Jennifer Englert
Educators
Nina West
Meet one of the artists, disruptors, educators, groundbreakers, innovators, and storytellers who all helped make the world a better place for LGBTQ+ people.
Nina West was a celebrated drag performer long before she was crowned Miss Congeniality on RuPaul’s Drag Race season 11. Today, she remains booked and busy. Around the time she competed on All Stars 9 to raise money for the Trevor Project, the Ohio native was starring in Hairspray’s national tour, working with Tina Romero on the queer zombie film Queens of the Dead, and touring a new show called The Very Queen.
“I think the largest obstacle I faced this year was the urge to say yes to everything and realizing there is only so much I can do,” West says. “I recognized this year — and this time on Drag Race — that I [could] be more intentional in the work I was doing. It’s tough to manage it all, but I overcame it by taking it one day at a time and letting some things go.”
West tells fans to “hold on to their wigs” for 2025, as she’s currently writing for a Harper Collins project, recording new music, and continuing to perform around the world. @ninawest
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