GO! Presents 100 Women We Love: Class of 2024

THE CULTURAL ROADMAP FOR CITY GIRLS EVERYWHERE

Class of 2023

100 Women We Love: Class of 2023

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When GO Magazine first launched our annual feature, 100 Women We Love, nearly two decades ago, the world was a different place. The L Word had just wrapped its third season (did Shane just leave Carmen at the altar?); legal same-sex marriage was only available in Massachusetts (and briefly, San Francisco); “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” a policy meant to protect queers in the military, backfired spectacularly and was used to keep us from serving at all; and the very first gay woman, Patricia Todd, took office in the Alabama legislature (though her male counterpart in Washington was recently booted from office for looking at gay websites on his work computer).

Since that year, Women We Love, which includes cisgender and transgender women across the LGBTQ+ spectrum, has featured nearly 2,000 women, each of whom has worked in her own way to make her community, her state, her country, or the larger global environment a better and more inclusive place for us all.

But progress doesn’t always move us forward. The Supreme Court may have granted marriage equality in 2015, but it overturned Roe v. Wade last year (a ruling which, in the mid-2000s, still seemed sacrosanct). Black Lives Matter highlighted the ongoing struggle for racial equality, while #MeToo did the same for sexual harassment and assault—even in LGBTQ+ spaces. And while being queer (however you define it) doesn’t carry the same stigma it did even a decade ago, the recent rollbacks of women’s rights, the anti-LGBTQ+ legislation in state houses nationwide, and the ongoing cultural attacks on transgender people are daily reminders that our rights—as women; people of color; gender nonconforming, nonbinary, or trans individuals; the working class, disabled, or otherwise marginalized among us—must still be fought for.

“Women We Love” spotlights those who continue the good fight— who, through their work, advocacy, and visibility assert that there is a place in this world for all of us. The individuals we celebrate include 100 women (but this year several also identify as Two-Spirit, gender nonconforming, or nonbinary) who recognize that the rights of women, BIPOC, and LGBTQ+ individuals are intrinsically connected. They are advocates and actors, performers and politicians, educators and entrepreneurs who remind us that we can create positive change even in reactionary times. In this spirit, we’re proud to present Women We Love, Class of 2023.

Belinda Carroll

Belinda Carroll is a Los Angeles-based comedian, actress, and activist who has made a name for herself through her hilarious, bold, and groundbreaking work. Originally from Portland, Oregon, Carroll’s love of comedy began at a young age, and she was inspired by comedians who used their platforms to speak truth to power. “Using laughter to unite people is the most powerful thing,” she says. Her identity as a queer woman has “informed everything I do,” says Carroll, who uses her comedic flair, talent, and drive for activism and equity to create platforms for queer comedians and entertainers. She co-founded the Portland Queer Comedy Festival and is now planning the Rose City Queer Fest—a weekend full of stand-up, improv, burlesque, and more which Carroll is looking to launch in 2024. Her work and activism have received many accolades. In 2011, she received the Pride-in-Action award from Pride Northwest for founding the Q Patrol, a community foot patrol to reduce LGBTQ+ hate crimes in downtown Portland. She also received the 2018 Queer Hero award from the Gay and Lesbian Archives of the Pacific Northwest and the 2020 Woman of Achievement award from Governor Kate Brown and the Oregon Commission for Women. For handling setbacks and adversity, Carroll emphasizes the importance of having a clear vision and counting every win, no matter how small. “The key to remaining focused [through hard times] is having a very clear vision about why this is important to you,” she says. Fun fact: she’s fluent in American Sign Language and has many friends in the deaf community.

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Anna Margarita Albelo

“By the age of 12, I had a clear vision of my future and told my mom I was going to be President of the United States,” Anna Margarita Albelo says. “And she believed me!” As a student at Florida State University, Albelo originally majored in political science but, after realizing “that politics was about making decisions that favored some people and not others,” she recalls, she switched her major to film and television because she “already knew that film had the power to change minds and hearts.” Albelo eventually moved to Paris and joined the 1990s DIY movement, “creating films on issues that were important to me and didn’t exist elsewhere, all without needing funding or permission,” she says. Now, the Cuban American is a writer, director and 2020 Spirit Award-nominated producer, as well as a journalist, performer, and LGBTQ+ events organizer in both the U.S. and France. Her award-winning feature film, Who’s Afraid of Vagina Wolf?, had a worldwide release, and her documentaries focusing on lesbian culture have aired on the French television network Canal Plus. Albelo has collaborated on projects with Guinevere Turner, Peaches, Sarah Schulman, Jamie Babbit, and Cheryl Dunye. Even now, though, the setbacks are real. “I’m astonished at how hard it still is to create work that centers women, let alone queer women, in film and television,” says Albelo, who is more determined than ever to continue. She’d like to eventually alternate between making her own projects and producing for others. “My passion for storytelling and documenting lesbian and Latina experiences grows and I continue to search for and find collaborators who are equally as committed to getting these stories made.”

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Becca Balint

Like many Americans, Becca Balint spent the afternoon of January 6, 2021, in “a state of shock.” It was then Balint, then a Vermont state senator, made the decision to run for Congress. “I ran, like so many of my freshman colleagues, to shore up our democracy, to fight for truth, and restore faith in our government,” she says. And she won. Now a United States Representative, Balint is the first woman and out gay person to represent her home state of Vermont—and it’s a responsibility she takes seriously. “I’m the child of a working-class mom and an immigrant dad,” she says. “As a mom, a teacher, and an out gay woman, my communities and other marginalized communities aren’t always represented in spaces of power. It’s an honor to represent my state and the voice of so many who can’t be in the room.” Balint served in the Vermont state senate for eight years and ultimately as President Pro Tempore in 2021. During this time, she led the passage of the first gun safety laws in Vermont history and worked to secure a large investment to rebuild housing stock and expand middle-income housing. Now a U.S. Representative, Balint serves as a Co-Chair of the Congressional Equality Caucus and Congressional Progressive Caucus Vice Chair for New Members. And despite the new workplace, home is always top of mind. “I am very intentional in ensuring the work I do in Washington connects back home to the issues important to Vermonters,” Balint says. “And to do that, I’m focused on standing up for people and standing up for justice.”

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Charlie Amáyá Scott

“I love who I am becoming, and I know that I am a brilliant and a powerful trans femme, and my womanhood defies and exists beyond the logics of the cis-heteronormativeimperialist-white supremacist-capitalist-settler colonial patriarchy that we currently exist in,” Charlie Amáyá Scott says. Born and raised on the Navajo Nation, Scott now wears many hats: they are a PhD candidate at the University of Denver, work for a non-profit, and do content creation and consulting. On her own blog, Scott explores what it means to be queer, trans, and Diné (what the Navajo call themselves, which translates to “The People”), while spreading messages of joy and justice on Instagram and TikTok. “Learning about settler colonialism, white supremacy, decolonization, climate justice – all of these heavy topics can be taught in accessible and fun ways,” Scott says of their social media. And there’s a lighter side. “I wanted to share with people my joy as an Indigenous, queer, and trans-femme, which can be so rare to witness on social media, and it is an honor to be able to share and inspire people to learn a little bit more and have fun.” Scott is also looking forward to what’s next. “I recently turned 28 and, astrologically, I’m at that point where my Saturn is returning, and I am both terrified and excited for the healing, the love, and the growth that I will experience. Right now, I am looking forward to finishing my doctoral program, so please send love my way.”

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Brittani Nichols

A clarity moment earlier this year put multi-hyphenate entertainer, Brittani Nichols, on the map. Originally from Chicago, Nichols has appeared onscreen on Emmy-nominated shows Transparent and A Black Lady Sketch Show; she produced, wrote, and starred in the feature film and Outfest darling Suicide Kale; and she’s currently a writer and producer on the critically acclaimed ABC sitcom Abbott Elecmentary. But at this year’s Writer’s Guild Awards, she gained fame not for a win but for who landed in her lap: Cate Blanchett. “We lost but I won. Thank you, Cate Blanchett for this great honor,” she posted on Instagram that night, to the envy of lesbians everywhere. Nichols is also an actor, comedian, producer, and writer. “While I certainly wish I was acting more, my favorite role is writer,” she says. “Doing multiple roles was at first a matter of necessity. But now when I’m occupying additional roles, it’s because I actively want to be doing them. It allows me to have more decision-making power and forces me to think through every aspect of creation while writing.” Actively creating for a weekly TV show adored by millions is a responsibility Nichols takes seriously—and the feedback has been rewarding. “A goal of mine is to encourage people to advocate for themselves, even in what feels like small ways or moments. So, when people tell me that they felt seen, or less alone, or inspired to fight for a better lived experience for themselves, that makes this feel well worth the effort.” Having achieved so much and acknowledging “what I want changes week to week,” Nichols keeps the vision for her future simple. “All I want to accomplish is to create work I’m proud of, in a way that I’m proud of.”

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Chelsea Connor

Growing up on a small Caribbean Island, Chelsea Connor was captivated by the natural world from a young age. She spent her childhood observing the birds, sea urchins, snakes, and lizards that brought life to the land and sparked her lifelong quest for knowledge of, and connection to, nature. Connor left the biodiverse island of her childhood to pursue her studies in the U.S., focusing her research on Anolis lizards and tropical ecology in the Lesser Antilles, several small islands in the Caribbean Sea between the Virgin Islands and Grenada. Today, Connor is a herpetologist and science communicator passionate about sharing her love of the natural world. While she finds much of her work rewarding, science communication is especially fulfilling. “Whether I’m speaking to people or using art to reach them—sharing and seeing their joy, curiosity, and a newfound appreciation for science is very rewarding,” Connor says. As a Black woman in the LGBTQ+ community, Connor is no stranger to adversity. She’s faced gatekeeping from peers and professors alike. She’s been ignored, spoken to condescendingly, and has, at times, had to fight for her rightful opportunity to learn and collaborate with others in her field. “People have this idea of you, or how they think they should treat you based off racist, sexist, or homophobic stereotypes,” she admits. Fortunately, these experiences have not stopped Connor. If anything, they’ve helped fuel her drive to continue sharing her passion for science and nature with others. One way that she does this is through Black Birders Week, an initiative she co-founded in 2020. The weeklong celebration of Black naturalists includes a series of online events that encourages Black folks to enjoy the outdoors and pursue careers in STEM.

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Dorottya Redai

Dorottya Redai joined Labrisz Lesbian Association in 2004, not long after coming out to herself. She was drawn by the Budapest non-profit’s school outreach program, Getting to Know LGBT People, which intersected with her own background in gender studies and education. But as the program was geared toward students in secondary schools, Redai and her colleagues wanted to come up with a way “to address younger children with issues of discrimination, social exclusion, diversity, and inclusion.” They decided, she says, “that a fairytale book would be the best tool for this.” The resulting book, A Fairytale for Everyone (Meseország mindenkié), was published in 2020 in Hungary. Despite criticism from the country’s ultraconservative politicians, including Prime Minister Viktor Orban, the book sold over 34,000 copies and has been translated into 11 languages, including English. Labrisz’ Getting to Know LGBT People has since been banned under a 2021 law that restricts the distribution of LGBTQ-related materials to minors—one of numerous laws Hungary has passed restricting LGBTQ+ rights since the pandemic. But A Fairytale for Everyone, which can still be purchased by parents for their children, continues to reach young readers with its message of tolerance, acceptance, and inclusion. The most rewarding part of the project “is always the feedback from LBT+ women and from young LGBT+ people, which shows that we are doing good work,” Redai says. But that good work is not without its challenges, especially in Hungary’s current political climate. “Leading this project to huge success and popularity, and simultaneously fighting against the recently intensified homo- and transphobia of the Hungarian government has triggered some changes in my personal life, academic work, and the politics I do,” Redai reflects. “At the moment, I am at a crossroads trying to figure out what should be the next steps to take.”

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Eureka O’Hara

“To say times were hard is truly an understatement,” says Eureka O’Hara of her East Tennessee country childhood. “So being able to provide for my family in a way we weren’t accustomed to is truly a blessing.” Though the drag star, who stands 6’4” (“and that’s without heels, y’all!”) came from humble beginnings, the resulting “survive and thrive” work ethic led her to compete on nine national stages by age 26. Now thanks to co-hosting We’re Here and several seasons on RuPaul’s Drag Race, O’Hara is part of two Emmy-nominated casts…and that’s just the beginning. O’Hara continues to make waves in television (AJ and the Queen, The L Word), music (the empowerment single “Big Mawma”), and on the stage (Women Behind Bars), and hopes to inspire everyone, especially people of size, to live their truth onstage and off. “Discovering my womanhood has been very important to me and to my everyday life,” she says, regarding her decision last year to come out as a trans woman. “Let alone my job, being able to discover my femininity as a drag queen.” O’Hara has never forgotten where she came from and she knows exactly who she is. “Now as an out trans woman, I’m able to be a better advocate,” she says, “living without fear and ready to conquer the world.”

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Dot Wilkinson

Dorothy Elsie “Dot” Wilkinson died in March 2023, but her century on Earth packed a punch. According to friend and biographer Lynn Ames, Wilkinson is the only member of the National Softball Hall of Fame who is a member of a Hall of Fame in another sport as well. Two decades after her National Softball Hall of Fame acceptance, Wilkinson was inducted to the Women’s International Bowling Congress Hall of Fame for winning the WIBC Queens Tournament in 1962 and the WIBC national singles in 1963. From 1933-1965, Wilkinson played for the PBSW Phoenix Ramblers, winning three world softball championships and 19 All-American honors, the most of any player ever. So why wasn’t she in A League of Their Own? Ames says that Phillip Wrigley, the brains and money behind the AllAmerican Girls Professional Baseball League depicted in the 1991 movie and 2022 Amazon series, approached Wilkinson with a contract that offered $85 per week (the maximum amount for an AAGPBL player). However, Ames says, Wilkinson “looked at…the stipulations—she would have to attend charm school and wear a skirt to play ball, among other things—and she turned them down cold.” More significantly, Wilkinson disapproved of Wrigley’s efforts to hide the fact that many AAGPBL players were lesbians. Though Wilkinson never hid her own identity, she formally came out at age 89, listed as her partner Ricki’s longtime companion in Ricki’s obituary. When Ames asked her about this decision, she said, “I’ll be damned if I’m going to bury that girl and not let everyone know what she meant to me.”

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Jaimie Kelton

“I started as a musical theater performer—never in my wildest dreams would I have thought that one day I would change my passions from singing and dancing to advocating for inclusivity and change for the LGBTQIA+ community,” podcaster Jaimie Kelton says. A passionate advocate for queer family building, Kelton co-founded The Queer Family Podcast, which uplifts, highlights, and normalizes queer families. Kelton’s personal experience with infertility prompted the start of the podcast. After her partner gave birth to their first child, Kelton tried to get pregnant. But as the couple was running out of donor sperm and funds, Kelton grappled with the emotional and trying experience. She looked for others who shared similar struggles, to no avail. “I was yearning to hear from others who had similar fertility journeys but couldn’t find my story mirrored back to me,” says Kelton. The lack of queer fertility stories and representation prompted Kelton to create this representation herself. Today, The Queer Family Podcast has grown into a community of supporters and friends, providing a safe and inclusive space for queer families and allies to come together and share their stories. Kelton hopes the podcast becomes the leading source for queer family stories and parenting expertise in mainstream media, breaking down barriers and changing outdated policies that make it challenging for queer people to create and raise their families. “Representation matters,” she says, “and this show is determined to push the narrative of intentional and loving queer family building, making it the norm and not the exception.”

