Deija Zavala
Storytellers
Brittani Nichols
Meet some of the artists, disruptors, educators, groundbreakers, innovators, and storytellers who all helped make the world a better place for LGBTQ+ people.
“Breaking into scripted comedy when you’re not a straight, cis white guy continues to be a huge challenge,” says Brittani Nichols. The Abbott Elementary co-executive producer jokes she overcame it “via sorcery,” and now her hit Emmy-nominated ABC series is entering its fourth season.
“I try to create comedy that makes you feel like you’re part of a community while you’re watching them,” Nichols says. That feeling of community, particularly for Black and queer people, is evident throughout Nichols’s work. She won accolades for her 2016 feature Suicide Kale, which she wrote, produced, and starred in, and she served as an actor on Prime Video’s Transparent (2016) and writer on A Black Lady Sketch Show (2019).
On Abbott, Nichols has helped create an environment that’s accessible without compromising the uniqueness of the community portrayed on screen. “It’s been interesting seeing how few people attribute the success of Abbott to our diverse writing staff,” she says. “The show is distinctly American, and it is uniquely Black American just as it is Philadelphian and queer and beautiful.” @bishilarious
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
Charlotte Drury
Mey RudeMey Rude is a journalist and cultural critic who has been covering queer news for a decade. The transgender, Latina lesbian lives in Los Angeles with her fiancée.
Mey Rude is a journalist and cultural critic who has been covering queer news for a decade. The transgender, Latina lesbian lives in Los Angeles with her fiancée.
Mey Rude is a journalist and cultural critic who has been covering queer news for a decade. The transgender, Latina lesbian lives in Los Angeles with her fiancée.
Laurie Hernandez
Meet some of the artists, disruptors, educators, groundbreakers, innovators, and storytellers who all helped make the world a better place for LGBTQ+ people.
Charlotte Drury
The nation rooted for Laurie Hernandez as a part of the “Final Five” USA gymnastics team at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, where she won the team gold and silver in balance beam. That was when she was a teen. Now the next stage of her life has begun.
Hernandez, who has been dating her partner Charlotte Drury since 2020, is currently a full-time NYU student. This summer, she provided commentary for NBC’s coverage of women’s gymnastics at the 2024 Paris Olympics, where she quickly became a fan-favorite announcer. She even dropped a clever “and they were roommates…” Sapphic reference!
The future is bright for Hernandez, who next plans on acting and writing (both novels and screenplays) and is looking forward to graduation, after which she hopes to continue to make the world a better place. “In a world often weighted with shame and judgment, be the person that makes a space welcoming for all,” she says. “It’s a conscious thought, but a worthy one.” @lauriehernandez