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Cole Escola
Daniel Rampulla
Disruptors

Cole Escola

Meet one of the artists, disruptors, educators, groundbreakers, innovators, and storytellers who all helped make the world a better place for LGBTQ+ people.

Mary Todd Lincoln must be rolling in her grave (with laughter) at the success of Oh, Mary!, a spoof of the first lady’s life from “nonbinary gay Lutheran atheist” writer and actor Cole Escola (Search Party, Difficult People). Escola portrays Lincoln as an aspiring cabaret star indifferent to a nation torn by the Civil War. Audiences can’t get enough of the outrageous plot and hilarious cast, particularly Conrad Ricamora’s closeted Abe. Improbably and fabulously, it’s now one of Broadway’s hottest tickets.

Escola’s Mary would certainly have enjoyed the limelight. But the star and playwright, who prefers the “gay shadows” of cabaret life to attending this year’s Met Gala, is just happy that they made his friends proud this year.

“I see them after the show, and they have this look on their faces like, ‘You little fucker! You did it! We knew you could!’ My friends are my world and I can't think of a better feeling. Except for maybe the love I feel for everyone who makes this show happen.” @coleescola

Nikola Alexandre
José Becerra
Disruptors

Nikola Alexandre

Meet one of the artists, disruptors, educators, groundbreakers, innovators, and storytellers who all helped make the world a better place for LGBTQ+ people.

José Becerra

Nikola Santarem Alexandre is a Black queer forester whose life changed after attending a nature-based healing gathering following the Pulse massacre. The experience inspired them to commit to land stewardship and nurture a sustainable future for marginalized communities.

After obtaining degrees in forestry and business from Yale University, Alexandre founded Conservation International’s Ecosystem Restoration Program and now serves as its senior advisor. Alexandre cocreated and leads the Shelterwood Collective, a 900-acre, queer-run forest and community center in Northern California. He continues to center queer and Black voices in environmental stewardship.

“Queerness and ecological health are intimately linked,” Alexandre says. “Our environmental problems are born from attempts to create boxes that separate people and nature. It’s only by rejecting those boxes and blurring the divides between people, places, and ecologies that we’ll be able to restore balance in our ecosystems and build a world where all can thrive. Queerness is one of our greatest teachers for this kind of endeavor, and queer leaders are needed in the climate movement for it to reach its full potential.” @blk_forester