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Peppermint

“Performing comes naturally to me,” Peppermint says. Growing up in Delaware, the RuPaul’s Drag Race runner-up, actress and recording artist performed in youth theater and was a high school cheerleader. Making a career out of her passion was challenging, but Peppermint found work—and refuge—as a drag performer. “Doing drag at all of the small clubs and bars is what really allowed me to grow into a career of being a professional performer,” she recalls. While other trans contestants came out during or after Drag Race, Peppermint was the first performer to start the competition as an out trans woman (and earned the nickname “Lip Sync Assassin” for her fierce interpretations of Madonna and the Village People). She continued breaking ground in the 2018 musical Head Over Heels—a gender-bending reimagining of Sir Philip Sidney’s Arcadia set to The Go-Go’s greatest hits—as the first trans woman to originate a principal role on Broadway. Says Peppermint of her career, which has now expanded to TV guest spots, music videos and pop albums, “I get to take real life issues and turn them into entertainment, make jokes [and] life lessons of them, [and] touching stories.” After years of not being able to include her Black trans female identity in her work, Peppermint says, the story has changed: “more and more people are finally engaging in the type of deep conversations that make room for identities like mine…It feels great to now be included and loved.” A surprising fact about Peppermint? “I’m a Trekkie and I’m in a secret society of Dungeons & Dragons players.”

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Fiona Dawson

Fiona Dawson was inspired to start her own production company after seeing Oprah launch OWN Network in 2010. “This opportunity spoke to my soul,” the award-winning director recalls. “I realized if I could do anything with my life, it would be to host my own show sharing positive stories of kindness and courage, especially from the LGBTQ+ community.” So, Dawson quit her corporate job— resigning via PowerPoint over drinks in a queer bar (“the best corporate exit ever!”). And she launched what was to become Free Lion Productions. “I didn’t know how it was going to unfold, nor how I’d make it succeed,” she says, “but I knew if I didn’t try then I wouldn’t be living within my purpose.” Fortunately, Dawson did succeed, first with The New York Times Emmy-nominated op-doc Transgender, at War and in Love. It was followed by the award-winning feature documentary film, TransMilitary, which debuted at South by Southwest in 2018. She’s also the author of the Amazon best-seller Are Bisexuals Just Greedy? Animated Answers for All People Who Simply Want to Understand the Spectrum of Being LGBTQ+, and she was honored as part of Out magazine’s Out100 in 2022. Through her multimedia brand NOW with Fiona, Dawson shares content that centers uplifting LGBTQ+ narratives. The most rewarding aspects of her work are the “magical moments…when people privately tell you that your work made a positive difference in their lives,” she says. “Knowing that our work at Free Lion Productions is reaching a diverse spectrum of people and bringing them together is the best reward I could ever hope for.”

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Joy Oladokun

Joy Oladokun is cataloging her life through music. Her 2023 album, Proof of Life, is the most recent entry—and one that comes from a darkly reflective place. “I have this room in my studio full of action figures and knick-knacks,” the singer-songwriter says. “One day I was sitting in it and morbidly thinking about what all this stuff would signify after my death. I wanted to write an album that someone could find 100 years from now and get a sense of who I am and how I dealt with life as it happened. Sort of a musical autobiography.” Proof of Life is her fourth studio album and follows her 2021 major label debut, In Defense of My Own Happiness, which was named one of the best albums of the year by Billboard and Rolling Stone and for which Oladukun was nominated for a GLAAD media award for Outstanding Breakthrough Music Artist. For Oladokun, a first-generation Nigerian American and queer Black woman, music allows her to explore her own place in the world, to celebrate life and to deal with whatever setbacks come her way. “I find such inspiration and beauty in making playlists and listening to records,” she says. “It’s an emotional medium and something about it reminds me that I’m not alone in all of this.” What does she hope for in the future? “I hope to stay healthy and inspired wherever life takes me.”

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Genuwine Beauty

Kenyatta Brown, also known as Genuwine Beauty, is a fearless trans woman and independent artist breaking barriers in the music industry. “I want people to see me as a music artist who loves and appreciates the game and enjoys making music,” she says. Born in Westwood, New Jersey, in the late ‘80s, Genuwine Beauty moved to Virginia in her early adolescence, where she discovered her passion for music. She’s been making music for over a decade and has faced many obstacles due to her gender identity and sexuality. Still, she remains true to herself and inspires others through her music. Genuwine Beauty has been featured in several major music blogs and magazines, such as SPIN, Desert Storm Music Blog, and MyHipHopPeriod.com. She’s been a trailblazer in creating safe spaces for queer artists—especially Black and trans artists—and continues to raise awareness wherever she performs. She is also a creator of Mae, a unique anime rap urban genre that blends her love for anime and rap music. She has collaborated with artists such as Gemini Salter and Lil Moptop, and also works as a coexecutive producer for the Northeast Region of Mor Bookings, which is partnered with the label Quality Control. The most rewarding aspect of her work is being able to be herself and inspire others to do the same. She says, “I’m a woman making her mark in the industry.”

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Jewel Cadet

Jewel Cadet, aka Jewel The Gem, is a Brooklyn-born and raised survivor, healer, educator, entertainer, and entrepreneur. As an unapologetic abolitionist and freedom fighter for Black queer and trans lives, her activism began at a young age. “I advocated for my younger brother, who faced many social challenges, and organized my first petition in fourth grade to get chocolate milk back on the cafeteria menu,” Cadet says. Her activism continued into her adult life, from helping to get the J Marion Sim Statue taken down in New York City to releasing an album titled Ratchet Revolution, with anthems like “Femme Fire” that express her love and solidarity with Black trans femmes. Her love and care for Black women and femmes centers Black trans women, specifically. “They’ve paved the way for gender liberation and I can’t be free unless they are. Our liberation is directly connected,” says Cadet. Her work as a performer, speaker, and educator is dedicated to empowering marginalized communities. She also owns two businesses: Jewel The Gem Productions, which produces community spaces that center Black joy, restoration, and healing, and Ratchet Rev, an apparel line with liberated messaging for the hood, Black, and spiritual folk . “Being a Black queer woman is my superpower,” says Cadet. Her vision for herself is to continue living out her life’s purpose—to live in her truth and power as an inspiration for others to do the same. She hopes to leave a legacy of community building and conscious raising for future generations of Black girls from the hood who embrace their African spirituality and live life on their terms.

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Lianna Carrera

“I experienced life as the gay daughter of a Southern Baptist minister and my mother is deaf,” comedian Lianna Carrera says. “So there’s a lot of comedy baked into that kind of upbringing.” Carrera’s career, which she says stemmed from “[a] little bit of naiveté, a lot of ambition, and a healthy dose of childhood trauma. Just kidding!— kinda,” hasn’t always been what she hoped, but she learned to take the losses in stride. “This business is full of highs and lows,” Carrera says. “You could have a shiny new job one minute, and feel totally alone in the world the next…I spent years feeling like my peers who chose a traditional path made the right decision.” After years of side hustles, where she “sold gutter helmets at Home Depot, GAVE tours of LA on double decker buses, and worked as a sign language interpreter…,” Carrera is not only making a living at comedy but experiencing career highs. She’s performed stand-up in Ireland, South Africa, and the Dominican Republic; was named to the 2022 OUT 100; and is currently a host on LATV’s The Q Agenda, where she and her co-hosts dive into the intersection of Latinx and LGBTQ+ issues. Carrera is publishing two books this year, “on the intersections of hardships in life, and how the right comedic mindset can get you through these moments,” she says. She’s also worked with Wanda Sykes and Will Smith, has ideated for Adele, Gal Gadot, and Ryan Reynolds, and is currently comedy writing full-time for Kevin Hart’s in-house branded content agency, Pulse. If you run into Carrera on the street, however, keep her introverted nature in mind. “Please strike up a deeper conversation with me immediately,” Carrera instructs. “Small talk actually hurts.”

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Katie Burrell

Katie Burrell is an award-winning marketer, entrepreneur, and advocate in the cannabis industry. She’s a cofounder of PufCreativ—a community-focused marketing agency that provides innovative and results-driven strategies to cannabis businesses. In 2022, she was named AdCann’s Marketer of the Year for her work and positive impact. Burrell’s road to success has come with challenges, and she’s been a trailblazer every step of the way. “Growing up with ADHD and identifying as part of the LGBTQ+ community, I struggled to fit into traditional work environments,” Burrell says. After leaving a job in an industry that did not align with her values or encourage authenticity, she took a marketing internship that sparked the inspiration to combine her love of cannabis with her marketing skill set. Working in a white, male-dominated industry, Burrell is a fierce advocate for diversity and inclusion in the cannabis space. PufCreativ’s joint initiative, the Cannabis Creative Movement, generates awareness and provides education on some of the most pressing issues facing the cannabis community. Through the Cannabis Creative Movement, Burrell—who is nonbinary with an androgynous gender expression—created the Pride Guide. The comprehensive guide to understanding the differences between sex, intersex, and gender was named AdCannabis Marketing Campaign of The Year in 2022. Burrell approaches the obstacles and setbacks she faces with a growth mindset, choosing to see adversity as an opportunity for learning. When the going gets tough, she leans on her community—her PufCreativ partners, friends, and family—to help her navigate challenging times. She encourages other queer folks to join the cannabis space and says her ultimate goal “is to be a leader in the cannabis marketing space and make a meaningful difference in the lives of those we serve.”

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Katie Giattini

Katie Giattini aims to create safe spaces and events for LGBTQ+ women and nonbinary individuals, especially in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. “Coming back into the world after lockdown, the complete lack of women- and nonbinary-centered events and safe spaces could be felt by all. At the time—May 2021—there was nowhere for us to feel safe,” Giattini says. In response, she co-founded SCOPE Tonight, Zodiac-themed parties held throughout the New York City area that celebrate queer women and nonbinary individuals, providing them the much-needed space to be themselves. The greatest part about her job? Seeing people having a good time. “I love being able to look around the room at all of these queer people, living their absolute best lives and know that I had a small part in bringing these people together and making sure there is always a safe space for everyone,” she says. Through these events, she hopes to extend SCOPE’s reach and find more spaces for LGBTQ+ women and nonbinary individuals. “My vision is pretty simple,” she says. “To continue to carve out space for queer women, extend SCOPE’s reach to further serve the queer community, and continue to uplift and celebrate the LGBTQ+ people everywhere.”

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Mary Psaroudaki

Around the world, lesbian bars and clubs are nearly non-existent, leaving very few safe spaces for queer women to gather, dance, and make connections. Not so in Athens, Greece, thanks to entrepreneur Mary Psaroudaki. Psaroudaki opened and owns Noiz—the largest and most glamorous lesbian club in Greece. Born and raised in Chania, Crete, Psaroudaki studied at the Athens School of Tourism Professions and enjoyed working in tourism. Eventually, she traveled to London to pursue a career in cinematography and was drawn to the city’s vibrant gay and lesbian scene. In London, Psaroudaki had a realization: “I wanted to offer something to the LGBTQ+ community in Greece,” she says. Since returning to Athens in 1991, Psaroudaki has been dedicated to creating safe and welcoming spaces for the Greek LGBTQ+ community. She started by opening small bars, eventually leading to the establishment of Noiz in 2005. The space was recently renovated, designed entirely by Psaroudaki’s partner and interior designer, Tania Papadaki. “My love, faith, and respect for lesbians made me open the Noiz club,” she says. “I am very proud of it, and I thank all those who have loved and continue to love it.” Familiar with the struggles of the LGBTQ+ community and the lack of investment in lesbian bars and clubs, Psaroudaki hopes she can play a role in creating a more accepting society. “Lesbians should have the respect they deserve,” she says.

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Mary Connelly

While working as a bartender in New York City in the early 1990s, Mary Connelly was approached with a life-changing offer: to be on the launch team for Out magazine. Connelly spent 25 years in executive management in media sales and marketing, mostly at Condé Nast, and worked on leadership teams of iconic publishing and tech brands, including Vogue and Vanity Fair, before she reevaluated. “I loved the relational aspect of my career. I love working with people. I love problem solving,” Connelly says. “I just didn’t want to sell media anymore.” Five years ago, Connelly dove headfirst into professional coaching, earning a diploma in management from NYU’s School of Professional Studies, and launching her own coaching and consultancy business. “Coaching enables me to use my skills in executive management and career development, to help other people navigate what [are] sometimes challenging career and work environments,” Connelly says. Now, Connelly works with both companies and individuals to realize their highest potential, using a collaborative and holistic strategy with inspiration and motivation at its core. The work has been incredibly fulfilling for Connelly, who lives in Brooklyn with her partner of 25 years, Stacy Alldrege, their dog Bee, and their two cats, Julie and Guinea. When asked about the most rewarding aspect of her work, Connelly is ready with an answer: “[s]upporting a client to create a significant, positive change in their career, like asking for and getting a promotion, or the courage to quit a toxic environment because they rediscovered their self-worth and landed a much better job,” she enthuses. “There’s nothing like it!”

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Melissa Li

“I write stuff. And eat hotpot,” is the subhed of Melissa Li’s website, followed by a photo of Li in a palm tree-printed shirt reclining on a hot pink inflatable sofa surrounded by a keyboard, an open book and wads of crumpled paper. Maybe not what you’d expect from an awardwinning composer, lyricist, performer, and writer, but the image is vibrant, colorful, and very queer—which is exactly how Li is. “I came out when I was 11 and started writing songs when I was 13, so at the time, that was the main outlet I used to express myself and explore all the questions I had about my identity,” Li says. “Ever since then, almost all of my stories have been told through a queer feminist lens. I’d say if it weren’t for my queerness, I wouldn’t be doing what I’m doing today.” And she does a lot: the Montrealbased multi-hy phenate’s musicals have received support from renowned theaters, and she’s received several awards, including the ASCAP Harold Adamson Lyric Award and the Jonathan Larson Award. Her solo and collaborative music is available on Spotify, including The Beginning (released as Melissa Li & The Barely Theirs) and Drive Away Home (as Good Asian Drivers). Currently, Li is also developing film and TV projects. The best part of her many endeavors, Li says, lies in the audience. “I mainly write works—with my writing partner Kit Yan, who is trans—that center the trans/nonbinary community,” says Li. “[S]eeing folks from that community come up to us after a show and say that they feel seen through our work—that’s the most rewarding part of what I do.”

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Mey Rude

Mey Rude is a fat, trans, Latina, and lesbian writer, speaker, entertainment journalist, and cultural critic. She is known for her powerful voice and inspiring messages that challenge societal norms and promote inclusivity. Rude’s journey as a trans activist began after she transitioned in her late 20s. She knew there were not enough trans voices in mainstream media and decided to use her own platform to bring attention to the issues trans folks face. “I wanted to be the trans voice that I never had growing up,” Rude says. Now as a writer, Rude has contributed to several prominent publications, including Out, The Advocate, Autostraddle, and BuzzFeed. In addition to her writing, Rude is an experienced sensitivity reader. She reads books, comics and scripts with transgender representation, ensuring trans women are portrayed in helpful and not harmful ways. Her work has had a significant impact on the trans community, and she continues to be an influential voice in the fight for trans rights and visibility. And not only is her writing a tool for advocacy, but a conduit for her personal life, helping her connect with others and form meaningful relationships and community. “I’ve met most of my best friends—including the women and queer people who mean the most to me and have shaped me most as a woman—through my writing,” she says.

