John Allen Phillips
Educators
Nick Adams
Meet one of the artists, disruptors, educators, groundbreakers, innovators, and storytellers who all helped make the world a better place for LGBTQ+ people.
Nick Adams, vice president of the GLAAD Media Institute, has been fighting for transgender equality since joining the organization in 1998. His role is to amplify the voices of trans people and help them be “trans in the public eye.”
He created the transgender section of GLAAD’s Media Reference Guide, setting industry standards for respectful and accurate reporting. Adams’s expertise has been incredibly valuable in major media moments, including Caitlyn Jenner’s coming-out story in 2015.
This year, Adams worked closely with Trevor Anderson, the co-writer and director of a new film, Before I Change My Mind, about a teen living in Alberta, Canada, whose gender is never clarified but is the driving force behind the story. Adams says the film “is a welcome and necessary antidote to the lies about trans youth being peddled by anti-trans politicians.”
As a transgender man himself, Adams says he’s passionate about continuing the fight against the small group of loud, fringe, anti-trans activists working to scare Hollywood into removing queer characters from the media. “I will make sure executives and creators know that the vast majority of their audiences expect and want to see our stories on screen,” he says. @glaad
Gabriella Angelina
Shayan Asgharnia
Gabriella Angelina
Kali Reis
Meet some of the artists, disruptors, educators, groundbreakers, innovators, and storytellers who all helped make the world a better place for LGBTQ+ people.
Shayan Asgharnia
Kali Reis is an actor, professional boxer, powerful storyteller, and proud Two-Spirit Indigenous “grown-ass woman.” This year, she starred alongside Jodie Foster in True Detective: Night Country, for which she received an Emmy nomination. And her acting career is on the rise. Reis will appear in the crime thriller Wind River: Rising, the indie film Rebuilding, and the sci-fi film Mercy, starring alongside Chris Pratt and Rebecca Ferguson, in 2025. This work has been “an unexpected blessing.”
“I get to be part of a world of creation and tell stories,” Reis says. “I think being able to embody another person’s life and experiences gives me a better understanding of myself. It’s a silly job, we are just big kids playing house!”
Reis plans to run the New York City marathon this year to bring awareness to missing and murdered Indigenous women. She has also started a boxing promotional company called KOhen Promotions.
“No matter what community you are a part of, we all deserve to be loved and lead with love,” Reis says. “You are enough, and living your truth with all of who you are is a beautiful thing.” @kali_ko_reis