Yemi Studios
Innovators
Jimmy Franklin
Meet some of the artists, disruptors, educators, groundbreakers, innovators, and storytellers who all helped make the world a better place for LGBTQ+ people.
As an associate brand manager for Hornitos Tequila and Mezcal Amarás at Beam Suntory, Jimmy Franklin leads the marketing efforts for Hornitos’ Pride 365 work, “which is about championing LGBTQ+ communities and supporting those who express themselves to the fullest,” he says. He also coordinates Hornitos’ partnership with GLAAD and is the New York lead for PRISM, Suntory Global Spirits’ LGBTQ+ employee group.
Over the past year, he says, “I am most proud of the team around me who has helped Hornitos raise a glass to some of the many LGBTQ+ community leaders who inspire me daily.” His poem “authenticity” was featured at the GLAAD Media Awards in March. “Cheers to the brave ones forging new paths and telling their stories — authenticity has the power to transform our moments together into a celebration,” it reads in part.
Franklin plans to continue building the Pride 365 program, and he hopes all LGBTQ+ people will “find spaces full of people who encourage you to be both who you are today — and who you want to become.” @hornitostequila
inKind
Daniel ReynoldsDaniel 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.
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.
Johann Moonesinghe
Meet some of the artists, disruptors, educators, groundbreakers, innovators, and storytellers who all helped make the world a better place for LGBTQ+ people.
inKind
Johann Moonesinghe is the CEO and founder of inKind, an ingenious app that rewards diners with credit for supporting their favorite restaurants (inKind gives businesses funding in exchange for food and beverage credits for users).
The app has marked a milestone year, exceeding 1 million users — 1.4 million at the time of this reporting. Moonesinghe, a foodie, personally owns and operates restaurants in order to improve his business model. One establishment, the Guest House, is currently the top-rated restaurant in the company’s base city of Austin. The entrepreneur and angel investor (Uber, Allbirds) grew up in a working-class family with parents who emigrated from Sri Lanka. Today, he is a successful, proudly gay man with a loving husband. But he knows the fight for LGBTQ+ equality in the U.S. and abroad is far from over.
“We’ve come a long way, but we’re still far from the finish line. I encourage our community and our allies not to take anything for granted, but also to recognize and celebrate the progress being made every day — whether big or small.” @johannmoon