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Oneita Parker

“Being a woman, Black, and gay isn’t easy,” says Oneita Parker. “Life in general is not easy. But if it were easy, what would be the point?” The Los Angeles-based stylist and designer has always embraced challenges with open arms. At age 8, Parker started designing and sewing her own clothes, a practice she continued as a teenager. After growing up in the Bay Area of San Francisco, Parker moved to New York City and graduated from New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) and worked in the city as well as in Hong Kong before heading west. For the past 20 years, Parker’s designed and made costumes for film and television, and she’s also the founder and designer of The Proper Bunny, a whimsical line of tees, hoodies, stickers and more. “I started The Proper Bunny because I wanted T-shirts that I like to wear,” Parker says. “Ever since I was a teen, I loved T-shirts and would draw one of a kind designs on them with Sharpies for myself and my friends.” Parker’s own heritage also plays a part in her original characters, like The Proper Bunny and Afropanda. “I love black and white animals, and being biracial has been an inspiration for me to write stories about out of the ordinary beings that don’t fit a usual mold,” she says. Parker, who is married to film and television director Rosser Goodman and has a pit bull named Bunnybear, is currently writing her first graphic novel “that chronicles the life of The Proper Bunny and the various denizens of the local forest and the nearby city.” Stylist, designer, maker, and now graphic artist: Parker embraces it all. “I am a creative human being that has to be creating almost all day, every day,” she says. “Creating is like breathing. I wouldn’t be here if I couldn’t create.”

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Naomi Bennett

Naomi Bennett has a vision for the future: a sapphic utopia in which community members come together to collaborate, empower, and support one another’s endeavors and dreams. Bennett, the CEO and Co-Founder of Sapphic Utopia, uses her expertise and lived experiences to make her vision a reality. “I am driven by a strong desire to see women in my community thrive,” Bennett says. Bennett’s queer-focused businesses reflect her values and her inclusive, gatekeeping-free approach ensures that all who work with her are given the support they need to succeed. Lesflicks—a global streaming platform—helps sapphic filmmakers share their work with a wider audience, and Sapphic IFF connects filmmakers to funding, helping ensure the stories that deserve to be told are made. Sapphic Services provides support, advice, and coaching to LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs, helping them maximize their potential and achieve their goals. Along with her success in sapphic filmmaking and entrepreneurship, Bennett is a decorated softball player with medals earned in Amsterdam, Cologne, and Montreal. Despite not owning a pair of trainers or sports clothes when she first moved to London, she joined a local softball club and quickly fell in love with the sport. Her experiences on the field further drove home Bennett’s belief that we are, in fact, stronger together. “If we come together and amplify and support each other, we are capable of [so much] more,” she says.

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Erin Reed

Erin Reed is a Washington D.C.-based journalist, content creator, and activist making an indelible mark in journalism and on the lives of trans folks with her unwavering dedication to tracking LGBTQ+ legislation across the United States. As the creator of the subscription Substack newsletter Erin In The Morning, she has become a trusted source for individuals and national leaders seeking to stay informed about critical issues affecting the LGBTQ+ community. Reed’s journalism career began as she faced challenges receiving gender-affirming care. “My clinic required a six hour round trip to obtain my hormone therapy,” she says. “I knew there had to be a better solution.” She mapped out hormone therapy clinics offering medications through informed consent—a vital resource for transgender folks. Reed’s commitment quickly made her a central hub for information, and she is often one of the very few reporters covering legislation that targets LGBTQ+ people. Reed’s unique perspectives and her tireless work reporting on state-level LGBTQ+ legislation have earned her accolades and praise nationwide. Her reporting has been featured in major media outlets; her map of the states that are voting against trans people, in particular, is the country’s most detailed; and she ensures that instances of resistance against harmful laws are widely viewed and accessible to all through her social media platforms. The most rewarding aspect of her work, she says, is “witnessing the profound impact of my reporting on people’s lives and especially queer and trans people’s lives. I regularly receive messages from individuals expressing gratitude for my hormone therapy map, which has empowered them to transition.” Looking ahead, Reed envisions a future where women reporters, especially those on the LGBTQ+ spectrum, receive the recognition and respect they deserve. She also has a personal milestone to celebrate: she recently got engaged to her girlfriend, Montana State Representative Zooey Zephyr, at a queer prom event in Missoula, Montana, (the city that sent Zephyr to the state legislature).

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Zooey Zephyr

“For me the question has always been, ‘What room can my voice do the most good in?’” Montana State Representative Zooey Zephyr says. “Now that I find myself invited into more rooms—both media interviews as well as conversations with organizers and politicians across the country—I am continually asking myself, ‘What is the best way to do good in this room?’” Last year, Zephyr became the first out trans woman elected to the Montana state legislature. She was inspired to run for office after state legislators passed a bill banning trans women and girls from scholastic sports teams in 2021—legislation which Zephyr had spoken out against before the state’s governor and legislature. Now a representative in that same legislature, she’s been banned from speaking on the chamber floor since April 20 after speaking out again, this time against a bill banning gender-affirming care for youth (which passed). Although she may not be able to speak on the floor unless she’s reelected next year, Zephyr continues the good fight (even until the end, she worked on the bench outside chambers until the legislative season was up, serving her constituents as best as she could). “My womanhood, my transness, my bisexuality, the fact that I’m a renter, the fact I need access to health care to maintain my quality of life—all of these deeply inform the way in which I look at, debate, and ultimately vote on bills,” she says. “Each lens informs my actions. And the hope is that my lenses, in conjunction with my colleagues’ lenses, can help us see the full picture as we work to craft policy for the state of Montana.”

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Andrea Breanna

Growing up in Silicon Valley in the 1980s, Andrea Breanna had access to computers and technology before home computers became mainstream. By the time she was 10, she’d learned how to code. As a trans girl with no outlet to live or speak her truth, technology allowed Breanna to express herself without fear of judgment. “In the physical world at that time, if I even stood in a feminine posture, I would become the target of finger-pointing and laughter. I grew up hoping that technology would connect people and help them understand narratives that didn’t exist then, much less in mainstream media,” she says. Breanna’s interest in technology continued, and she’s built a successful career in the tech space, a trajectory that led her to become the original chief technology owner of what was then called Huffington Post. In 2012, Breanna founded RebelMouse, a creative agency and CMS platform that helped build the Dodo and Axios, among others. RebelMouse reaches 160 million people monthly, helping independent media companies and brands tell their stories and narratives. The most rewarding aspect of her work, Breanna says, is working with RebelMouse’s clients and their teams. But beyond that, she’s proud to have built an organization that stands out from the stereotypical tech company run by cis, white men. RebelMouse’s team members—predominantly women, many of whom are part of the LGBTQ+ community—live in 28 countries around the world. She’s also the parent of four children with her wife Milena Berry (the founder and CEO of PowerToFly). Today, Breanna is a proud trans woman who continues to focus on making technology more inclusive for underrepresented groups. “The underrepresented should build the next open web,” she says.

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Sophie B. Hawkins

Sophie B. Hawkins is a Grammy-nominated, platinum-selling artist known for her emotionally powerful material and eclectic musical style. With her breakout mainstream hit, “Damn, I Wish I Was Your Lover,” Hawkins was out in the media before Melissa Etheridge and Ellen DeGeneres. With a career spanning over 30 years, Hawkins has established herself as a trailblazing artist, breaking chart records with her smash hits and starring as Janis Joplin in the critically acclaimed musical Room105. Her recent album, Free Myself, reflects a new creative chapter of independence and positivity for the artist. Her ever-evolving career has always been ahead of its time, with a steadfast commitment to activism, supporting environmental protections, animal rights, and LGBTQ+ equality. Hawkins’ music is heavily influenced by her identity as a woman and as a member of the LGBTQ+ community. “If it weren’t for being able to open up to loving women, I would have never written such great songs,” she says. Music helped her find her voice and express things that couldn’t be said with words alone. “I wanted to get to the truth of my stories and the truth of what I’m doing here on this planet,” she says. Having the chance to do what she loves “gives me a sense of purpose and involvement with the world, with humanity.” As Hawkins continues to evolve and create music, she remains true to her authentic history and experiences. “My vision for myself is to be a great artist, and that endeavor never stops because you always want to be clearer and more powerful. You never really end that search for the greatest thing that can come out of you.”

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Angelique Roche

As a child, Angelique Roche fell in love with the many ways one can tell stories. She wrote poetry, performed, acted in movies and TV shows, took photos, drew, sang, and even danced. Her varied interests and talents made it challenging for her to decide what to study in college, so she majored in mass communications and print journalism with minors in military science, history, and theater. When she was 20, Roche went to law school with the goal of pursuing entertainment law to help artists. But life took her on a different path with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to work as Associate Director for Volunteer Operations for President Obama’s 2013 inauguration. Throughout her career working in politics and philanthropy, Roche has seen the power of storytelling and how it can impact people’s lives. “The most rewarding part of my job is when someone, whether a reader, writer, or artist, can see themselves in the narrative,” she says. “Our stories are the most powerful thing we have. They are the source of our voice and are so much of who we are and where we come from.” Roche has faced setbacks in her life, but she doesn’t see them in a negative light. She believes that these obstacles have helped shape who she is and where she is today—a successful attorney, journalist, educator, producer, voiceover artist, and co-author of the upcoming non-fiction book My Super Hero is Black. Roche’s journey is a testament to the power of storytelling, and she inspires us to be true to ourselves and to embrace our unique perspectives.

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Irene Tu

Irene Tu got into comedy for two simple reasons. “A girl I liked in high school told me I was funny,” she says. “And also, I was a huge fan of Ellen.” The Los Angeles-based stand-up comedian and actor, who “honed her chops” in San Francisco, has come a long way from teen crush compliments and DeGeneres fandom. In March, her first comedy album, We’re Done Now, debuted at #1 on the iTunes comedy charts, and Paste magazine praised her “quick wit, relaxed stage presence, and hilariously off-the-wall observations.” Tu was also named one of Vulture’s “Comedians You Should and Will Know” and The San Francisco Chronicle called her an “artist on the brink of fame.” She’s opened for Patton Oswalt and Taylor Tomlinson and her recent Stand-Up Featuring set is the most-watched reel on Comedy Central’s Stand-Up’s Instagram, with over 2.7 million views. Tu’s secret to success: being her queer self. “I talk a lot about being a woman and LGBTQ+ in my stand-up because that’s how I move through life and it affects how people interact with me,” she says. “I have to address my look at the beginning of my set so people are on board for the rest of what I want to talk about.” A surprising fact about Tu: “I love to drink whole milk,” she confesses. “I’m still waiting for ‘Got Milk?’ to call me to do an ad for them.”

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Leah Johnson

Young adult author Leah Johnson has quite the resume. Her debut novel, the critically acclaimed and bestselling You Should See Me in a Crown, was a Stonewall Honor Book, an inaugural Reese’s Books Club YA pick, and one of TIME’s 100 Best Young Adult Books Of All Time. Her work has appeared in magazines like Cosmopolitan and Harper’s Bazaar. And her highly-anticipated middle-grade debut, Ellie Engle Saves Herself—the first in a series—was released this spring with Disney-Hyperion. So what inspired the self-described eternal Midwesterner to become a writer? “Books for and about young people are what made me fall in love with literature in the first place, so when I set out to write books, I knew there was only one direction I was interested in pursuing,” Johnson says. She now hopes to inspire others with her stories. “My goal, always, is to give representations of Black girlhood that are rooted in joy and not trauma,” she says, “which in turn hopefully creates a blueprint for a possible future for my readers that they may not have thought possible.” This need has perhaps never been greater, given attacks on LGBTQ+ rights in state houses across the country, including in Johnson’s home state of Indiana. “This year alone, we have three times the amount of bills than in any year before moving through our House and Senate that would place limitations on everything from the kind of gender-affirming care queer and trans folks can receive to the types of stories young people have access to in their classrooms and libraries,” she says. Her vision for the future, “is to be at the forefront of creating lasting community programming that gives LGBTQIA+ people, specifically those of color, safe spaces to read and write and explore issues of identity—a project that I hope extends well beyond my own books.”

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Neema Avashia

Having grown up in Appalachia, teacher and author Neema Avashia knows that people often have a singular understanding of what being ‘Appalachian’ means. “One book in particular,” Avashia says,” referring to the bestselling Hillbilly Elegy, “was positioned as a definitive explanation of Appalachia, sat on The New York Times Bestseller list for over a year, and did not even begin to acknowledge the longtime presence of Black folks, immigrants, queer people, or political radicals in the region.” Born in West Virginia to immigrant parents, Avashia wanted to highlight the diversity of her home region in her first book, Another Appalachia: Coming Up Queer and Indian in a Mountain Place. The memoir garnered numerous accolades: it was named Book Riot’s Best LGBTQ+ Memoir of 2022, was a finalist for a Lambda Literary Award, and found a spot on the New York Public Library’s Best Books of 2022. Her hope is that by sharing her own experience she can be a mirror for others, especially for younger adults and teenagers, who don’t always see themselves represented in popular narratives. “I grew up without mirrors in the books that I read, and I know that it made my road infinitely harder because I didn’t have models to help me make meaning of the person I was becoming,” she says. Through her book, and also her work as an educator, Avashia hopes to be a role model for others facing similar struggles, and to bring visibility to a diverse community. A Boston public school teacher since 2003, Avashia now lives in New England with her partner, Laura, and daughter Kahani.

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Arlo Parks

“There are ways to glow, ways to see what darts beyond your field of vision, ways to feel visible,” proclaims the affirmations section of Arlo Parks’ website. It’s the motto the U.Kbased singer-songwriter seems to live by. Parks’ second album, Collapsed in Sunbeams, was released last year to worldwide acclaim. Since then, she’s opened for Billie Eilish and Harry Styles, and was nominated for two awards at the 2022 Grammys, which she attended with her girlfriend, alt-pop singer Ashnikko. Raised in London by Nigerian and French parents, Parks grew up writing short stories and poetry, and names Radiohead, Joni Mitchell, and Sylvia Plath as artistic influences. In 2018, she began uploading demos to BBC Music Introducing, which led to signing with a manager and the 2019 release of her debut EP, Super Sad Generation. Parks’ newest album, My Soft Machine, was released in May—its latest single, “Pegasus,” features Phoebe Bridgers—and her headlining world tour kicks off this fall. She pens poetic lyrics interspersed with spoken word and sings about mental health, body image, and queer desire, but her own bisexual identity was never a source of personal angst. “I was lucky the people around me were also figuring themselves out and living their realities and going into relationships with whoever they pleased,” Parks told The Independent in 2021. “I never felt uncomfortable. I never felt like it was something I had to explain to them.”

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Ani Ferlise

“I found myself losing my humanity in the name of ‘growth’ and ‘healing,’” says Ani Ferlise, recalling how she first became disenchanted with spirituality culture. “I would go to Instagram and see posts explaining how to be the most healthy, evolved, conscious, spiritual, pristine, perfect human being.” So Ferlise focused on finding magic in the mundane: becoming a certified priestess, holding rituals and guiding individuals through major life shifts, and training with the nation’s top leaders in sexuality, spirituality, trauma, and coaching. She also turned to writing: her memoir Messy Bitch Magic reached number 22 on Amazon’s LGBTQ+ Biography Bestsellers before its publication earlier this year. Currently, Ferlise is working on DeedDa, a revolutionary content and e-commerce site launching this summer. At DeedDa, Ferlise will spearhead artist collaborations and create personal essays and other content. The most rewarding part of Ferlise’s work is simple: connection. “Whether it’s through writing or ritual, being able to connect with myself, others, or something bigger has never ceased to blow my mind,” she says. “In a world of perfectionism and projections, there is nothing more sacred than when you actually get to see that regardless of what is happening, or who you are, your story is a masterpiece.”

