2023 LGBTQ+ Power Players

For more than a decade, Rose has been immersed in New York’s government and political arenas, particularly distinguishing herself by advancing priorities of the LGBTQ+ community through organizing with political club Stonewall Democrats of New York City, where she served as president for two years. In her personal life as a new mom, Rose advocates for LGBTQ+ family rights and in her professional field she secures substantial government funding for organizations serving the LGBTQ+ community.

What actions do you hope to see the government taking to support the LGBTQ+ community?
I hope to see NY continue to be a sanctuary state for the LGTBQ+ community – it is more imperative than ever as other states enact increasingly distressing legislation that seeks to oppress and punish the LGBTQ+ community for simply living their authentic lives. I am especially concerned and outraged by laws banning support for trans youth. NY must extend intrastate services to reach trans youth and provide lifesaving care.

Matt Cipolla is a partner at Jenner & Block LLP who leads complex cross-border investigations and monitorships. Matt is co-chair of the firm’s Monitorship Practice, serves on the Executive Hiring Committee and co-chairs the LGBTQ+ affinity group. Matt’s pro bono practice focuses on representing major American medical associations in litigation vindicating the rights of transgender Americans to health care and public accommodations consistent with their gender identity.

Which LGBTQ+ icons do you look up to?
I look up to the members of the LGBTQ+ community who live their lives out and proud every day. The collective impact of small actions of living authentically make a huge impact in the movement for equality. I also deeply admire the legal organizations, like the ACLU, Lambda and TLDEF, and the individual lawyers like my former colleague Paul Smith, who have achieved legal victories for the community that once seemed impossible.

What actions do you hope to see the government taking to support the LGBTQ+ community?
The government should take a strong stand to protect transgender Americans’ access to healthcare and full participation in society in a manner consistent with their gender identity. The federal government should also intervene against state efforts to infringe on First Amendment rights and stigmatize the LGBTQ+ community when those states ban drag performances and prohibit age appropriate discussion of sexual orientation.

What do you wish people outside of the community knew about the LGBTQ+ community?
Members of the LGBTQ+ community have been forced to think critically about the ways gender and sexual orientation impact the self and organize society, and I wish that more people outside the community would also grapple with those concepts and consider how changes to the way we think about them might bring about greater equality and freedom for all.

Can you recommend any top book, film, or TV shows that represent the LGBTQ+ experience?
The LGBTQ+ community is so diverse that no book, film, or TV show could ever capture the LGBTQ+ experience. That said, RuPaul’s Drag Race presents many of the colors of the rainbow in a thoughtful, and importantly fun, way. Allan Gurganus’ Plays Well With Others is also a beautiful elegy to the community built through the tragedy of the AIDS crisis.

Daryl Cochrane (he/him) is the LGBTQ+ communities lead advisor with the NYC Commission on Human Rights. Previously, Daryl worked in advocacy, government relations, and communications at GMHC, the NY AIDS Coalition and ALS Association, focusing on LGBTQ & HIV/AIDS issues, and for those fighting Lou Gehrig’s Disease. He also served as community representative for Congressman Nadler. He holds an M.P.A. from NYU. Originally from Akron, Ohio, he’s resided in Washington Heights for over 20 years.

Which LGBTQ+ icons do you look up to?
Billie Jean King, Bayard Rustin, Elton John, Edie Windsor, Sylvia Rivera, Jim Obergefell, Tom Duane, Oscar Wilde, RuPaul, Barbra, and Bette Midler

What actions do you hope to see the government taking to support the LGBTQ+ community?
Effective public policies are a great start, but we also need to recognize and care for the whole person and whole community – health, both mental & physical, economic opportunities, food security, access to education, and protection against discrimination and brutality, to name a few.  And I would very much like to see more LGBTQ+ people hired into government careers. 

What do you wish people outside of the community knew about the LGBTQ+ community?
While we have differences, the number of similarities is staggering. We want the freedom to live our lives on our terms, just like the next person. The American Dream is not some finite entity, but can be shared to uplift everyone. And while we struggle for our place at the table and our fight for equality is not over, we’re just fun-loving and fabulous folks. 

Can you recommend any top book, film, or TV shows that represent the LGBTQ+ experience?
Armistead Maupin’s Tales of the City series, James Baldwin’s Giovanni’s Room, Heartstopper, Vito Russo’s The Celluloid Closet, Trick, Bent, POSE

Coffey is CEO of Tusk Strategies, a leading campaign and public affairs firm. He’s worked on and run campaigns for leading and trailblazing NY elected officials from former Speakers of the City Council Corey Johnson and Christine Quinn to US Congressman Ritchie Torres (D-NY). Coffey lives in Brooklyn with his husband and their two children. He serves on the board of Trevor Project and chairs the boards of Women in Need (WiN) and Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy.

