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

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.

John Allen Phillips

Gabriella Angelina is an entertainment journalist with a unique perspective on the world of TV and film. With a motto of "Don't watch me, watch TV," she has become known for her insightful and often humorous critiques of the latest in entertainment.

Follow her on TikTok, Twitter, and YouTube.

Educators

Nick Adams

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

John Allen Phillips

Nick Adams, vice president of the GLAAD Media Institute, has been fighting for transgender equality since joining the organization in 1998. His role is to amplify the voices of trans people and help them be “trans in the public eye.”

He created the transgender section of GLAAD’s Media Reference Guide, setting industry standards for respectful and accurate reporting. Adams’s expertise has been incredibly valuable in major media moments, including Caitlyn Jenner’s coming-out story in 2015.

This year, Adams worked closely with Trevor Anderson, the co-writer and director of a new film, Before I Change My Mind, about a teen living in Alberta, Canada, whose gender is never clarified but is the driving force behind the story. Adams says the film “is a welcome and necessary antidote to the lies about trans youth being peddled by anti-trans politicians.”

As a transgender man himself, Adams says he’s passionate about continuing the fight against the small group of loud, fringe, anti-trans activists working to scare Hollywood into removing queer characters from the media. “I will make sure executives and creators know that the vast majority of their audiences expect and want to see our stories on screen,” he says. @glaad

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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.

Daniel Reynolds

Nick Adams

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