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Gina Yashere

“I had come out to friends and family, but I’d never come out publicly in England because I didn’t want to give them something else to box me in with,” comedian, actor, and writer Gina Yashere told The Guardian in 2021. Raised in London by Nigerian parents, Yashere excelled in school and worked as an elevator engineer, but turned to comedy in her mid-twenties. Within months of her career change, she was appearing on television and won runner-up in the 1996 Hackney Empire New Act of the Year competition. Yashere broke out on the American comedy scene in 2007 as a finalist on Last Comic Standing, then permanently relocated stateside. Now living in California with her partner, Nina Rose Fischer, Yashere has four stand-up specials (three of which are available on Netflix) and is an in-demand voice-over artist. She has also published her memoir, Cack-Handed, and plays a supporting role on the CBS sitcom Bob Hearts Abishola, which she co-created with TV giant Chuck Lorre. Yashere attributes her wild U.S. success to finally being out and proud. “The day I came out on stage, my life became like an open book,” she told The Guardian. “I have no fear of being outed. This is who I am, take me or leave me, I don’t give a shit. And my comedy got way better after that.”

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Shaley Howard

Community organizer, fundraiser, volunteer, writer, and social media personality Shaley Howard has overcome homophobia, bullying, and addiction. After hitting rock bottom in 2006, she came out of rehab with a new worldview. Instead of prioritizing money, success, and partying, she dedicated herself to helping her community. “It’s our relationships in life that give us meaning and purpose,” she says. She has since lived that purpose through her work with non-profit organizations like Human Rights Campaign, Oregon Recovers, and Oregon Tradeswoman, Inc. She also founded Portland Women’s 3×3 Basketball Tournament, which in its 10-year run raised over $55,000 for the Human Rights Campaign. But one of her most rewarding moments was a meeting with an out gay 8-year-old girl whose mother reached out to Howard after seeing her on a Portland Timbers FC billboard. “Having grown up in an era when literally no one in my life looked like me and [I had] no one I could turn to for support, meeting with her was one of the most rewarding aspects of my life and work,” Howard recalls. Howard hopes to soon publish her memoir, Excuse Me Sir! Memoir of a Butch, and go on a book tour. Given the political climate for the LGBTQ+ community in recent years, Howard believes finding and sharing experiences and commonalities is more important than ever. She hopes that her story will resonate with other LGBTQ+ individuals and, at the very least, let them know they’re not alone.

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T Kira Madden

T Kira Māhealani Madden is a writer, photographer, and amateur magician who has made a name for herself as a prolific writer and advocate for diverse voices. With a Chinese and Kānaka Maoli background, her work explores themes of identity, family, and community. As the Founding Editor of No Tokens, a magazine of literature and art, she has championed underrepresented voices and created a platform for emerging writers to showcase their work. Madden’s memoir, Long Live the Tribe of Fatherless Girls, has garnered critical acclaim, was recognized as a New York Times Editors’ Choice selection and was a finalist for multiple literary awards. Her highlyanticipated debut novel, Whidbey, is forthcoming with Mariner/HarperCollins. Her writing process, Madden explains, is very much suited to both her thoughtfulness and shy personality. “I’m able to take my time in writing, the one place a shy person cannot be interrupted when taking their time,” she says. Madden has received numerous fellowships and awards, including the 2021 Judith A. Markowitz Award, which recognizes LGBTQ+ writers who have made a significant contribution to the field. One of the most rewarding aspects of her work, according to Madden, is connecting with readers and helping emerging writers tell their stories. “Holding those doors of possibility open, the way so many others held a door for me,” she explains, has been a driving force behind her work. Her dedication to amplifying diverse voices in literature and creating opportunities for emerging writers is a testament to her passion and commitment to the craft.

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Gabrielle Hitchens

As an employee in the corporate world, Gabrielle Hitchens moved around the country, working and living in several states. “No matter where I lived, I struggled to find community as a Black queer woman,” she admits. Hitchens moved to New York City in 2021, hoping to find a welcoming space for queer women of color. She soon realized that even in New York City, there were few options for QTBIPOC to gather and find community. This inspired Hitchens to take matters into her own hands and create the community she longed for. She founded Raw Honey, an organization that provides a safe, inclusive, and empowering space for the underserved community by hosting women-centered events for QTBIPOC throughout the city. Raw Honey is still growing, and Hitchens aspires to continue building and empowering a team to curate unique experiences for the community. She also plans to work with more corporate organizations to create queer entertainment and experiences outside of nightlife. Hitchens’ story inspires all who seek to create something meaningful and impactful, and exemplifies how one person’s passion and drive can make a difference in the world. When faced with setbacks and adversity, Hitchens uses them as motivation to move forward. “All of the setbacks I have experienced have propelled me in the right direction,” she says. “The QTBIPOC community is so deserving of memorable experiences and options. I know that God blessed me with my gifts and my queerness to contribute something meaningful to the world, and I feel it is my responsibility to do just that.”

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Devery Jacobs

“Growing up on my [reservation], there hadn’t been many people who were like me who I knew to be out. I just hadn’t seen that representation in my own life, let alone on screen,” actor and filmmaker Devery Jacobs told NBC News last year. “More recently, being out and seeing the need and demand, understanding how thoroughly it could have benefited my life had I seen somebody like myself on-screen, just reinforced how important it was to be open about myself and to fight for queer Natives onscreen.” Since her breakout role in the 2013 film Rhymes for Young Ghouls, which earned her a Canadian Screen Awards nomination for best actress, the queer member of the Mohawk Nation has played recurring roles on iconic TV series Good Omens and Reservation Dogs. Sam Black Crow, Jacobs’ character on Good Omens, was one of the first major television characters to identify as Two-Spirit— something Jacobs not only took seriously, but suggested to the show’s creators. “I mentioned how in many Indigenous communities, Two-Spirit people were actually considered closer to the creator,” Jacobs told NBC News. “On a show about gods, faith, and the proximity of people, I had brought it up…and they all loved it and decided to make that part of the character.” Next up for Jacobs: a role on the Disney+ Marvel series Echo.

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Jessie Gender

Since childhood, shows like Star Trek have inspired Jessie Earl—better known as her YouTube handle Jessie Gender—in more ways than one. “They gave me the conviction and belief that humanity would one day evolve beyond our differences and pursue the best parts of ourselves and each other,” the writer, filmmaker, journalist, and LGBTQ+ advocate says. “And within those worlds, I found my own identity as a woman, as a trans person, and as someone who wanted hope for the future.” As Earl matured, so did her relationship to her beloved sci-fi stories. “I realized the need to talk more openly about issues affecting us all, be it as a woman, an LGBTQ person or beyond,” she reflects. Earl found her voice on YouTube: her Jessie Gender channel educates viewers about sexuality, gender, and LGBTQ+ (especially transgender) issues through a geek lens. In addition to the Jessie Gender channel, Earl is a member of the Gayety Gaymers Facebook Group, a vibrant community of over 60,000 LGBTQ+ people who come together over their love of gaming. She also creates content for Microsoft; has written for the tabletop role-playing game “Star Trek Adventures”; and contributed to the book, Navigating Trans*+ and Complex Gender Identities. She also is working on a sci-fi film called Identiteaze, which explores the power of gender and identity in a not-so-distant future that limits self-expression, which will be released on the Nebula streaming service. Gender would one day like to write or direct a TV series, and her Jessie Gender channel has bigger videos forthcoming, but no matter the project, her goal remains clear. “Through all my work, I hope to break the bounds of what others think is possible from people who are normally discounted or only seen as victims,” she says, “and show that truly, the beauty of humanity lies in finding delight in all our differences.”

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Silvia A. Canales

Since childhood, Silvia A. Canales has had an innate passion for helping her community. Her parents, both immigrants, believed in the transformative power of education, and while their expectations for Canales were high, the resources available to them were limited. Canales navigated much of the education system alone, “determined, persistent, and resilient to push through regardless of the obstacles faced and the mistakes made along the way,” she says. Her persistence paid off: she became the first in her family to earn a graduate degree. Now with over 30 years of experience as a cultural/ youth worker, Canales has elevated others in her community through education, wellness, and leadership development. She currently serves as the Director of College, Career & Wellness at The Brotherhood Sister Sol, a New York City-based youth organization where “Black and Latinx youth claim the power of their history, identity, and community to build the future they want.” Canales has created various programs that empower youth to challenge and address issues regarding race, culture, and sexism while supporting them in academics, social enrichment, and community involvement. Canales’ experiences and her multiple identities as a bisexual, firstgeneration, Afro-Latina of Dominican and Puerto Rican heritage have made her a powerful and necessary leader within the social justice organization. Her commitment to her community and her passion for helping others make her an inspiring figure and a force for positive change. As she puts it, “¡Palante, siempre palante—mi gente!” (“Forward, always forward—my people!”)

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Mimi Gonzalez

For Mimi Gonzalez, “Comedy gave me a way out of living as a Midwest Latina, stuck in a state of perpetual misidentification,” the legendary comedian recalls. It’s also taken her everywhere: she’s performed for U.S. troops stationed all over the world and for audiences on America’s East and West Coasts, as well as everywhere in between. She’s appeared on numerous shows including The Today Show, Ellen, and LOGO’s One Night Stand Up. And after years of head-lining comedy venues in the gay mecca of Provincetown, Massachusetts, she is now leading the “Go Girl!” weekend at The Dunes Resort in Saugatuck, Michigan, which she aims to make into a “Midwest Dinah.” Regardless of where she’s performing, one thing remains the same with audiences everywhere. “There’s nothing like getting ‘in the zone,’ where you and the audience are creating something together,” Gonzalez says. “It’s a state of grace and there’s nothing like being in that space of connection, reflection, and mutuality.” Her years spent on the road where, she says, “poetry appeared in my joke notebooks,” inspired her to earn an MFA in 2018, and she now facilitates writing workshops in the places where she performs. “I…hope to continue to create community through both the writing workshops and live events like ‘Go Girl!’ Saugatuck,” she says. She’s also looking forward to how comedy will develop as more and more queer people and women take to the stage—no longer “tokens in the clubs” but rather “part of the landscape of funny,” she says. “Here’s hoping what’s next will be the inclusion and celebration of older women’s wisdom, sexuality, and humor.”

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Ruth McFarlane

Growing up, Ruth McFarlane wanted to make a difference—as her fully realized self. As a closeted teen from a conservative family in the Midwest, “I used to follow the careers of these brilliant lesbian civil rights lawyers: Urvashi Vaid in New York and Kate Kendall in San Francisco.” After graduating from Cornell Law and practicing for several years in the corporate sector, McFarlane went back to school for her master’s in social work. She then served as Director of Development & Community Engagement at the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) and as Director of Programs at the San Francisco LGBT Community Center. The move to non-profit work allowed her to use her background in law, as well as her people skills “to work on behalf of LGBTQ+ people facing the toughest challenges of their lives,” she says. “I didn’t know this career path was out there, but I found it by following my heart.” McFarlane now oversees fund development and communications as Chief Advancement Officer for the Ms. Foundation, an iconic organization founded in the 1970s by white feminists that pivoted in 2017 to focus on positively impacting the lives of women and girls of color. McFarlane considers this new mission “a watershed moment for the feminist movement” and is proud, and grateful, to be a part of it. “As an out lesbian, a committed ally to transgender and gender expansive people, an immigrant, and a multiracial person who identifies as a Black and South Asian woman, the most rewarding aspect of my work is being all of me, all the time, and making the circle bigger for as many other people as I can,” McFarlane says. “I love what I do. And that is a privilege and an honor—every day.”

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Anna Deshawn

Anna DeShawn is a Chicago-born social entrepreneur who’s turned her passion for media into a full-time dream career. As the founder and CEO of E3 Radio and co-founder and CEO of The Qube, DeShawn builds streaming platforms that center and celebrate BIPOC and QTPOC creatives. DeShawn founded E3 Radio in 2009 and has been playing queer music on the online radio station ever since. She also reports on queer news through an intersectional lens on the Ambie award-winning Queer News podcast. “Being responsible for everything from writing, producing, and marketing to hosting the show can be overwhelming at times,” DeShawn says, “but the satisfaction of seeing my vision come to life makes it all worthwhile.” Knowing that she’s positively impacting the LGBTQ+ community motivates DeShawn to continue providing quality content. She especially loves hearing from listeners who feel represented, informed, and empowered. “It’s incredibly gratifying to know that I am contributing to a larger conversation and movement that aims to elevate queer voices,” she says. Her dedication to her craft and the community she serves is widely lauded in the media industry: she’s a multi-award-winning podcaster and an Ambie award-winning podcast producer and host. Through her work with E3 Radio and The Qube, DeShawn is determined to ride media into its next era by utilizing digital media streams to tell the stories and play the music that deserves to be heard. Outside of work, DeShawn is a daughter, wife, sister, and friend who loves cooking, running, and Robin Roberts (whom she’d love to meet and interview).

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Ashley Bartlett

“I was an introverted kid who spent a lot of time reading Nancy Drew,” says writer and editor Ashley Bartlett. “Writing was a natural progression.” Bartlett hit enviable milestones early: her first short story was published when she was 19; she signed with her publisher at 24; and she began editing professionally at 27. Now the author of several sapphic novels, including The Dirty Trilogy and the Cash Braddock series, Bartlett has new goals. “Paying rent [with writing and editing] would be cool,” she says. “Ultimately, though, I just want people to read my work…I’m not naive enough to think I can change anything on a global scale. But I absolutely can change how individual people look at or think about or process the world around them and I think that’s pretty damn cool.” As a gender nonconforming person who describes herself as “masc of center,” Bartlett writes the characters she wants to read, which leads to interesting and profound challenges. “My most recent series was masc on masc, which is uncommon,” she says. “Logistically, writing two masc of center main characters means building wardrobes and styles that are distinct. It also means examining social structures that result in masculine performativity and how that might present in two very different women.” When asked how her own identity affects her writing, Bartlett is frank. “It’s impossible to separate my queerness and my gender from my work,” she says. “Everything I do or think or feel is steeped in queerness.”

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Nadine Smith

Few people have been busier this year in Ron DeSantis country than Nadine Smith, executive director of Equality Florida. “Most of our organizations were in big, progressive cities and yet the biggest decisions impacting our lives were being made in state legislatures,” says journalist-turnedorganizer Nadine Smith. “Equality Florida was born out of a commitment to hold accountable lawmakers at every level of government, particularly the state legislature.” Before co-founding Equality Florida—the largest organization in the state committed to ending discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity—Smith was a national co-chair of the 1993 March on Washington, and was part of the first Oval Office meeting between a sitting President (Bill Clinton) and LGBTQ+ community leaders. In her current position, Smith says, “I like the multigenerational team I get to work with. We benefit from the wisdom and experiences of seasoned activists and we have younger, fresher eyes and perspectives to ensure we aren’t calcified in outdated ideas.” Smith, who also served on President Obama’s National Finance Committee and who was named to TIME’s list of the world’s 100 most influential people last year, brings her identity as an LGBTQ+ woman into all her work. “The further from the mainstream, the better view you get of the whole board,” she says. “It has helped me understand the interconnectedness of our lives and why we have to stand together across all the differences used to divide and diminish us.” Two surprising facts about her: “I like battle rap and I have been a professional Shakespearean actor.”

