Nikola Alexandre, co-founder of Shelterwood Collective
Lush greenery stretches for as far as the eye can see in the Cazadero region, known as the Hidden Gem of Sonoma County. If Cazadero is the gem, then the Shelterwood Collective is among its crown jewels.
"Shelterwood is an attempt at world building that features queerness, land stewardship, joy and an exploration of what could be," said Alexandre.
Alexandre is the co-founder of the 900-acre plot that centers on reconnecting Black and Indigenous LGBTQ+ people with land and the techniques used to preserve it.
The vision for this land was born out of a gathering that followed another national tragedy: the 2016 Pulse Nightclub Massacre. A retreat, hosted by a close friend, inspired Alexandre to dream big.
"It was incredibly powerful to be around people who were mourning, who were celebrating being with one another," Alexandre recalled. "For some of those folks it was the first time being in a community space that wasn't just purely nightlife. So it was a chance for me to just really see the power of being outside together-what it meant, what it could mean."
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Angelo Ellerbee, "The King of Publicity"
Angelo Ellerbee made a name for himself in music circles around the world, and recently, the Newark Street where he grew up was named after him.
"I'm totally shocked," said Ellerbee.
If you don't know who he is, singers in the music business do.
He has worked with many of them from Dionne Warwick, to Whitney Houston, to Michael Jackson.
"And they call my company the charm school for rappers so yes, I have a lot of titles," said Ellerbee.
He's known as the King of Publicity, but started his career as a fashion designer before switching to PR. He says it's not about the big names he represents but it's about giving back.
He spoke out about the AIDS crisis at a time when no one wanted to talk about it. He held annual fundraisers for almost two decades.
"It wasn't really plaguing the African American community until boom, and so it was very important to me," he said.
When the OUTSOUTH Queer Film Festival is in full swing, Chuck Wheeler likes to think the aisles of Fletcher Hall inside the historic Carolina Theatre are a safe haven.
"It can bring together so many people at one time," said Wheeler. "You see hundreds of people from one community seated here to watch a film. They're not alone and perhaps gives them the courage to be more openly queer."
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Chuck Wheeler, OUTSOUTH Queer Film Festival
For almost 30 years, it's drawn thousands to Durham. It's now the second-largest LGBTQ+ film festival in the southeast. Wheeler is its coordinator.
"As a child, I was considered a sissy, which is a code word for gay," he said.
He remembers growing up in rural North Carolina. Wheeler often refers to himself as a witness to two major turning points in American history: the Stonewall Riots and the Civil Rights Movement. When the OUTSOUTH Queer Film Festival is in full swing, Chuck Wheeler likes to think the aisles of Fletcher Hall inside the historic Carolina Theatre are a safe haven.
"It can bring together so many people at one time," said Wheeler. "You see hundreds of people from one community seated here to watch a film. They're not alone and perhaps gives them the courage to be more openly queer."
For almost 30 years, it's drawn thousands to Durham. It's now the second-largest LGBTQ+ film festival in the southeast. Wheeler is its coordinator.
"As a child, I was considered a sissy, which is a code word for gay," he said.
He remembers growing up in rural North Carolina. Wheeler often refers to himself as a witness to two major turning points in American history: the Stonewall Riots and the Civil Rights Movement.
"We're living in this perfect world, my sister and I. Then we go outside and see it's just not that way. There are battles to be fought. There are rights to be won," he said.
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Mars Sharrock, The Wardrobe
Mars Sharrock is the program director at The Wardrobe, a nonprofit with several locations, including Northern Liberties.
"We are a clothing nonprofit, so we provide free clothing to anyone who needs it," said Sharrock, who has been working for The Wardrobe for about five years. One of the things they like about storefront is that everyone is treated the same, whether they're a person donating clothing or a person in need of clothing.
"Everyone comes through the same front door because everyone gets the same service from us," said Sharrock of the Wardrobe, which is also open to the public for shopping, with proceeds benefitting the organization.
The goals is also to make the shopping experience a positive one, which is something Sharrock didn't always have.
"I came out as trans over 10 years ago now to my friends," said Sharrock. "I've been trans for a while now and I know how hard it is to find clothing as a trans person. For me, it was really stressful."
