Elaina Melmed
Disruptors
The 2025 Out100: Kat Abughazaleh
These are the LGBTQ+ people making the world bolder and brighter in 2025.
As a journalist, Kat Abughazaleh “covered dangerous far-right narratives and misinformation,” she says. “Now, as the people I used to report on run our government, I’m running for Congress to put up actual resistance against authoritarianism and shamelessly advocate for a better life for the 99 percent.”
Abughazaleh, a bisexual Palestinian American, is one of several Democrats running in Illinois’ Ninth Congressional District to succeed Jan Schakowsky, who is retiring. The campaign has drawn thousands of volunteers, held events ranging “from a punk concert to food drives,” and taken no money from billionaires or corporate PACs, she says. Through open conversation about being treated for narcolepsy, she hopes to normalize the condition.
For now, Abughazaleh plans to campaign “nearly 24/7” ahead of the March 17 primary. “I will be stressing the urgency of electing people who have the expertise and determination necessary to take on Trump and improve [the] quality of life for working Americans,” she says.
“We the people are stronger, braver, and more resilient than any fascist in power — that’s why we’ll win,” she adds. @kabughazaleh
Trudy Ring
Trudy Ring is The Advocate's senior politics editor and copy chief. She has been a reporter and editor for daily newspapers and LGBTQ+ weeklies/monthlies, trade magazines, and reference books. She is a political junkie who thinks even the wonkiest details are fascinating, and she always loves to see political candidates who are groundbreaking in some way. She enjoys writing about other topics as well, including religion (she's interested in what people believe and why), literature, theater, and film. Trudy is a proud "old movie weirdo" and loves the Hollywood films of the 1930s and '40s above all others. Other interests include classic rock music (Bruce Springsteen rules!) and history. Oh, and she was a Jeopardy! contestant back in 1998 and won two games. Not up there with Amy Schneider, but Trudy still takes pride in this achievement.
Trudy Ring is The Advocate's senior politics editor and copy chief. She has been a reporter and editor for daily newspapers and LGBTQ+ weeklies/monthlies, trade magazines, and reference books. She is a political junkie who thinks even the wonkiest details are fascinating, and she always loves to see political candidates who are groundbreaking in some way. She enjoys writing about other topics as well, including religion (she's interested in what people believe and why), literature, theater, and film. Trudy is a proud "old movie weirdo" and loves the Hollywood films of the 1930s and '40s above all others. Other interests include classic rock music (Bruce Springsteen rules!) and history. Oh, and she was a Jeopardy! contestant back in 1998 and won two games. Not up there with Amy Schneider, but Trudy still takes pride in this achievement.
Michael Almonte
Trudy RingTrudy Ring is The Advocate's senior politics editor and copy chief. She has been a reporter and editor for daily newspapers and LGBTQ+ weeklies/monthlies, trade magazines, and reference books. She is a political junkie who thinks even the wonkiest details are fascinating, and she always loves to see political candidates who are groundbreaking in some way. She enjoys writing about other topics as well, including religion (she's interested in what people believe and why), literature, theater, and film. Trudy is a proud "old movie weirdo" and loves the Hollywood films of the 1930s and '40s above all others. Other interests include classic rock music (Bruce Springsteen rules!) and history. Oh, and she was a Jeopardy! contestant back in 1998 and won two games. Not up there with Amy Schneider, but Trudy still takes pride in this achievement.
Trudy Ring is The Advocate's senior politics editor and copy chief. She has been a reporter and editor for daily newspapers and LGBTQ+ weeklies/monthlies, trade magazines, and reference books. She is a political junkie who thinks even the wonkiest details are fascinating, and she always loves to see political candidates who are groundbreaking in some way. She enjoys writing about other topics as well, including religion (she's interested in what people believe and why), literature, theater, and film. Trudy is a proud "old movie weirdo" and loves the Hollywood films of the 1930s and '40s above all others. Other interests include classic rock music (Bruce Springsteen rules!) and history. Oh, and she was a Jeopardy! contestant back in 1998 and won two games. Not up there with Amy Schneider, but Trudy still takes pride in this achievement.
Trudy Ring is The Advocate's senior politics editor and copy chief. She has been a reporter and editor for daily newspapers and LGBTQ+ weeklies/monthlies, trade magazines, and reference books. She is a political junkie who thinks even the wonkiest details are fascinating, and she always loves to see political candidates who are groundbreaking in some way. She enjoys writing about other topics as well, including religion (she's interested in what people believe and why), literature, theater, and film. Trudy is a proud "old movie weirdo" and loves the Hollywood films of the 1930s and '40s above all others. Other interests include classic rock music (Bruce Springsteen rules!) and history. Oh, and she was a Jeopardy! contestant back in 1998 and won two games. Not up there with Amy Schneider, but Trudy still takes pride in this achievement.
The 2025 Out100: Precious Brady-Davis
These are the LGBTQ+ people making the world bolder and brighter in 2025.
Michael Almonte
Precious Brady-Davis is the first out Black transgender woman to hold public office in Cook County, Illinois, and the first trans person to serve on any U.S. water reclamation district. She was appointed a commissioner of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago in 2023 and won election to the post in 2024.
Now running for reelection, she’s tasked with protecting the drinking water of more than 5 million people, safeguarding Lake Michigan, and advancing climate-resilient infrastructure. She is also chief strategy officer for Chicago’s Center on Halsted, the Midwest’s largest LGBTQ+ community center.
“Together these roles show that infrastructure and public service are inseparable, delivering real results that people can see and feel in their daily lives,” she says.
For Brady-Davis, growing up in a household that didn’t affirm her identity, reading Out “was a light in the darkness,” and now she hopes to be that light for someone else.
While serving her constituents, husband, and daughter, and fighting for an inclusive future, she adds, “I still will make time to buy more shoes.” @preciousbradydavis