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Abigail Fierce

“I started writing songs in middle school because I was kind of shy. I think it was a way for me to control my narrative when I felt like I didn’t have much control over the things that were happening to me or around me,” singer-songwriter Abigail Fierce says. She found coming out extremely difficult to talk about—although not as difficult to write about. “Writing about [things] is how I work through [them],” she says. “And by releasing music, I have a growing platform to help other people feel less alone.” Now, with her songs streaming over four million times on Spotify, and starring roles on shows like Love, Victor and This Is Us, Fierce is building quite the platform. Her latest release, “Daphne,” is a pop-rock-inspired sapphic love song—and just the kind of music Fierce wants to see more of. “I try to write music that I wish existed, and ‘Daphne’ is definitely a song I wish I’d had growing up,” she says. But the most rewarding part of her work happens when listeners share how her music has made a difference in their lives—how “Scream It to the Whole World” helps someone come out or “I Just Want to Feel Okay Again” lets them work through their grief. Through her work, Fierce wants to help people feel a little less alone, whether it’s by portraying LGBTQ+ characters on television or creating music that many yearn to hear. “I want to be a positive role model for young people and continue making a difference in people’s lives,” she says.

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Alison Williams, aka “Sir Raven”

Alison Williams came out in the LGBTQ+ leather, kink, and BDSM scene in the mid- ’1990s, when things were significantly different than they are today. “There were not many out Black, Brown, or POC folks,” Williams, also known as Sir Raven, recalls. “AIDS was still a thing. And I knew the perception some in the African American community had about the LGBTQ community and ‘freaky sex.’” Almost immediately, Williams set out to change the scene. With the help of her mentors and her knowledge from working at a public library, Williams says, “I set out to put into practice what I had been learning. I began educating on safer sex and how to do safer kink for organizers publicly.” They’re now CEO of BLX, an organization whose mission focuses on kinkinformed sex education, specifically reducing stigma in the Black and Brown LGBTQ+ leather, kink, and BDSM community, as well as in alternative relationships. Williams also assisted in forming ONYX Pearls New York-Northeast, which supports, educates, and empowers women of color in the leather and BDSM scene, and currently creates safe spaces and programming for young adults, specifically those who are queer, trans, and gender nonconforming. “As a gender nonconforming person, I have at times been able to use my ‘privilege’ to amplify the voices of people who present femme, nonbinary, and/ or trans folks,” Williams, who uses she/they pronouns, adds. “Likewise, as an African American GNC woman, I challenge those in spaces by taking up space.” A surprising fact about Williams: “Growing up, I wanted to be a mortician.”

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Lexie Peters

“I’ve had the honor to wear many different hats while being on set: model, dancer, actress, musician, photographer, director, choreographer, production assistant, and many more,” says Lexie Peters. “I love being a part of the creative process in any way I can to bring a vision to life.” Peters recently moved from New York to Los Angeles to pursue the dream life of a full-time creator. In the meantime, they’re racking up followers on Instagram and TikTok, have a podcast called Peterss Perspective that explores vulnerability and self-discovery, and recently led a self-love workshop as part of Illuminate Events’ “Planted With Purpose” tour. While Peters has always been creative, the idea of working for herself is a more recent development. “Initially I had this crazy passion to…overall just to be creative, and then the thought of doing what I loved as a job was super tempting,” Peters says. “So I led with that, and then the idea of being my own boss motivated me to really go full-time as a creative.” The constant hustle isn’t easy, and Peters has considered a day job more than once—but the vision of success on their own terms keeps them going. “At one point, I was doing it to prove others wrong, and now I’m doing it to prove to myself that I am capable of all I desire,” she says. “We’re in charge of creating our own lives.”

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Selina “Cvgebird” Carrera

For Selina “Cvgebird” Carrera, music has always provided a safe space. “I remember being homeless as a teen after being outed as LGBTQIA, going through some serious experiences of betrayal and let downs, on top of losing people close to me through violence,” she says. “Being able to get the intensity of what I was feeling out creatively was the only real release I had at the time that was healthy for me.” Now a youth advocate and musician whose sound combines acoustic, trap, and soul with Caribbean undertones, Cvgebird has toured worldwide with Grammy-winning artists, was featured on Sofar Sounds’ “Best of the Listening Room,” and won Best Music Video in the Georgia Latino Film Festival for their music video “Frida Trap,” an ode to Frida Kahlo, Carrera’s beloved Philadelphia, and revolutionary joy. Cvgebird also received the 2020 Lindback Award for Educator of the Year and works with young artists and families affected by incarceration. “As I got older, it felt extremely important for me to provide that same space for young people that I had found for myself: a safe and brave space to express, create and process the world around me,” Cvgebird says. Eventually, she’d like to launch the The Frida Trap Tour, taking these young artists and mentees “from incarceration to liberation” and giving them “a literal global stage to share our stories of transformation,” she says. Carrera, who is of Puerto Rican, Cuban, and Brazilian descent, comes by this advocacy honestly. “Being a first-generation born in the States and coming from parents that were also community leaders and advocates, it laid a lot of the groundwork for me to continue building upon.”

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Crystal Jang

At age 13, Crystal Jang realized she was attracted to other girls. Now almost 77, she has spent six decades as an activist, educator, community organizer, and proud “auntie” in the queer, trans, Asian, and Pacific Islander (QTAPI) community. A third-generation San Franciscan, she has co-founded several organizations including APIQWTC (Asian Pacific Islander Queer Women & Trans Community) and OASIS (Older Sisters in Solidarity); was recognized with the APIQWTC’s Phoenix Award and the GAPA (Gay Asian Pacific Alliance) HIV Visibility and Howard Grayson Senior Award; and served as Community Grand Marshal for the 2013 San Francisco Pride Parade. With age, however, she’s changed her priorities. “I realize I no longer have the physical stamina or emotional fortitude to be an out, loud and proud, in your face type of lesbian activist,” Jang says. “Rather, I have had to shift and reevaluate how best to be an ‘energy efficient,’ more inclusive queer activist instead.” These days, Jang focuses on connections and celebration: fostering intergenerational relationships in the QTAPI community and increasing visibility of API queer elders. With a goal to create “good trouble” every day, Jang seeks inspiration from those who came before her. “Witnessing their courage, strength, and determination to overcome all obstacles, to fight for their right to create a better life for themselves and their families, inspired me to follow in their footsteps to live my own truths,” she says. “I am proud to be a fourth generation Chinese American who has had the opportunity and privilege to carry on the work of my ancestors. They are the true activists.”

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Aurora Guerrero

“Film has the unique ability to provoke conversation and shift culture,” says Aurora Guerrero. “As a queer BIPOC, it’s vital to my well-being, and that of my family’s, that I take part in that cultural production. This is what ultimately drives me to do what I do.” Born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, the queer, Chicana screenwriter and director has amassed a multitude of impressive credits. Guerrero graduated from University of California-Berkeley and California Institute of the Arts. In 2005, she was chosen as a Sundance Institute Ford Foundation film fellow, and participated in their Native Indigenous Lab with her screenplay Mosquita Y Mari, a coming of age story about two teenage Chicana girls in California and their attraction to one another, which then premiered at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival. Since then, Guerrero has directed episodes of television shows including Queen Sugar, The Other Black Girl, Blindspotting, and Little America, among others. Having worked together on Queen Sugar, Ava DuVernay recommended Guerrero to Lin-Manuel Miranda to direct the music video for Andra Day’s cover of “Burn” from The Hamilton Mixtape album.

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Lee Kimball Outlaw Barmore

Dr. Lee Kimball Outlaw Barmore has looked after the well-being of children since 1991, when she first trained as a Court Appointed Special Advocate for Children in the courtroom of Judge Judith Sheindlin (better known as Judge Judy). Since that time, she’s been a caseworker in foster care, a foster parent trainer, an adoption specialist, and a social worker with Atlanta’s Department of Family and Children Services, just to name a few of the jobs she’s held. Now a Training Specialist in the Human Resources Department at a child welfare agency in New York City, Barmore, with more than 30 years in child services, knows how difficult life can be for queer and gender nonconforming children. “I have seen children thrown out of their homes of origin and foster homes due to their sexual orientation or their gender identity and/or expression,” Barmore says. This makes when caregivers accept their LGBTQ+ child— when they realize their child “needs and requires love, support, and an ally who will be there for them”—all the more rewarding. “I stress that it’s much more than tolerance,” she says, regarding the support that these children need from their guardians. “It’s affirmation and full acceptance.” Barmore, herself, is no stranger to intolerance and adversity, the latter of which she calls “a familiar foe.” As a person who is Black, female, and lesbian, “navigating places that might accept only one of my identities is a common practice,” she says. How does she deal with these challenges? With “support, inner strength and acceptance, and a belief in a higher power. Setbacks are an opportunity to re-group, adjust, and move forward.”

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Anjali Rimi

“My vision is to ensure all forms of social oppressions centering [on] transphobia, homophobia, and xenophobia have no place on this earth,” says Anjali Rimi. A San Francisco-based advocate belonging to the South Asian diasporic Kinnar Hindu transgender community, Rimi is president and co-founder of Parivar Bay Area. It’s the country’s only South Asian trans-led and trans-centering organizationthat strives to cultivate trans community and foster economic justice, intersectional unity, and social inclusion. They also lead the California Coalition of Transgender Immigrants, serve as an advisor to the Center for Immigrant Protection, and are the first South Asian transgender person to be recognized as an LGBTQ+ champion in the California Legislative Assembly and the Senate. “The most rewarding aspect of my work has been to see transgender queer people of color who I can support or be around…smile, enjoy a meal, be warm under a roof, and be in community,” says Rimi, who was also awarded the Grassroots Leader Immigration Award by San Francisco’s Office of Community Engagement and Immigration Affairs, as well as Congressional recognitions from retired Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Senator Scott Wiener. “It has been instrumental for me to see South Asian transgender Hijrah Kinnar folks build their livelihood and achieve economic autonomy, [and] garner social respect and belonging.” Two surprising facts about Rimi: “I went to culinary school and remain a trained chef,” she shares. “I love motorcycles and ride my Ducati Monster 821 with pride—and even at many Prides!”

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Rose Montoya

“I’m honestly surprised by how much has actually changed since I’ve become a content creator full time,” Rose Montoya reflects. Only a few years ago, the Latine, bisexual, and nonbinary transgender model, speaker, and advocate primarily worked as a makeup artist at a cosmetics counter. But when COVID-19 hit and she was laid off, Montoya decided to pivot. Now, they’re primarily known for their Trans 101 video series, “which teaches about transitioning, healthcare, language, history, politics, pop culture, and all things trans,” Montoya says. “I spend every day on TikTok educating my audience and uplifting my community all while entertaining, looking fabulous, and leaving a smile on people’s faces.” Besides educating and entertaining, Montoya’s content has led to systemic change in the TSA, universities and libraries, as well as in individuals. She has been featured in Out magazine’s OUT100 issue in 2021, nominated by Queerty for Favorite TikToker of 2022, and invited to speak on LATV’s The Q Agenda for Women’s History Month earlier this year. Despite all of their successes, life isn’t always easy for Montoya. After some of her videos went viral this past Trans Day of Visibility, the creator was bombarded by haters. To improve her mood, she turned to the runways in the queer Ballroom scene, including at Legendary Father Markus Tisci’s April Fools’ Ball in LA, where she won grand prize for Fem Queen Face. “Being surrounded by [my] community and celebrated for my identity fills me with joy,” Montoya recalls. “After all, our joy is our greatest weapon against adversity. Conservatives can take away our healthcare, our education, our access to bathrooms, our ability to play sports, but they cannot take away our identities, our love, our joy.”

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Nicky Click

“I’ve always been a performative Miss Piggy-type person on the outside, with a need to scream my experiences of what I perceive to be injustices towards women’s rights, [and] oppressive injustices towards marginalized groups,” says Nicky Click. “I have been given an opportunity as a privileged white person and have tried to use that as a platform to talk about greater issues around women’s rights and oppression and racism…the crazy shit that goes on which seems to never be spoken about!” A one-femme band based in New Hampshire and specializing in electro-pop performance house music, Click addresses the tough stuff: not only widespread injustice but also survivorship, physical and mental challenges, and coming of age. “The platform of performance art happens to be a perfect way for me to channel all my anger I saw and felt,” they admit. “I’ve been given an opportunity to discuss these things on that platform.” Click has released videos on MTV, toured internationally, and released six albums, including her most recent, Reductive Nostalgia, composed during the quarantine. Click takes their work seriously, but doesn’t skimp on joy and is open about their own struggles. “I have had the opportunity to serve the LGBTQ+ community and open discussions about mental health and disability justice through dance music,” Click says. “I put myself out there in hopes that people can heal while dancing and sharing.”

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Remeice

With a talent and passion for bringing people together through music, Remeice is a rising star in the DJing world. Born and raised in Mount Vernon, New York, Remeice was exposed to diverse music genres throughout her formative years, including reggae, dancehall, hip-hop, R&B, and pop—all of which heavily influence her style of DJing today. Remeice worked as a DJ on the side for years while holding a full-time job. Only recently did she see DJing as a viable career option. Despite the occasional bout of imposter syndrome, Remeice has forged her own path. “I feel great knowing organizers are steadily reaching out, and all these wonderful people are interested in following my journey,” she says. Her versatility as a DJ allows her to work with a diverse range of clients, including the American Ballet Theater, NYC Pride, and Misster. She particularly enjoys playing in club and bar space, where the energy is high and the crowd is open to different types of music. She also hopes to expand her services to help her queer family celebrate broader milestones like weddings, trade shows, fitness classes, art showings, and auctions. Above all, Remeice has found the community’s support to be the most rewarding aspect of her work. “I’ve been lucky enough to explore many avenues when it comes to DJing and hosting events, and I’d love to take what I do to another level of expansion and be a source for more celebratory needs,” she says.

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Amber Galloway

A long-time lover of music, Amber Galloway has used her skills in American Sign Language (ASL) to bridge the gap between music and deaf audiences. She was inspired to become a music interpreter in 1999, after seeing two deaf dance troupes—the San Antonio Deaf Dance Company and the Wild Zappers—perform. “I knew that’s what music should look like,” she says of those performances. She now runs Amber G Productions, an agency that trains ASL performance interpreters, provides advocacy education for businesses, and helps artists, including Metallica and Tove Lo, make their music more accessible to deaf audiences. Her vision, she says, “was for me to create an ASL interpreting agency that focused on making significant changes when it came to ASL access in the music industry which I have seen happen.” In her 22 years as an interpreter, she’s seen how more and more music festivals and venues around the world are increasing efforts to provide ASL interpreters, often without being prompted to do so. These efforts, she believes, are crucial toward empowering the deaf community—and making the world, overall, a better place. “I strongly believe that making music accessible at the very inception of any event or concert truly uplifts humanity and creates a vibrational shift in our hearts and minds,” she says. “Music is a culture and it doesn’t discriminate—it brings people together.”