Which LGBTQ+ icons do you look up to?
Harvey Milk, Henry Munoz, Secretary Pete

What actions do you hope to see the government taking to support the LGBTQ+ community?
The steps taken by some state governments to take kids from their parents because they choose to live their true selves are scary and dangerous. We need help to ensure that families of trans kids have the protection and safety they need.

What do you wish people outside of the community knew about the LGBTQ+ community?
I think most people in New York know how great the lgbtq community is. And their communities are great too. Also when I’m watching Frozen with my kids and cleaning up dinner, it’s the same dynamic as families across the world going back hundreds of years (minus Frozen).

Can you recommend any top book, film, or TV shows that represent the LGBTQ+ experience?
Grew up sneaking into my college room watching Queer as Folk pretending to watch Sunday Night Football. Loved The Sparsholt Affair by Alan Hollinghurst, Great Believers by Maccai and Torqued Man by Peter Mann. In Memoriam by Alice Winn was amazing.

Sean Ebony Coleman is a nationally recognized nonprofit leader, grantmaker and founder of the LGBTQ+ advocacy organization Destination Tomorrow. With centers in New York City and Atlanta, Destination Tomorrow provides critical services to LGBTQ+ and TGNC individuals through grassroots outreach. In addition to his day-to-day responsibilities at Destination Tomorrow, Sean partners with Gilead Science and the TRANScend Community Impact Fund to provide capital to grassroots national TGNC-led agencies.

Which LGBTQ+ icons do you look up to?
Two TGNC icons that I look up to, and are often overlooked by historians, are Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera. As Trans women in 1970s New York, they founded Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries, or STAR, and opened the nation’s first shelter for homeless LGBT youth. They played a critical role in advancing the rights of LGBTQ+ at Stonewall, and laid the foundation for so much of the work we’re doing today at Destination Tomorrow.

What actions do you hope to see the government taking to support the LGBTQ+ community?
I’d love to see the government invest in TGNC mentorship programs. Our team is currently working with the City of Atlanta to pilot one of these programs. Our hope is we can come in and put together a mentorship program for young TGNC folks, be somebody to lean on and talk to. After all, so much of the work here is meeting people where they are.

What do you wish people outside of the community knew about the LGBTQ+ community?
We’re all human beings contributing to the same world. Everybody needs a helping hand and we want to make sure people have everything they need. I would encourage people outside the community to recognize and accept all people as what they are.

Elisa is a transgender advocate who has fought to promote civic engagement and elevate the LGBTQ community’s voice in halls of power. Prior to becoming the executive director of the New Pride Agenda, Elisa served as education liaison to the Bronx Borough President. She made history becoming the first transgender woman of color to run for office in the Bronx. Under her leadership, the NEW Pride Agenda spearheaded a $3 million dollar Transgender Equity Fund.

Which LGBTQ+ icons do you look up to?
Sylvia Rivera, Cecilia Gentili, Melissa Sklarz, Marsha P. Johnson

What actions do you hope to see the government taking to support the LGBTQ+ community?
To pass the Equality Act once and for all!

What do you wish people outside of the community knew about the LGBTQ+ community?
That we aren’t going anywhere. That we are valuable members of society who contribute more than you can imagine. That we are human beings and just want to live, be successful, and grow old like everyone else – and that we don’t need your acceptance or permission to do so.

Can you recommend any top book, film, or TV shows that represent the LGBTQ+ experience?
Paris is Burning, Disclosure

Anthony Crowell is New York Law School’s dean and president. Under him, LGBTQ+ community members occupy the highest ranks of the School’s administration, and the school has among the highest percentages of LGBTQ+ faculty and students nationally, with 17% of students identifying in the 2022 entering class. Crowell has raised over $25M in the past 24 months for public interest, women in law, and diversity programs. He previously served as counsel to Mayor Mike Bloomberg.

Which LGBTQ+ icons do you look up to?
NYLS Professor Emeritus Arthur Leonard, the nation’s preeminent LGBTQ+ legal scholar. Art founded the LGBT Bar Association of NY (LeGal), and literally wrote the book for our Sexuality and Law course, one of the nation’s first, and has conducted incredible work on AIDS law. For decades, he has chronicled every important legal development impacting the community for Gay City News, his legal chronicle and podcast, LGBT Law Notes, as well as his voluminous scholarly publications.

What actions do you hope to see the government taking to support the LGBTQ+ community?
The better question is what actions should not be taken? State legislatures should stop proposing and enacting rollbacks to the most fundamental of rights concerning freedom of speech, association, and expression. LGBTQ+ themed books should stop being banned, and the proliferation of anti-trans legislation should be stopped. These actions send hostile and threatening messages to children, individuals, and families that their voices and presence are neither legitimate nor welcome in schools, libraries, or wider communities.

What do you wish people outside of the community knew about the LGBTQ+ community?
We already are in your community, and you are in ours. We are just like you.

