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Educators
The 2025 Out100: Frankie Grande
These are the LGBTQ+ people making the world bolder and brighter in 2025.
The high camp of Frankie Grande’s “Boys” video, featuring towel-clad shirtless men writhing in the hypermasc space of a locker room, offers an upbeat flipside to the title song of his 2025 debut studio album, Hotel Rock Bottom, which dives into the despair and grit that inspired Grande to a joyful life of sobriety years ago.
“I create work that celebrates queerness and connection — whether it’s on Broadway, through my music, or producing events that uplift the LGBTQ+ community,” Grande says. “At the heart of it all, my mission is to entertain, inspire, and remind people that they are not alone.”
The triple threat has appeared on Broadway in Mamma Mia! and Rock of Ages, and continues to support LGBTQ+ people as a member of GLAAD’s board of directors and as the creator of A Night of Broadway (but make it Queer!) #SpiritDay Gala.
While musical theater was an early home for Grande, when it comes to pop, he says he plans on “sticking to my guns as an out, proud, gay, femme-presenting, male-identifying pop star in an industry where that is still far from the norm and often met with pushback and controversy.” @frankiejgrande
Tracy E. Gilchrist
Tracy E. Gilchrist is the VP of Editorial and Special Projects at equalpride. A media veteran, she writes about the intersections of LGBTQ+ equality and pop culture. Previously, she was the editor-in-chief of The Advocate and the first feminism editor for the 55-year-old brand. In 2017, she launched the company's first podcast, The Advocates. She is an experienced broadcast interviewer, panel moderator, and public speaker who has delivered her talk, "Pandora's Box to Pose: Game-changing Visibility in Film and TV," at universities throughout the country.
Tracy E. Gilchrist is the VP of Editorial and Special Projects at equalpride. A media veteran, she writes about the intersections of LGBTQ+ equality and pop culture. Previously, she was the editor-in-chief of The Advocate and the first feminism editor for the 55-year-old brand. In 2017, she launched the company's first podcast, The Advocates. She is an experienced broadcast interviewer, panel moderator, and public speaker who has delivered her talk, "Pandora's Box to Pose: Game-changing Visibility in Film and TV," at universities throughout the country.
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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: Ian L. Haddock
These are the LGBTQ+ people making the world bolder and brighter in 2025.
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Founder and executive director of the Normal Anomaly Initiative Ian L. Haddock says his work is based on a quote from Bayard Rustin: “The only weapon we have is our bodies, and we need to tuck them in places so wheels don’t turn.” Haddock’s Texas-based organization is “dedicated to eliminating barriers and creating new norms centering the Black LGBTQ+ community throughout the South,” he says.
Something that made him proud in 2025 was that a youth who is like family to him, on turning 17, came out to him as transgender. “It has been my honor and privilege to be there to support them and empower them to be their authentic self,” says Haddock, a Black queer man.
His biggest challenge was losing half the group’s budget after January 20, which brought on a mental health crisis, but he found ways to deal with it. In the coming year, the Normal Anomaly will focus on a new transitional housing initiative.
The message he sends is “to act courageously” and “be bravely visible.” @ianlhaddock