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Kaguya

Meet Kaguya, a trailblazing Korean American model, influencer, photographer, musician, and entrepreneur. Kaguya, who identifies as nonbinary as well as female, didn’t always plan on becoming a model or influencer, and initially began her career as a photographer. After leaving a physically and emotionally abusive relationship, she began writing diary entries on WordPress before going to Instagram. A year later, as Kaguya’s healing journey was well underway, she had the confidence to post her images on social media, launching her modeling career. “When I started, I never saw any plus-size Asian models, let alone models who were 5’5,” around my age, and covered in tattoos with colored hair,” she says. In 2021, Kaguya opened Rice Studios, a studio and event space curated for queer BIPOC artists, entrepreneurs, educators, and innovators. “I always wanted to have a space that would give people of color more opportunity, comfort, and accessibility,” she says. In addition to Rice Studios, Kaguya runs OOLBO, a cannabis and psychedelic-focused Kawaii Canna lifestyle brand. She’s also classically trained and self-taught in music and, after a long hiatus from the craft, has released two singles in the past two years. But the most rewarding aspect of Kaguya’s work is “being able to show up for myself and also inspiring younger women or folks around my age to trailblaze the industry as they see fit,” she says. “I was denied and told multiple times by agents and modeling peers how I would never be signed or be taken seriously. Look at me now.”

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Emma Berrigan, aka Emskiii

“As a queer, red-headed woman, I am no stranger to adversity,” Emma Berrigan says. “Less than 3% of the popularized music in the world is produced by women. I am always feeling like I have to ‘prove’ myself.” Born and raised in San Antonio, Texas, but now living in the Austin area, Berrigan is a multi-hyphenate: professional athlete, drummer and electronic artist/DJ under the alias EMSKIII. Berrigan started drumming at age eight, and throughout college played in multiple bands around Austin, such as Stubbs, Mohawk, and Swan Dive. Also during college, Berrigan discovered Ultimate Frisbee, and has played with the Austin Torch, a professional women’s and nonbinary team, since 2020. EMSKIII was born post-graduation, when Berrigan filmed shows for major networks during the week, and taught herself to produce EDM (electronic dance music) on weekends. Less than a year later, she released EMSKIII’s first single, “Free My Mind.” Despite the challenges of being a queer woman in music, “I hope I can keep creating great records to dance and move to, but more than anything, I hope to provide an environment/experience where people feel connected and free to be themselves,” Berrigan said. “I want people to walk into an EMSKIII show and feel empowered to be whatever they want to be.”

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Liz Patrick

Living in Seoul, South Korea, with her expat father, and having just lost her mother to cancer, teenage Liz Patrick found comfort in pop culture. “TV, film, and music became my refuge while I was trying not to feel isolated in a foreign country,” she remembers. Though Patrick inherited her dad’s love of photography, she soon picked up another type of camera. “One day I borrowed my neighbor’s camcorder and started to make videos of Korea, so I could share my experience with my friends from home,” she says. “Slowly those films became comedy sketches.” After making many short films at Boston University, Patrick reached out to alumni for career guidance and landed her first job at MTV. She’s now a primetime Emmy nominee and Directors Guild of America award winner who has directed thousands of hours of television, including live multi-camera shows, concerts, awards shows, sketch comedy, and red carpet specials. In 2008, Patrick became director of The Ellen DeGeneres Show, a gig that lasted 13 seasons and over 2,000 episodes, and which earned Patrick nine Daytime Emmy awards, including three for direction. Her current gig is at the helm of Saturday Night Live—only the fifth director, and second female director, in the show’s 47 years. “I really enjoy bringing a project to life, and I am extremely grateful for the opportunities I have gotten,” says Patrick. “I’ve worked and continue to work with so many talented people. I love what I do, and I’m currently in a ‘pinch me’ moment here at SNL.”

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Geraldine Fermin

“I wanted to work somewhere where we could do something about food waste,” Geraldine Fermin says. “I’ve seen so much poverty all over the world that I wanted to work for an organization that rescues perfectly good, nutritious food and delivers—free of charge—to community members across New York City.” A native of Venezuela, which has its share of food insecurity, Fermin is Nutrition and Culinary Education Manager at City Harvest, New York City’s first and largest food rescue organization. She coordinates and leads cooking demonstrations citywide, and teaches cooking and nutrition classes in English and Spanish. Fermin focuses her work on City Harvest’s mobile markets, as well as food pantries, supermarkets, and public schools. “No one should go to bed hungry,” says Fermin, who previously worked as a restaurant and catering chef and as a food service manager for the New York City public schools. “It’s really rewarding to know that we can’t change the world but we can do a little, one day at a time.” This spring, Fermin was named one of City Harvest’s Frontline Heroes, in recognition of her efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic. “From March 2020 to June 2022, City Harvest rescued and delivered nearly 300 million pounds of food for our neighbors experiencing food insecurity,” she says. “I was proud to be out in the community, helping my neighbors when they needed it the most.”

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Brittney and Cherelle Griner

Brittney Griner (right) is considered one of the best female basketball players in the world. The WNBA All-Star and Olympic Gold medalist began her basketball career at Baylor University, where she led her team to a national championship and won the Naismith Player of the Year Award in 2012. Drafted into the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) in 2013, Brittney quickly made a name for herself in the basketball world as the WNBA’s leader in blocked shots and points per game. An indomitable force on the court, Brittney’s many achievements have earned her the admiration of countless fans. But her relationship with wife Cherelle Griner is equally inspiring. Brittney and Cherelle met at Baylor University as undergraduates but only began dating after reconnecting years later. The pair married in June 2019 and have been melting hearts ever since, frequently sharing their love on social media. Cherelle, a former teacher turned attorney, has always been Brittney’s biggest fan, showing her support both on and off the court. Cherelle’s devotion to her wife was never more apparent than during Britteny’s nearly year-long detainment in Russia in 2022, after Russian officials discovered a vape cartridge containing cannabis oil in her luggage. Though heartbroken and terrified, Cherelle tirelessly advocated for her wife’s return to the U.S. Her frequent updates for fans on social media earned the attention of millions worldwide. In December 2022, Cherelle’s unwavering support and tireless efforts paid off: the pair were reunited following Brittney’s release in a prisoner exchange. The Griners’ relationship is a beautiful demonstration of love that prevails across borders and obstacles, and their devotion to one another is a shining example of the power of lesbian love.

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Seleste Diaz and Joana Rubio

Looking at Little Barn Coffee House’s cheerful Instagram feed, you’d never know that its co-owners and chefs caulked the cafe’s drywall, painted its walls, and changed the faucets by themselves during a global pandemic. Seleste Diaz (right) and Joana Rubio, who describe themselves as “girlfriends, best friends, and bandmates for 15 years, and soon to be married,” opened the Los Angeles restaurant in July 2020 “to veganize [our] favorite traditional meals in a compassionate way, [and] aim to have everyone enjoy it regardless of lifestyle or diet.” When COVID struck their contractor in the middle of Little Barn’s kitchen rebuild, rather than risk exposure from strangers, the Mexican-American LA natives (and decades-long vegans) got to work. While construction might not come naturally to the couple, food does: Diaz comes from a family of bakers and Rubio’s kin owned Baja-style taco stands in their native Mexico. As a touring band, the two noticed a lack of quality vegan food on the road, and the idea for Little Barn was born. The most rewarding aspect of their work, Diaz and Rubio agree, is “being able to serve our diverse communities that we identify with, from the vegan, Latinx, minorities, and LGBTQ+ community, [and] creating a safe space for everyone to be accepted and welcomed.” Eventually, the couple “would love to…open a full-service restaurant with [a] full bar [and] live entertainment, and bring talent from the LGBTQ+ family, as well as continue to help anyone with food insecurities.” It’s been almost three years since Diaz and Rubio caulked drywall, and they’re looking to the future with pride. “We don’t like to dwell on the setbacks…but instead use them to make us come back stronger, and prove we can do anything we set our minds to.”

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Brooklyn Wright

“Nothing makes me happier than to open doors and blaze a path [that] others can follow,” says Brooklyn Wright. “I have been making room and capacity-building for underrepresented communities all of my life and I have a strong belief that all power should be shared.” A business owner and sales strategist, Wright uses community, storytelling, and event curation to help top organizations engage with diverse audiences. as well as a decades-long advocate for underrepresented populations who Wright currently serves as chief revenue officer for Out in Tech, a global non-profit organization for LGBTQ+ technologists. The organization creates opportunities for its 45,000 members to advance their careers and expand their networks, as well as leverage technology for social change. “Out in Tech, as well as my financial literacy work, allows me to take what I have learned over the past 20 years and pour it into communities I also identify with,” says Wright. Going forward, Wright’s vision for themselves involves more balance, personal enjoyment, and time with those who matter most. “I identify as a recovering workaholic [and] I have spent many years accomplishing,” Wright says. “Now I hope to spend more quality time with my wife and family. I want to spend more time smelling the flowers and finding my internal joy!”

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Rabbi Denise Eger and Rabbi Eleanor Steinman

We are both rabbis, so we met doing rabbi things in Los Angeles,” Denise Eger (left) and Eleanor Steinman both recall. Now happily married, the two Jewish Reform rabbis focus on social justice, inclusion, and improving the world—one person at a time. Rabbi Eger grew up in Memphis, Tennessee, in the 1960s. “My childhood rabbi was head of the interfaith organization when Dr. King was murdered,” she remembers. “I saw the injustices of racism, and when I came out, I saw the injustices for LGBTQ+ people and I knew I had to speak up. I knew as a rabbi I could make these kinds of differences.” The founding rabbi of Congregation Kol Ami, the West Hollywood, California, Reform Synagogue, Rabbi Eger helped pass the March 2000 Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR) resolution in support of marriage equality, is co-author of the official Reform movement same-sex wedding liturgy, and in 2015 became the first out gay person to become CCAR’s president. Rabbi Dr. Steinman also found her faith-based calling rooted in a desire to help others. “I had strong rabbinic role models as a teenager, and loved that I could help people make meaning in their lives through the spiritual, historical, and cultural wisdom of Judaism,” she says. “I also love that rabbi means ‘teacher,’ and to be a teacher one is also always a learner.” Rabbi Dr. Steinman has served in leadership positions for California Faith for Equality and A Wider Bridge, organizations that prioritize LGBTQ+ equality and identity. She joined Temple Beth Shalom in Austin, Texas, at the height of COVID-19 and in July, will become the first female, full-time senior rabbi in the city. “This is one of my lifelong dreams,” she says. “I hope to inspire people and to build upon the strengths of my congregation to secure it, and the Jewish people, into the future.” A surprising fact about Rabbi Dr. Steinman: “I have a doctorate in education and two master’s degrees in addition to ordination.” As for her wife, Rabbi Eger: “I love Star Trek. All the different shows. Live long and prosper.”

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Kali Reis

“Being someone who identifies a s Two -Spirit has impacted [me] in so many ways,” says boxer and actor Kali Reis. “I have always known I was ‘different’ in t he way I expressed myself and to whom I expressed it to, but growing up in the household I did made it difficult to comfortably begin to understand myself.” Discovering her true self has helped Reis “create a more diverse range [in] what I do…day to day, fight to fight and job to job.” The former world champion in two weight classes has recently branched out into acting, thanks to her boxing career. “I was approached by director and writer Josef Kubota Wladyka on Instagram about a script he had written [about] the MMIW [Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women] epidemic,” Reis says. “He had also seen that I was using my boxing platform to bring awareness to various Indigenous issues.” The 2021 film, Catch the Fair One, starred Reis in her first acting role, for which she earned an Independent Spirit Award nomination. Reis’s new career has taken off: she’ll appear in the upcoming film Black Flies, starring Sean Penn, and will star alongside Jodie Foster in the fourth season of HBO’s True Detective series. “I’ve definitely gotten thrown head first into the deep end of an [entirely] different world and it was sink or swim,” Reis says of her budding film career. “It has been the greatest holy shit occurrence in my life to date and I cannot wait to see where it takes me.”

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Stevi Shari

“When I was in the military you were not allowed to be gay,” says Stevi Shari of her time in the U.S. Navy. “‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ was the policy. During my tour I experienced trauma and also had to hide my sexuality, so it affected me.” She’s now a social media influencer and athlete currently competing in her third season of American Ninja Warrior. “One of my nieces watched the show and called me and said, ‘I want you to do this.’” Shari has also launched the non-profit Veterans for the People, an organization of veterans who direct others to community resources including housing, food, and medical and mental health services. She’s also an advocate, peer supporter, and motivational coach for military veterans. “My vision for myself is to do something that hasn’t been done before, like to be the first woman to win American Ninja Warrior,” says Shari, who aspires to become an actor as well. “Overall, I just want to keep being an athlete and motivator for women and youth to stay healthy, active and shoot for their dreams.” Despite her successful career on camera, “I am actually shy and a hopeless romantic,” Shari says. “I like to live in the moment so I would prefer not to have to record all the time.”

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Maria-Elena Grant

“I think society is always trying to push lesbians aside or silence us,” says Maria-Elena Grant. “I have found it necessary to spend my entire life being out, loud, and proud, and educating people about why such actions remain very necessary even when it feels as if we have made so much progress.” Born in the U.K. to Jamaican parents who emigrated to New York, Grant has been an activist since the 1980s, when she co-founded Blues, a social networking group for lesbians in The Bronx (the first of its kind in the borough). Since then, Grant has been a “founding mother” of the Audre Lorde Project, a member of the POC Steering Committee—a group of LGBTQ+ organizations of color working to achieve stronger community visibility—and a member of the staff that broke ground on the Callen-Lorde Community Health Center. However, Grant finds the most pride and joy in her work with Lavender Light Gospel Choir, the world’s first LGBTQ+ gospel choir. “Lavender Light is 38 years old this year,” says Grant, who’s been singing with the group for 33 years and has served as chairperson for over two decades. “I am very proud of the fact that, thanks to my efforts, the choir is still here.” She’s also the current president of the Gay and Lesbian Association of Choruses, an organization that represents 200 LGBTQ+ choruses with over 12,000 singers. A surprising fact about Grant: “One of my favorite things to do is go to Disney World and ride … ‘It’s a Small World’ and sing the song at the top of my lungs.”

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Christina Hulen

“I’ve always been a storyteller,” says Christina Hulen. Before moving into filmmaking, the award-winning screenwriter, director, and producer worked in theatrical design, then in the art department for several films and TV shows. However, she was drawn to the collaborative process of film. “I believe in surrounding myself with talented, passionate people and creating a safe space for the free exchange of ideas,” she says. “Often, I may think I have a tight script, but then someone looking at it from another perspective gives a really great suggestion that elevates the whole project. The magic comes in those happy surprises.” As a gay woman, Hulen also relishes the opportunity to tell femaledriven LGBTQ+ stories without the stereotypes and tropes that remain all too common. “Even now, a woman-loving-woman storyline more often than not ends with the love interest dying in the end,” she says. “And far too often, if there’s an LGBTQ+ character in a film or TV show, the plot revolves around their queerness rather than who they are as people.” Not so in Hulen’s latest film, Everything’s Fine, now screening at festivals worldwide. “The two lead characters are a lesbian couple, [but] the story has nothing to do with their gayness,” Hulen says. “They are simply a couple trying to hold their marriage together while dealing with the longterm effects of PTSD after a mass trauma event.” Though Hulen’s characters are often LGBTQ+ and female, their stories are rich, complex, and utterly human—which she hopes achieves a higher purpose. “My characters just are,” Hulen says. “I want to normalize their presence in a myriad of circumstances and situations. The more people see, the more they understand and accept.”