That, though, is not the experience people have at The Wardrobe.
"Any person can shop in any section they want," said Sharrock.
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Avery Belyeu, CEO, The Montrose Center
The Montrose Center's CEO is making history. Avery Belyeu is the first openly transgender person to be the leader of a large LGBTQ center in the country.
"It feels like a bit of a glass ceiling moment," she said. "I certainly feel that myself, that this is the first time for someone like me to be in a seat like this. I think this is meaningful personally to me, and I think its also meaningful for the community at large."
Belyeu has been working in the non-profit sector for the past 15 years, in spaces related to LGBTQ issues, suicide prevention, behavioral health and public health.
"When I heard about this job, I will say it is the perfect mirror to all of those things that I've done across the last 14, 15 years," she said. "Caring for folks' wellness, their behavioral health, their mental health, is really at the core of who we are as an organization, and so this place is a perfect marriage of all those things."
Belyeu is also being honored by Out Magazine on its 2024 Out100 list, celebrating this year's most impactful and influential LGBTQ people.
"I have been watching Out100 for most of my queer life, and it's such an amazing way that people in our community, leaders, innovators, groundbreakers are featured, and folks all across the country get to know who they are," said Belyeu. "It's really amazing for me this year that I've been selected. It's a little bit surreal and it's such an honor."
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Sunitha Menon, Executive Director, Los Angeles County LGBTQ+ Commission
Sunitha Menon's life work has been driven by the desire to bring opportunity and change to marginalized communities.
"For me, visibility is everything," said Menon.
As the executive director for L.A. County's first-ever LGBTQ+ Commission, that goal is also personal.
"It was really important for me to support and uplift the community that I'm part of," continued Menon, "and for people to see someone who is a brown, queer person and female identified person, and happily married, and just really able to live through strength and power. That comes from other folks that have helped lift me up."
Menon is honored to be ABC7's local honoree for the Out100, the longest standing large scale list recognizing LGBTQ+ people for their achievements, accomplishments, and impact on culture and society.
"It is very humbling that I have been selected for this. I'm really excited about the work that I've done in community and excited to continue doing that work."
Her previous roles with nonprofits like Head Start, the National Suicide Prevention Hotline, the National Sexual Assault Hotline, and most recently, Equality California, all focused on bringing systemic change and providing support to communities that need it.
"That's really been the guiding principle that I've lived my life on," added Menon.
Now, as executive director, Menon is working alongside 15 commissioners to help advise L.A. County supervisors on policies affecting the LGBTQ+ community, how to tackle those issues and how to best provide support. She recognizes creating change will take time.
"The county is huge. The job is huge. The expectations are really high and what I'm hoping to do with the other commissioners is collaboratively come up with what are the shorter and smaller short-term goals that we can create to lead to that long term change."
But she's determined to make an impact on the resources available and the quality of life for all LGBTQ+ people across Los Angeles.
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Channyn Lynne Parker, CEO, Brave Space Alliance
An LGBTQ+ community center in the Hyde Park neighborhood is known for helping Chicago's transgender and gender-nonconforming community.
Its leader, Channyn Lynne Parker, is now in the national spotlight. She's being honored by OUT Magazine as one of this year's "Out100."
Parker leads the "Brave Space Alliance" in Hyde Park. She calls it an organization for the "T" LGBQ Plus community.
"We say 'T' LGBQ Plus because we know that the LGBTQ community, trans folks experienced the most marginalization and are experiencing the most emergency and crisis," Parker said.
Brave Space Alliance also provides, food, health services, housing and clothing for transgender people and gender-nonconforming people in need.
"(At) our walk-in clothing closet... individuals are able to access gender affirming clothes," Parker said.
Parker's leadership has earned her a prestigious honor of being one of this years' OUT 100 in the national OUT Magazine.
"And it's really cool. It is humbling and it's heartening to be named among national figures like Laverne Cox, Senator Sarah McBride, Little Nas X, for God's sakes, I mean, wow," Parker said. "So again, for me, it is an honor to be recognized for the work that I have done and worked so hard for this community."
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