Can you recommend any top book, film, or TV shows that represent the LGBTQ+ experience?
TV: CNN New Year’s Eve Live with Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen (it says it all); Film: Firebird (2021); Book: We Are Everywhere: Protest, Power and Pride in the History of Queer Liberation by Matthew Reimer & Leighton Brown. Ten Speed Press (2019)

Émilia is a transgender socialist organizer and democratic district leader and state committee member for the 37th Assembly District in Western Queens. She has been a fighter for Left and progressive policy, affordable and abundant housing, and the rights of transgender New Yorkers. She is the child of French immigrants and a graduate of the City College of New York. She resides in Long Island City with her fiancée, Siobhán.

What actions do you hope to see the government taking to support the LGBTQ+ community?
New York State can only claim to be a haven for transgender and queer people when it is affordable for people fleeing their home states to move here. We need affordable and abundant housing, protections for tenants, single payer health care and a living wage. Protections mean nothing if only the well-off can use them.

Sarah Kate Ellis is president and CEO of GLAAD, the world’s largest LGBTQ media advocacy organization. A powerful communicator, Ellis has used GLAAD’s position to demand fair and accurate coverage of the LGBTQ community. Under her leadership, Ellis has evolved GLAAD from a media watchdog organization to one of the most powerful cultural change agents across industries. Prior to GLAAD, Ellis was a media executive. She and her wife, Kristen Ellis-Henderson, have two teenagers.

Which LGBTQ+ icons do you look up to?
I look up to the future leaders of the LGBTQ movement. 1 in 5 members of Gen Z are LGBTQ, and despite baseless attacks by a handful of extremist politicians trying to push anti-LGBTQ legislation, our youth are stepping up and leading the way. Youth in states like Texas and Florida are organizing impactful rallies and statewide walkouts, publishing op-eds, and showcasing what it means to be a leader in accelerating acceptance for our community.

What actions do you hope to see the government taking to support the LGBTQ+ community?
The LGBTQ community is under siege: 160+ drag shows attacks and threats – extremists are greeting our joy with firebombs. 500+ anti-LGBTQ bills, most targeting transgender children. Enough is enough. Our leaders must protect all constituents–including LGBTQ people. Transgender people deserve access to healthcare. Any politician who talks about so-called ‘parental rights’ must remember that LGBTQ people are parents too. It is past time for ALL of our elected leaders to put an end to anti-LGBTQ attacks.

What do you wish people outside of the community knew about the LGBTQ+ community?
That we are everywhere! LGBTQ people are your family and friends, your neighbors, your teachers, your doctors, and beyond. LGBTQ people are not groomers, and we do not have an agenda outside of being accepted for who we are. That’s why the work we do at GLAAD is so important – if you do not personally know someone who is LGBTQ, you deserve to be seeing the truth about us in media.

Can you recommend any top book, film, or TV shows that represent the LGBTQ+ experience?
Geena Rocero’s memoir Horse Barbie is an absolutely stunning and much-needed look at what it means to be a transgender person of color. Her legacy as a supermodel and advocate is outstanding, and the message of stepping into your truth and power will ring true for everyone. Lastly, any of our GLAAD Media Awards nominees (and winners!) from this year are a great place to start on media that accurately and expertly represents the LGBTQ experience.

James Felton Keith, affectionately known as “JFK”, was the first Black LGBTQ person to run for federal office in the United States, via Congress in 2017. He’s currently CEO at Inclusion Corporation, a NY insurance technology company and the world’s leading certifying body in the ISO-30415 Standard for Diversity & Inclusion. JFK is an author and lecturer at Keith Institute. Keith lives in Harlem and co-founded the Harlem Center and Juneteenth March 5K in Central Park.

Which LGBTQ+ icons do you look up to?
Norris Bumstead Herndon (1897 – 1977) was a prominent Black closted-Gay businessman from the 1920s – 1970s. He was a Harvard grad, and President of the Atlanta Life Insurance Company. He regularly funded the solvency of many civil rights efforts, including the NAACP, United Negro College Fund, Phyllis Wheatley YMCA, Clark Atlanta University, Morris Brown College, First Congregational Church in Atlanta and the National Urban League.

What actions do you hope to see the government taking to support the LGBTQ+ community?
I hope to see government officials tell better stories about the immoral cruelty of conservatives and use them to rally votes for politicians that protect individual’s agency and our democratic freedom.

What do you wish people outside of the community knew about the LGBTQ+ community?
I’d like people to know that we are fighting for equity, not equality. Our love is not necessarily your love, and that is ok.

Can you recommend any top book, film, or TV shows that represent the LGBTQ+ experience?
I really enjoyed Fat Ham, a play by James Ijames. It is an adaptation of William Shakespeare’s Hamlet that was the winner of the 2022 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Also, watch It’s a Sin, a British drama miniseries set in London between 1981 and 1991, written by Russell T Davies.