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Groundbreakers
The 2025 Out100: Nicolas Talbott
These are the LGBTQ+ people making the world bolder and brighter in 2025.
Nicolas Talbott completed Army Officer Candidate School in January after spending over nine years working to enlist in the U.S. military. “Earning my commission as a second lieutenant was a lifelong goal of mine, and achieving that goal was a dream come true,” he says.
Now his position in the Army Reserve is threatened by Donald Trump’s reinstatement of the transgender military ban, as Talbott is a trans man. But he’s fighting back as the lead plaintiff in the lawsuit Talbott v. USA.
“I’ll be continuing to challenge the current ban on transgender military service while remaining in my Army unit for as long as I can,” he says. “I’m also always exploring options to further my education and experiences and to just make the most I can out of life.”
“Trans folks are just like anyone else out there,” he adds. “At the end of the day, we’re all just people trying to live our lives and find our happiness — nobody should be making that process harder for anyone else.” @nic_talbott
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.
Stephanie Drenka
The 2025 Out100: Joli Angel Robinson
These are the LGBTQ+ people making the world bolder and brighter in 2025.
Stephanie Drenka
As the CEO of the Center on Halsted, an LGBTQ+ community center in Chicago, Joli Angel Robinson’s work embodies a legacy of service and advocating for racial equity and LGBTQ+ equality.
“Each day, I align my priorities, goals, and heart with a focus on centering community,” she says. “At the core of my work is creating affirming, inclusive spaces where others — and myself — can fully show up as our authentic selves in both work and life.”
Robinson has been busy at the Center of Halsted, where she created and implemented the Inclusive Futures Leadership Institute, Chicago’s first leadership development program designed specifically for emerging LGBTQ+ and allied leaders to learn, connect, and grow in a supportive environment. It’s just one of the successful projects she’s worked on this year.
“We are co-creators of the reality we are experiencing,” Robinson says. “We collectively have the power to make this world a better place for all. I look forward to continuing to co-create an existence where all people are valued and affirmed.” @center_on_halsted