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Lauren Sanderson

“I’ve always loved music but growing up in a small town, I didn’t think it was a possible career path,” says singer-songwriter Lauren Sanderson. But when she didn’t get accepted into college, Sanderson took it as a sign to try something different: giving Ted Talks. “Doing a Ted Talk was the first time I was on a stage with a microphone in my hand and that was the day I realized I was meant to inspire people,” Sanderson admits. Although she began as a motivational speaker and YouTube personality, “music was, and is, my outlet to express my mind.” Soon beats and raps were slipping into her online videos. She released her first EP, Center of Expressions, in 2016, followed by Spaces (2017), Don’t Panic! (2018), and Hasta La Vista (2019) before dropping her debut album, Midwest Kids Can Make It Big, in 2020. Her songs are regularly featured on Billboard’s Pride playlists and her track “Frustrated,” released on a deluxe version of Midwest Kids Can Make It Big in 2021, earned a spot on Billboard’s “10 Cool New Pop Songs to Get You Through the Week.” Through her music, Sanderson challenges social norms, and harkens back to her motivational roots by reminding us all what we’re capable of. “Every song I put out and every tour I get to go on is a constant reminder that we are the creators of our own paths and we can do the things others may not see as realistic,” she says. Her vision “is to continue going against societal norms” and inspire people “to be whoever they want to be. I want people to listen to my music and not be afraid to express themselves, wear what they want, love who they want, and most importantly, be themselves.”

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Tiffany Dockery

“As the granddaughter of a sharecropper who picked cotton for half her life and the daughter of a lifelong civil servant who spent her working life doing data entry, it’s never lost on me how much of a privilege it is to get paid to think and build things that make people’s lives easier,” Tiffany Dockery says. She’s worked at Google, American Express, and HBO, and that’s just the beginning of the big names on her resume. At Etsy, Dockery built out new visual discovery experiences, and at Instagram led personalization for the Explore tab and helped launch new content formats, Guides and Reels. Before Instagram, she was at Spotify, launching a ranking model to personalize the platform’s Home screen—a first of its kind innovation. Now as a Venture Lead at DvX Ventures, Dockery is making a difference from start to finish. “I was attracted to my role at DvX Ventures because of their mission to launch and scale game-changing businesses that have a positive impact on our society and the world at large,” says Dockery. “After having spent years at big tech companies…I am excited to learn what it takes to take an idea from concept to scaled reality.” Throughout all of her groundbreaking work, Dockery never loses sight of her ultimate goal. “I intend to…leave the world better than I found it—specifically for Black women and girls,” she says. “From higher rates of fertility issues like fibroids, endometriosis, or PCOS, to maternal deaths, to the silent epidemic of depression, I’ve seen, and in some cases personally experienced, how the pervasive stress of racism and sexism lead to negative health outcomes for Black women.” Ultimately, Dockery sees her experience in tech as preparation for her lifelong dream: “to eventually open a series of wellness centers for Black women.”

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Jessica Kirson

Being female and gay “has made it a lot harder” to make it in comedy, says Jessica Kirson. “It has taken a lot longer to get to where I am than it would have taken a man. I am grateful for my success but it has been frustrating at times.” Despite the challenges, Kirson continues to stand out and speak out: her videos have over 150 million views on social media, she’s a regular on This Week at the Comedy Cellar, and has appeared on The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, and The View. In 2021, she produced Hysterical, a documentary about women in comedy featuring Margaret Cho, Chelsea Handler, and Fortune Feimster, among others. Her one-hour special, Talking to Myself, aired on Comedy Central. Kirson also acted in and served as a writer, producer, and consultant on the Robert DeNiro film, The Comedian. Going forward, Kirson hopes to pay it forward. “I hope to have enough power, enough status to make a difference,” she says. “I hope to be able to help people as much as I can and give to people in need.”

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Shakira Refos

“I’ve always been active in the arts in some way,” arts educator, organizer, and activist Shakira Refos says. Her mother, a dance performer, instilled in her a love of the arts when she was a child—Refos recalls being mesmerized by a stage production of Carmen at a really young age—and although she remained “a theater kid at heart,” Refos’ career path initially led to museum work. Finding that industry too “stodgy and stale,” Refos transitioned into a livelier field: independent film. “Independent film and festival production is so dynamic,” says Refos, who is coming off her second season as the Associate Programmer of Documentaries at the iconic Tribeca Film Festival, a job she performed while also working full-time with the California Film Institute in Marin. “The conversations about art shift with every festival season and I strongly believe in the impact of film. The constant movement in themes and reinventing ways to connect with audiences with every event fits well with my personality.” Before joining Tribeca, Refos served as Director of Education and Community Engagement with a regional film festival in Sarasota, Florida, where she was also a leader in the community’s Black Lives Matter movement. Her commitment to social justice also informs how she curates film. “I approach my role with a lot of humility in the sense that I’m aware of being a gatekeeper in my industry. I’m at the service of filmmakers and audiences, reminding myself of this and leading with curiosity.” This approach, she says, helps her keep “my head on straight when people pedestalize my role as a curator. Practicing gratitude for the work I get to do is a huge priority.”

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Zuriel Hooks

At the age of 19, Zuriel Hooks is already a powerful woman. As leader of the Youth Ambassador Program at The Knights and Orchids, a non-profit specializing in trans healthcare access, Hooks has devoted herself to advocating for LGBTQ+ healthcare rights. As a trans woman, she knows firsthand the need for genderaffirming healthcare. “I’m the advocate that I am today, for LGBTQ+ rights and more, because I understand the painful process of not having resources, a community, and a space where you can fully show up as yourself,” Hooks says. Having experienced this, she now works to remind young people of their unique positions in the world, and to create a future where all LGBTQ+ youth can fully be themselves. “I still see myself immersed in community, helping and guiding young queer children,” Hooks says when asked about her future goals. But she has other goals as well. In addition to her work as an activist, Hooks is also a content creator, poet, and aspiring model. For her, these aspirations are integral to her work with LGBTQ+ youth and she hopes to create inspiring, never-before-seen “looks that are out of this world” simply by “being myself, unapologetically.” By taking a stand, Hooks wants to ensure that every LGBTQ+ youth knows they, too, can be unapologetically themselves.

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Robin Burdulis

“I was playing pots, pans, alarm clocks, and garbage cans as a child,” recalls Robin Burdulis (pictured on right, with Edie Windsor). “When I got a ‘Susie Homemaker’ Baking Kit, I never made one brownie. Instead, I turned the mini baking pans upside-down on my bed and played them!” Now, Burdulis is a multidimensional percussionist who The New York Times observed “plays her percussion instruments like a symphony.” In addition to performing with world music ensembles like Páprika and artists like Taylor Mac, she has led the drumming for the NYC Dyke March every year since 1993, with one exception: during 2009’s Pride Weekend, she was on tour in Minneapolis and ended up lead drummer for the Milwaukee Dyke March. Despite her lifelong love of percussion, Burdulis didn’t play consistently until adulthood. “I was 9 years old [in] 1967—women were not ‘allowed’ to play drums.” Her mother permitted her to play the flute instead. That changed when she was 25, and found a percussion course offered through the Learning Annex. “I remember the first class, sitting in front of a conga for the first time, feeling deep within my core: ‘This is where I’m supposed to be.’” She now considers herself a “musical activist,” whose “identity [as an LGBTQ+ woman] opens me to the reality of other marginalized people, to our interconnections, and to the potential of shared struggle and mutual support.”

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Glynn, aka Highgnx

Glynn, also known as Highgnx, is here for a good time, and much more. According to her bio, the Brooklyn-based producer and DJ “works to unify and elevate all sounds of Blackness through her mixes to create a sense of joy, love, and community on the dance floor.” Attend one of Glynn’s events and you’re likely to be surrounded by her influences, including 1990s hip-hop, Afrobeats, Baltimore club and acidic jazz. “My best friend Tasha got me into DJing,” Glynn says. “We bonded off of all of the music that we grew up listening to, and after following her to a few gigs, and watching her blend all of my favorite ‘90s hip-hop and R&B, I knew I had to figure out how to do it on my own.” In addition to gigging and producing by herself, Glynn is the co-founder of Sailor Boom, a POC- and LGBTQ-friendly hip-hop and cosplay party series. For Glynn, mixing is all about the crowd. “The most rewarding aspect of DJing for me has been watching people—especially queer people—smile, dance, and react to the way I mix my music,” she says. “I love influencing their mood through a range of different genres and time periods. It’s almost like emotional time travel.”

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Erica Freed Marker

“I didn’t go to film school,” Emmy nominated television editor Erica Freed Marker says. “I learned on the job through the generosity and mentorship of my colleagues,” including an out-and-proud mentor who taught her that being a lesbian in a maledominated field could be to her advantage. Marker learned those lessons well and now boasts a resume that any film school graduate would envy. She’s worked on a variety of critically acclaimed and award-winning shows, including Billions, Fosse/ Verdon, Alaska Daily, and The Good Fight, and was nominated for an Emmy and ACE Eddie Award for her work as a singlecamera editor on the hit show Severance. But her work is about more than just the accolades. “I have always known how important representation was on the screen, but it wasn’t until I started editing that I realized how much control I had over that representation in the cutting room,” Marker says. “As a female editor, I work tirelessly to protect my female actors: replacing even just syllables of words to make their statements sound strongest, eliminating dialogue that feels inauthentic, and allotting so much screen time to female characters that I have made regular cast members out of what were initially guest roles.” With all her hard-earned and well-deserved success, Marker’s future goals are to continue doing what she’s doing, and to pay it forward: to “become a better and better editor, work with people I deeply admire, and make work that moves people,” she says. “The more people who see my work, the more I can shape how women are represented and seen on the screen—and the more I can have a positive impact on how little girls and queer kids see themselves.”

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Zolita

Zolita grew up writing songs and playing bluegrass, but filmmaking was her ultimate goal—until she had an epiphany. “When I was studying film at NYU, I fell in love with music videos. When I saw how many queer people were connecting to and seeing themselves in the love stories I was telling through my songs and videos, I realized I could make both music and film my career.” Now an altpop singer, songwriter, and filmmaker whose songs and viral narrative music videos have garnered over 300 million streams worldwide (as well as critical acclaim from Billboard, Out, and Nylon), Zolita has just wrapped her first North American headline tour, which completely sold out, and will join Bebe Rexha on tour this summer. She’s also hot off the release of Falling Out/Falling In, her latest EP. But the most rewarding aspect of her career “is having the privilege to create work that’s making a difference in the lives of LGBTQ+ youth,” the singer says. “The messages I receive every day about my videos and music helping people live their truth and be open about their identities is what makes me want to have this career.” Zolita also relishes collaborating with other queer artists and makes it a point to foster that environment. “All of my video sets are made up of an almost fully-queer cast and crew, and getting to combine all of our visions and experiences into a final, unified piece of art is so unbelievably special.”

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Kim Petras

“Seeing the fans on tour everywhere and meeting them is so special every time. That’s why I do everything I do,” Kim Petras says. “I love writing songs in my hotel room when I’m on the road, and waking up in a different city every single day, especially with a team that is as passionate as I am, and then getting into the zone of performing.” Though she’s been recording songs since she was a teenager in Germany, the Los Angeles-based international pop sensation and singer-songwriter has made music history in the past several months. Petras released “Unholy,” a collaboration with nonbinary musician Sam Smith, on September 22 of last year. The song went viral on TikTok and became a global platinum hit, topping the Billboard Hot 100 chart in October and making Petras the first out trans woman to have a number one song on the chart. Petras and Smith won the Grammy Award for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance this year, making her the first openly trans artist to win a major-category Grammy. This spring, she became the second out trans woman to grace the cover of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit and announced the release of her major label debut album, Feed the Beast, which drops in late June. “Music is how I express myself, and I think having a voice is all about being authentic, so I just feel what I feel in the moment and I try to share that with my fans and my LGBTQ+ community,” she says. “I just want to make sure everyone feels happy with their life, however they want to live, without judgment.”

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Shannon Wong Lerner

Dr. Shannon Wong Lerner, Ph.D., is a renowned communications trainer and motivational speaker whose mission is to empower and uplift disenfranchised voices. “In my work, I help clients work through and release tension and trauma, so they can speak as their authentic, best selves,” she says. Dr. Shannon, as she’s known in the community, and who uses she/they pronouns, boasts an impressive resume, having worked with some of the most progressive LGBTQ forward organizations worldwide and with Fortune 500 companies. She helped spearhead the Gender Inclusion Program at Levi Strauss and worked with Blue Shield of California and San Francisco Ballet on decolonizing health and wellness for marginalized communities. As a personal communications consultant, she’s worked with many prominent figures and has since opened her communications training program for other queer women of color, gender nonconforming people, and other underrepresented groups. She believes in the power of storytelling and encourages people to be their authentic selves while having fun with their speaking practices. One thing that sets Dr. Shannon apart is her unique perspective from her youth as a shy adolescent who overcame her fears to become a successful public speaker. “The secret to impactful public speaking is to know ethics comes before existence, meaning we live to help others,” she says. “What has kept me going through my personal struggles or when others resist my advocacy work is not self-importance—I’m here as a resource to maintain others’ safety, well-being, and healing.” In addition to her impressive communications career, Dr. Shannon is a talented jazz singer and composer. She’s currently working on her first album of jazz standards and multi-genre originals.

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Liana Georgi

Musical artist and activist Liana Georgi first caught the public eye during the 2021 Pride in Istanbul—which had been banned by local authorities—when a video of her impeding the progression of police in riot gear went viral. “I slowed down the police, telling them, ‘Baby, I have heels on,’ to prevent them from further attacking my fellow LGBTQIA+ [people],” the German/Bulgarian singer recalls. The incident made her an overnight star in Turkey, and Georgi uses this newfound recognition to uplift the LGBTQ+ community—although not necessarily by strutting slowly in front of police. “Music is a safer form of activism,” she says. “I want to make music and I deeply believe in the power of pop culture—it connects people from all over the world and can change mindsets.” Following her viral moment, Georgi collaborated with producer Mike Sabath on her song, “All for Love,” and with director Slava Dotchevya and nonbinary model Rain Dove on the music video for her song, “Change”—also the first known Bulgarian lesbian music video. Her vision as an artist is “to create big music projects, employ queer people from countries like Turkey and Bulgaria, and contribute to change in society simply by singing about lesbian experiences and being my authentic self,” she explains. “We need to see people on stage and on TV who share their spotlight with other women, with other people of color, queer folk, people with disabilities, people of different beliefs, different body types, ages, who understand art as a form of protest.”

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Lizelle Jackson

Growing up, Lizelle Jackson was surrounded by nature-loving family members who instilled a love for the outdoors in her from a young age. After spending years as an active travel guide, leading hiking and cycling trips around the world, Jackson realized that the outdoor industry lacked diversity and inclusion. As a biracial Black woman, she felt the need to make a change. When the opportunity arose to co-found Color the Water, an organization dedicated to diversifying surf lineups by offering free surf lessons to the BIPOC community in Los Angeles, Jackson found her purpose. “I’d always longed to see more people that look like me in the outdoors and especially in the ocean,” she says. Jackson believes that providing opportunities for underrepresented communities to experience surfing can help break down systemic barriers that prevent people of color from accessing the ocean. The most rewarding aspect of her work is seeing the joy on people’s faces when they realize they’ll soon be surfing—something they’d always dreamed of, but hadn’t dared tried before. “To be a part of someone’s journey to discovering their potential is priceless.” When not surfing, biking, or hiking, Jackson indulges in her other passion: eating desserts. “I love to live life to the fullest and that includes indulging in sweets every chance I get!” Jackson’s dedication to making the outdoors more inclusive and diverse is inspiring. Through Color the Water, she’s helping to create a more equitable future for adventure sports, and we can’t wait to see where her passion and hard work take her next.

