Alice Wu is a Chinese-born lesbian filmmaker living in America, who has paved the way for greater Asian representation in the film industry today. Wu started her professional career at Microsoft as a software engineer, but later, she decided to take a 12-week film course at the University of Washington, which led her to quit her job and pursue filmmaking full-time. In 2004, she released her first feature film, Saving Face, inspired by her personal experience of coming out as a lesbian in the Taiwanese American community. In 2020, she released her second feature film, The Half of It. Today, Alice Wu is regarded as a hero leading the way towards equality for all people.
Andy Cohen is an American radio and television talk show host, producer, and writer, and the first openly gay host of an American late-night talk show. He is most recognized as the host of The Real Housewives franchise. Cohen is also the host and executive producer of Bravo's late night talk show, Watch What Happens Live! and he has a pop culture channel on Sirius XM named Radio Andy. Cohen served as Bravo's Executive Vice President of Development and Talent until 2013 and served as executive producer of reality cooking competition television show, Top Chef. He hosted the revival of the television dating show Love Connection; and continues to serve as the host of Andy Cohen Live on SiriusXM.
GLSEN, the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, a non-profit organization created in 1990, was founded by a group of teachers who were committed to creating positive affirming environments for LGBTQIA+ youth. Their work ties into advising and advocating for policies that protect LGBTQIA+ students and offers a network of 43 chapters in 30 states across the country. As of 2018, there are 39 GLSEN chapters across 26 states that train 5,000 students, educators, and school personnel each year. The chapters also support more than 4,000 registered school-based clubs - commonly known as gay–straight alliances (GSAs)- which work to address name-calling, bullying, and harassment in their schools.
The Advocate magazine, originally known as The Los Angeles Advocate, is the oldest continuing LGBTQIA+ publication. The magazine was first published as a local newsletter by the activist group Personal Rights in Defense and Education (PRIDE) in Los Angeles. The Advocate was initially inspired by a police raid on a Los Angeles gay bar, the Black Cat Tavern, on January 1, 1967, and the demonstrations against police brutality in the months following that raid. The first article of this publication was distributed in September 1967 and was sold in gay bars around Los Angeles for 25 cents. Today, The Advocate is the world's leading source of LGBTQIA+ news.