Paul Reitz
Educators
Travis Shumake
Meet one of the artists, disruptors, educators, groundbreakers, innovators, and storytellers who all helped make the world a better place for LGBTQ+ people.
Travis Shumake is not the lip-syncing kind of drag racer, but he hopes his title as the fastest out gay driver in motorsports (319 mph!) can be just as significant for the LGBTQ+ community. “In addition to driving really fast, I hold space in the conservative world of motorsports for other car and racing motorsports enthusiasts who don’t fit the traditional racing mold,” says Shumake, who this year purchased his own National Hot Rod Association team.
“After thousands of ‘nos’ from sponsors and teams, and people telling me to be ‘less gay’ if I wanted to fit in, I decided the only way I could be my authentic self was to own my own shit,” he says. Now the goal is to get a big LGBTQ+ slice of the $8 billion motorsports sponsorship pie.
As a full-time employee of the Ali Forney Center, a former foster dad, and endless advocate for unhoused youth, Shumake believes in the power of being a role model. As queer people, “we all fight for equality and representation in our subcultures, sports, and societies,” Shumake says. “We have to divide and conquer.” @travieshu
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
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