that quickly grew to working hand in hand with local venues to create more safe spaces within our community.” And being heavily involved in the LGBTQ+ community is especially important to Valentina, as she uses her platform to help push unity, diversity, and acceptance for queer individuals everywhere — even within the community itself. “I think that our community as a whole should continue to love with open minds, hearts, and arms,” says Valentina. “We all experience enough bullshit from outside of our community, we shouldn’t have to experience it in our community.” Queerly Beloved Revue hosts a wide range of performances across the country including (but not limited to) Drag, Burlesque, and Spoken Word, and Valentina leads her troupe with a motto about a few things we could use a little more of these days: “I.D.E.E.A.S: Inclusivity, Diversity, Entertainment, Education, and Slaying.” —GP

Currently receiving critical acclaim for her new Netflix film, “The Half of It,” Alice Wu is bringing queer Asian stories to light. Wu wrote, directed, and produced this coming-of-age story about an intelligent and introverted student, Ellie Chu, who is hired by a student football player to write love letters and texts to his crush. The only problem? Ellie is secretly in love with the same girl. Comedy, tragedy, and confusion ensue in this modern-day take on the classic story of “Cyrano,” and it dives into not just queerness, but love and friendship as well. The script was a 2018 selection for the Black List, an annual survey of Hollywood executives’ favorite unproduced screenplays. Wu first garnered attention and praise from her debut film “Saving Face,” which won multiple festival accolades and was nominated for a GLAAD Media Award and earned the director a Gotham Independent Film Award nomination. “I make these very personal films, so it’s always surprising and gratifying to find out how many other people relate — folks who might otherwise seem nothing like me! — on such a personal level,” she tells GO. “[It] makes me feel a little less lonely. Turns out, everyone has a little Asian lesbian nerd within them! But seriously, nothing is better than when someone comes up to me to tell me about their lives and how one of my films might have opened something up for them — nothing.” —GP

Eva Yaa Asantewaa came out in the creative and radical queer community of late-1980s New York, which is where she learned to trust her mind and use her voice. The Black lesbian community — and specifically writer-activist Audre Lorde — was a particular source of influence, teaching her the importance of recognizing everything she is and carrying that knowledge with her in the world. “When I stand in my power now — personally or professionally as an arts writer, educator, and curator — all of that comes from my ancestors and Blackness and queer community,” says Yaa Asantewaa. “There’s a definite through-line from that to all that I stand for and accomplish today.” And what she’s accomplished today is major. Yaa Asantewaa is currently the Senior Director of Artist Development and Curation as well as the Editorial Director at Gibney, New York-based center for dance and social activism. In 2017, she was awarded the Bessie Award for Outstanding Service to the Field of Dance as a veteran writer, community educator, and curator. Queer|Art created the Eva Yaa Asantewaa Grant for Queer Women(+) Dance Artists in her honor in 2018, and she was honored with a BAX Arts & Artists in Progress Award in 2019. No matter what she creates or what award she wins, though, Yaa Asantewaa is always working to uplift and support the BIPOC community — herself included. “Wherever we have been historically sidelined in the LGBTQ+ movement, it’s now time to take a substantial role in dismantling systemic racism and white supremacy,” Yaa Asantewaa says. “The momentum is with us.” — IL