Paul Morigi
Educators
Jon Lovett
Meet one of the artists, disruptors, educators, groundbreakers, innovators, and storytellers who all helped make the world a better place for LGBTQ+ people.
Once a speechwriter for Hillary Clinton in her 2008 presidential campaign and Barack Obama during his presidency, Jon Lovett has turned the page. The wordsmith is now working as a comedian; he’s also a cofounder of the liberal political media company Crooked Media and hosts the podcasts Pod Save America and Lovett or Leave It. It’s a career about “hosting and posting,” he says.
“Equality is a life-or-death necessity, but demanding ‘equal rights’ also feels sort of straight? Like putting on a little suit and tie to go to work at the politics factory,” Lovett muses when asked about LGBTQ+ equality. “Equality is freedom on others’ terms. What are our terms?”
This year, Lovett competed in season 47 of Survivor on CBS, continued running his multimedia empire, and set big goals for Vote Save America, a resource for helping folks maximize their political impact (Lovett wants to recruit 100,000 volunteers to help win elections). What’s next? “Imagine thinking past this election,” he teases. “Must be nice!” @jonlovett
Bernardo Sim
Deputy Editor
Bernardo Sim is the deputy editor of Out. He's also a staff contributor to The Advocate, PRIDE, and other equalpride publications. Born in Brazil, he currently lives in South Florida.
You can follow Bernardo Sim on Instagram. You can also find him on Bluesky, Threads, X/Twitter, and TikTok.
Bernardo Sim is the deputy editor of Out. He's also a staff contributor to The Advocate, PRIDE, and other equalpride publications. Born in Brazil, he currently lives in South Florida.
You can follow Bernardo Sim on Instagram. You can also find him on Bluesky, Threads, X/Twitter, and TikTok.
John Allen Phillips
Gabriella Angelina
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