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April Kae

“Growing up, I was surrounded by the rich, musical heritage of Motown legends, which ignited my love for bass guitar and soulful expression,” April Kae says. “As I ventured into the punk scene as a young activist, I realized the power of music to drive social change. My identity as a queer, Black artist became the driving force behind my commitment to making a difference through my music.” Originally from Austin, Texas, the Los Angelesbased musician and activist has been featured in Vogue, Nylon, Guitar World, She Shreds, It Gets Better, and other publications, and has graced the covers of Bass Player, Guitar Girl, and NYC Pride. The secret to her success? Hard work and a desire to shake up the status quo. “From the age of 12, I dedicated myself to honing my craft, embracing my unique bass-forward, edgy funkpop style,” Kae says. “However, what truly led me to my current career is the desire to uplift marginalized voices and create a platform for change.” Kae has spoken at events like Bass Bash and the Fender Panel, and collaborated with major artists and brands, using her increasingly public platform to empower and uplift marginalized voices. Rather than let the challenges of a competitive industry get her down, Kae turns obstacles into opportunities. “Through self-reflection and perseverance, setbacks have become catalysts for creativity, pushing me to create music that resonates deeply,” she says. “Adversity only fuels my fire, reminding me of the importance of my message and inspiring others to rise above challenges in their own lives.”

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Corey Westover

Corey Westover has built a professional career advocating for sexual and reproductive health and justice, particularly for marginalized and oppressed communities. “My professional career has been dedicated to eliminating health disparities, working at the intersections of racial, economic, reproductive, and gender justice,” she says. Her commitment to health equity is evident in all aspects of her work. Westover began her career in research but, wanting to be more connected to the community, pivoted to working in direct services, providing counseling and education around sexual health. In her current role as Senior Director of Equity and Learning at The LGBT Community Center (The Center) in New York City, she is developing and implementing a multi-year strategy to embed race and gender equity in The Center’s policies, practices, programs, and culture. As a queer woman and parent, Westover’s identities have deeply shaped how she views the world and her role in it, and how she shows up in her work. As a white cisgender woman, she acknowledges the impact of her privileged identities, and feels “a deep responsibility for dismantling white supremacy and improving conditions for BIPOC and TGNC members of our community.” Beyond her work, Westover is a skilled crafter and enjoys making things with her hands. From pottery to stained glass, metalsmithing to baking, she finds joy in learning new skills and creating new things. But it’s her commitment to sexual and reproductive health equity and her dedication to serving marginalized communities that make her an inspiring leader in her field.

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Shamim Sarif

Shamim Sarif is an award-winning novelist, screenwriter, and feature film director whose work is rooted in diversity, feminism, social impact, and humanism. As an individual of South Asian descent who identifies as LGBTQ+, she’s always been passionate about bringing stories to life that showcase characters and communities often underrepresented. “Being drawn into the interior life of a character can help us navigate the world. For that reason, it was also important to me to create narratives of hope and possibility because those were in short supply in tales of queer love when I was growing up,” Sarif says. She co-founded Enlightenment Productions with her wife, Hanan Kattan, in 2001, as a platform for underrepresented stories and filmmakers, and has herself helmed several award-winning feature films, including Despite the Falling Snow and her debut, I Can’t Think Straight. In her own life, Sarif has faced challenges when it comes to acceptance of her sexuality from her family. She has found solace in storytelling and creating a sense of validation for, and offering hope to, those struggling with similar issues. “Almost daily, [Kattan and I] get messages from women who are being oppressed and who dare not come out but who have found a sense of relief from watching one of our films—a sense of validation and, sometimes, hope,” she says. Despite the challenges, Sarif has had unwavering support from Kattan, whom she met 27 years ago. Together, they have raised two sons, both of whom have roles in Polarized, Sarif’s latest feature film. “Having this amazing family has been the best story of all,” she says.

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Hanan Kattan

“I got into producing purely to get [my partner] Shamim’s screenplays made,” Hanan Kattan says. “I love many aspects of being a movie producer but it’s a difficult and thankless task that needs endless creativity and tenacity.” Despite many obstacles, such as dealing with white male gatekeepers who’d often ask Kattan and now-wife Shamim Sarif “to ‘de-gay’ a character or make one of them white,” Kattan is now a multiaward-winning producer whose fifth feature film, Polarized, was released in the U.K. and Canada after premiering in Berlin. Kattan’s last feature, Despite the Falling Snow, won 13 awards, following the pattern of previous films I Can’t Think Straight (which debuted at the Palm Springs Festival and won 11 awards) and The World Unseen (Toronto International Film Festival debut, winner of 23 awards internationally). “At a time when women’s rights and LGBTQIA+ rights are being used as a political tool in the U.S. and around the world, I’m glad we found a way to get Polarized made,” says Kattan, whose U.K. and Canadian production companies strive to create inclusive and authentic content for and about underserved voices. Goals for the future? “I’d love to see representation of queer stories become more mainstream. I think Polarized and so many other movies have plenty to say about our shared human experiences of coming together, learning to challenge expectations, and finding our way.”

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Dustina Haase-Lanier

“Working for social justice is not just a job for me—it’s a calling,” says Dustina Haase-Lanier (above right), a Native Alaskan social justice activist who has served her community for over 20 years, fighting against oppression and advocating for survivors of domestic and sexual violence, queer and disabled persons, and for the dignity and rights of plus-sized people. As a survivor herself, Haase-Lanier began her work in this field at the same shelter she once fled to, wanting to share the strength and hope she’d once received with other domestic and sexual violence survivors. Throughout her career she’s held several positions, including Technical Coordinator at the Oregon Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence, Chief of Staff to the CEO of Pride Media, and founder of Access Or Rise, a company that works with organizations on issues related to anti-racism and accessibility. Through her work and lived experiences, Haase-Lanier has found that joy and celebration are crucial to healing, both for herself and the communities she serves. Along with her wife, Jennifer Lanier (with whom she has raised two grown sons), she has created events that focus on joy and celebration. Her ultimate dream is to create long-term systemic change. She believes in advocacy and helping people navigate systems, but also in working for change in those systems to move towards true equality. She’s motivated by her struggles as a queer woman and strives to make the country safer and better for survivors and LGBTQ+ people. “We can all work together to see that queers are not shot in our clubs anymore, women are not beaten by partners anymore, that folks of size and varying ability can find safety and welcome wherever they are,” she insists.

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Jennifer Lanier

A Two-Spirit Native American and African American writer, actor, and director, Jennifer Lanier has always felt at home on the stage. But as a queer person of color, she learned quickly that her onstage options were limited, leading her to explore backstage options as well. Now the co-artistic director of the Original Practice Shakespeare Festival (OPS Fest)—an Oregan-based non-profit engaging with Elizabethan England theater styles—finds that she’s in a position to make theater just a little queerer. “Theater represents [the] privileged, straight, white man more than any art form in the U.S. And everything that I do, and am, in the theater crashes against that privilege and kicks it off the ledge,” Lanier says. OPS Fest uses original practice techniques of Shakespeare, such as engaging directly with the audience and playing with concepts of gender, to bring the full theatrical experience to life. “We ask our cast to imagine who they think the character is, letting them play the character as their own gender or the gender as written,” Lanier says. The lack of gender barriers allows her and her fellow actors to lean into their queerness, and has led to creative performance choices—including Lanier’s starring turn as a Black, lesbian Othello. “Shakespeare was queer already,” Lanier says. “Drag comes from men who dressed like women—of course they couldn’t hire women—for roles in his shows. So we just keep going, encouraging our audience to take the ride with us.”

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Hallie Halpern

“I specialize in creating icons—pun intended!” jokes Miami-based brandbuilder and influencer Hallie Halpern. As a child, Halpern remembers, “I couldn’t wait to grow up so I could be sexy, wealthy, and iconic.” Although pink was her favorite color then, once Halpern got to design school she developed the “Hallie Purple” shade that shaped all of her projects. A strong, funny, and positive personal brand followed, then a career in helping people build theirs. “My brand’s message is meant to inspire people to be larger than life, choose their own path, and become delusional until it’s your reality,” Halpern says. “A lot of what I do is inspire people to… leave their toxic relationships, and to realize they deserve the best.” Dealing with professional setbacks is sometimes “a rollercoaster,” Halpern says. “As someone with mental health challenges, it can be really hard to ride the wave. But I’m trying to surrender and give myself kindness.” As she navigates her ever-changing fields, Halpern aspires to work solely with entertainment clients (“specifically electronic music”), as well as write a book and appear on the famed red carpet. When asked about the most rewarding aspect of her work, Halpern is effusive: “Honestly, getting told that my content/creations have changed how someone thinks about themselves and their life. Whether it’s taking their brand more seriously with a new website/logo and realizing they have what it takes, or realizing they deserve to be treated like a princess/celebrity when they leave the house…it’s all good!”

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Rachel Shatto

When Rachel Shatto chose to pursue a career in queer media, she looked to her passions: “queerness, pop culture, social justice, sex, and their intersections,” she says. “I wanted to think about it, talk about it, and most of all write about it.” Now Editor-in-Chief of Pride.com, the San Francisco Bay Area-based writer, podcaster, and sewist spends each day sharing the stories of LGBTQ+ luminaries like Janelle Monáe, Jamie Clayton, and Cassandra Peterson (aka Elvira). “The truth is, our stories are the best, the most nuanced, the richest—and the coolest,” she says. Intersectionality in storytelling and reporting has been top of mind for Shatto since her tenure as managing editor for Curve magazine. Her experience, as well as her own identities as a LGBTQ+ woman “helped me have a greater understanding for the need for intersectionality in my writing and the worldview that informs it,” Shatto says. “My intersecting identities have made me passionate about doing my best to always keep that at the forefront when setting an editorial agenda.” A surprising fact about Shatto? “I am absolutely crazy about the horror genre,” she confesses. “Any chance that I get to explore queerness through a horror lens, I am in heaven.” According to Shatto, who regularly podcasts on the Zombie Grrlz Horror Podcast Network, the genre is a perfect complement to queer identity. “These are the stories of outsiders and weirdos facing down monsters and, often, surviving,” she says. “What’s not to love?”

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Tanya Saracho

Tanya Saracho’s journey began on a table. “I started with my parents plopping me on top of the dining room table to tell a joke or recite a poem—they made me do that a lot for some reason,” recalls the playwright and television writer, who most recently served as creator, executive producer, and showrunner of the critically acclaimed Starz series Vida. Even after she outgrew the table, Saracho never tired of telling stories. “I loved performing them and sharing that energy with an audience—that magical alchemy when the story ‘lands’ and the listener is emotionally affected, and they either react with laughter or tears,” she says. Vida featured an all-Latine writing and directorial staff, including Saracho, who made her directorial debut on the series. She’s now developing projects under an overall deal with Universal Content Productions, as well as helping other Latine creators tell stories of their own. She launched the Ojalá Ignition Lab, an incubator program focused on empowering and amplifying intersectional Latine voices, and founded the Untitled Latinx Project as well as its offshoot, Dear Hollywood, which aims to increase Latine representation in television through content created by Latine writers. Through these projects, Saracho says, “I want to create a beautiful slate of meaningful works, in television and film, that speaks to ‘our’ experience in complicated and unexpected ways. In a way that says we exist and we’ve always been here…we’ve always contributed to the narrative of this country.” The most rewarding aspect of Saracho’s work? “Definitely when I’ve been able to open that big, heavy industry grate, to get someone through that was having trouble getting in.”

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Mimi Hoang

Dr. Mimi Hoang (known as “Dr. Mimi”) is a psychologist and activist who has spent her career advocating for the LGBTQ+ and Asian Pacific Islander communities. With her experiences as a refugee, first generation college student, and bisexual woman of color, Dr. Mimi brings a unique perspective to her work. These layered identities “helped me develop an intersectional lens in understanding gender, sexuality, race, and culture in a multifaceted way which always informs my DEI values and my LGBTQ-affirmative approach to psychotherapy,” she says. As a co-founder of three organizations for the bi+ community in Los Angeles, Dr. Mimi has been a driving force in advocating for bi+ visibility and mental health. Her work has earned her numerous awards, recognition in photography books, and a spot in historical exhibits. Through her work as the clinical supervisor of the LGBTQIA+ Affirmative Therapy Center at Airport Marina Counseling Service and as the creator of the Bi on Life self-empowerment series, Dr. Mimi continues to impact the world positively. “I hope to empower people to be their best advocate, to live life boldly and authentically, and to make a positive difference in the world,” she says. But the most rewarding aspect of her work happens on a much smaller scale: helping people overcome life challenges. “It’s like helping to change the world one person at a time.”

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Austa Somvichian-Clausen and Tori Geddes

Austa Somvichian-Clausen (left) and Tori Geddes, founders of sapphic cocktail bar concept, grotto, are on a mission. The author-journalist and multi-media art project manager want to create spaces where LGBTQ+ women feel they can fully express themselves—something which Somvichian-Clausen noticed that they lacked in their community. “As a couple, Tori and I were always on the lookout for a queer space [where] we could have a date night, and were shocked to realize that such a space didn’t exist,” she recalls. So the couple created grotto, a cocktail bar concept that holds pop-up events in the New York City area that center queer women. For the couple, grotto is about giving women space to make connections and enjoy their time. “I love seating strangers together and seeing them become best friends, or have apparent chemistry by the end of their grotto experience,” Somvichian-Clausen says. “We’ve been told by regulars that they now have grotto group chats with the friends they’ve made there, or have made repeat reservations for grotto (but now together).” The couple hopes to soon find a permanent home for grotto. “It’s been so wonderful hosting a pop-up so far,” Somvichian-Clausen says, “but we know we can take the grotto concept even further if we were able to have a location of our own.”

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Dawn Robinson-Patrick and Skye Patrick

A lifelong dancer, Dawn Robinson-Patrick (right) was first drawn to arts administration “by my intrinsic desire to understand how to strengthen my craft while providing organizational support to my artist friends and collaborators.” Robinson-Patrick’s history as a contemporary modern dancer, teacher, and choreographer has influenced her 20-plus-year career in arts programming, arts education, creative consultation, and event management. Currently the Senior Manager of Programs for Grand Park at The Music Center in Los Angeles, she’s also held leadership roles with prestigious companies, including Lincoln Center, the Geffen Playhouse, and Alonzo King’s Lines Ballet. Robinson-Patrick’s wife, Skye Patrick, serves as Library Director for Los Angeles County, a position she began in 2016 after holding leadership roles at the Broward County Public Library, San Francisco Public Library, and Queens Public Library. With a commitment to breaking down barriers, Patrick led staff to establish new services during the COVID-19 pandemic, including outdoor wifi service, laptop and hotspot loans, and virtual programs encompassing all ages and interests. She was honored with Innovate@UCLA’s Community Impact Award in 2020, and is now a recipient of the Durfee Foundation’s Stanton Fellowship, which provides two years of seed money for individuals to think deeply about big questions and find ways to improve life for the people of Los Angeles. For Patrick, that means researching how 21st century libraries can be transformed to address the needs of LA county residents. “It’s funny how you can look up and realize you’ve been doing something for over 20 years,” Patrick says. “I came to libraries by way of an interest in music and documentary filmmaking—all about research. I’ve stayed with it because I can see almost daily the impact I can make on the lives of others.” Her wife also prioritizes impact and advocacy, and focuses on supporting a diverse roster of artists. “Being a lesbian woman of color impacts every aspect of my work,” Robinson-Patrick says. “It fuels my desire to support people, organizations, and opportunities that align with diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. It also drives my passion to fight for sustainable change when they do not align.”

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