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Diana Rodriguez & Ann Marie Gothard
Stephen Kent Johnson
Educators

Diana Rodriguez & Ann Marie Gothard

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

Having welcomed more than 10,000 visitors in its inaugural months, the Stonewall National Monument Visitor Center is poised to become a cornerstone of New York City’s tourism landscape. And that’s thanks to the hard work of Diana Rodriguez and Ann Marie Gothard.

The National Park Service’s first LGBTQ+ visitor center honors the events of June 28, 1969, and the way they helped shape the queer civil rights movement. “I think there is something very unique about standing in a place where history was made,” Rodriguez says.

Rodriguez and Gothard — who are also founders of Pride Live, which organizes the annual Stonewall Day — say that when they announced in 2022 that they planned to open just two years later, people were skeptical. But Rodriguez says “not only did we realize this vision, but we also accomplished it within budget and on time — a rarity in New York real estate.”

The visitor center features exhibitions, events, and art displays, all aimed at furthering the Stonewall legacy. “There is no greater gift than knowing we are giving back and offering to all generations of queer people a place where they can truly belong,” Gothard says. @stonewallvisctr

Stacey Yvonne

Stacey Yvonne is a critic and entertainment journalist who can be found in Los Angeles eating snacks at events. She loves to uplift the LGBTQIA+ community and specifically highlight Black and female members. She can be found at SYvonneCreative.com

Stacey Yvonne is a critic and entertainment journalist who can be found in Los Angeles eating snacks at events. She loves to uplift the LGBTQIA+ community and specifically highlight Black and female members. She can be found at SYvonneCreative.com

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Jaymes Black
Erik Carter

Daniel Reynolds

Daniel Reynolds is the editor-in-chief of Out and an award-winning journalist who focuses on the intersection between entertainment and politics. This Jersey boy has now lived in Los Angeles for more than a decade.

Daniel Reynolds is the editor-in-chief of Out and an award-winning journalist who focuses on the intersection between entertainment and politics. This Jersey boy has now lived in Los Angeles for more than a decade.

Read Full Bio
Educators

Jaymes Black

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

Erik Carter

The Trevor Project — a national suicide prevention and crisis intervention nonprofit supporting LGBTQ+ youth — tapped Jaymes Black this year to helm the group’s vital work.

Black (he/she/they) is Trevor’s first Black and first nonbinary CEO. A former CEO of Family Equality who grew up in the rural South, they bring both an impressive résumé and lived experience to tackling the daunting challenges faced by today’s queer and trans kids. “To be in this role, to be who I needed when I was [a] young queer Black awkward kid in Texas, is…another dream come true,” they say.

Bullies manifest on the playground and in the political world. But through it all, Black is inspired by how many young people live openly and proudly, a resilience that comes with being part of the LGBTQ+ community.

“The way that we view the world is very different. And because of that, I think we come with…this innate strength that others don’t understand,” they say. “We’ll never give up. We’ll never give up the fight. We’ll never give up fighting for equality. We’ll never give up being ourselves.” @thejaymesblack