In 2020, GLAAD launched its first ever 20 Under 20 list in collaboration with Teen Vogue. Each year, the campaign puts the spotlight on 20 young LGBTQ change makers. The individuals honored are pioneers in a variety of fields from the arts, to politics, academia, and everything in between.
In 2020, the inaugural list featured exciting names like history making trans activist and reality star Jazz Jennings, the first Black, transgender, and disabled model to sign to a major modeling agency Aaron Philip, #MarchForOurLives organizer Emma González, actor and political advocate Joshua Rush, rising stars in Hollywood like Ian Alexander, Josie Totah, Lachlan Watson, Logan Rozos, Zoey Luna, filmmaker Alex Escaja, and rapper Kidd Kenn, to name a few.
In the 4 years since the inaugural list was published, members of the class of 2020 have gone on to do incredible things with the platforms they’ve created. Hear first-hand some of the exciting projects GLAAD’s 20 Under 20 class of 2020 are working on!
Logan Rozos
Actor and artist Logan Rozos was honored in 2020 for his groundbreaking role in the series David Makes Men on the Oprah Winfrey Network. At the time, Rozos was one of very few trans men on television.
Since his debut role on the series, Rozos shares that he is currently in post-production of a documentary he and his friend Lexie Bean co-directed called What Will I Become?
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He tells GLAAD that the film “Follows the lives and legacies of two young trans boys whose lives were tragically lost, in an effort to explore why this particular community is so vulnerable to dying by suicide. The film is being funded by ITVS and we are working toward a release on public television!”
On top of this exciting project, Rozos is also finishing up his Bachelors Degree at NYU Gallatin School of Individualized Study, where he studies Cultural Criticism and Political Economy. He also serves as the Artistic Director of Gallatin Theatre Troupe where he is directing the student production of Sondheim and Weidman’s Assassins!
Keep up with Logan @LoganRozos!
Jamie Margolin
Jamie Margolin is the founder and Co-Executive Director of Zero Hour, an international youth climate justice movement mobilizing young people to take action against climate change. The organization is thriving and continues to create real impact through advocacy, education, and grassroots initiatives.
Since being honored in 2020, Margolin has gone on to do great things, including graduating from NYU’s film program in 2024. Margolin shares that she is currently building an animation studio! Check out her work at @peleaanimation, where she is documenting her work on an upcoming 2D independent animated film!
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Keep up with Jamie @jamie_s_margolin!
Sameer Jha
Sameer Jha is a is an activist who was honored for their work in founding The Empathy Alliance, a non-profit organization dedicated to making schools safer and more inclusive for LGBTQ+ youth. Jha was inspired to create the organization when they were only 14 by their own experiences with bullying throughout elementary and middle school. They hope The Empathy Alliance ensures no one else will have to experiences what they went through as a kid.
Since then, Jha has graduated from Stanford University and is now in their first year at Columbia Law School! “I plan to combine my LGBTQ+ advocacy work with entertainment law,” Jha shares with GLAAD. “Shoutout to the student organizations I’ve joined, OutLaws,” which is an an LGBTQ+ student organization at Columbia that creates a safe space for all LGBTQ+ students to develop professionally, socially, and academically, “and the Intellectual Property Moot Court,” an annual inter-law school event sponsored by the American Intellectual Property Law Association.
In March of 2023, Jha appeared in The Trevor Project‘s Sharing Space project with longtime supporter Daniel Radcliffe. Sharing Space is a roundtable discussion series that features conversations with LGBTQ young people and provides a much-needed platform for young trans and nonbinary voices to share about their personal journeys and explore what genuine allyship looks like among curious, open-minded adults and allies.
Watch the first episode here:
Keep up with Sameer @sameerhjha!
Ose Ehianeta Arheghan
Ose Ehianeta Arheghan is a policy organizer and activist who was originally honored for their tireless work in support of queer and trans inclusion on campus. At the same time, they also served as the Policy Organizer for Know Your IX, a nonprofit seeking to end sexual harassment and violence in schools.
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But this was just the beginning. Ose shares that they have recently completed their mandate as the 12th UNA-USA Youth Observer to the United Nations. “I represented American youth at the 78th UN General Assembly, 3rd World Food Forum, 2024 ECOSOC Youth Forum, 2024 UN Science Technology and Innovation summit and 68th Commission on the Status of Women,” they tell GLAAD.
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On top of all this, they authored the 2023/2024 American Youth Priorities Report and was invited to the White House and the Department of State to present their findings to the Office of the First Lady, the Office of the US Special Envoy on Global Youth Issues, and USAID.
This past summer, Ose was named in the Inaugural Cohort of ‘CUSEF x One Young World Scholars,’ which highlights eight exceptional leaders who have proven positive social impacts in tackling global challenges such as climate change, gender equality, and universal education.
Keep up with Ose @osearheghan!
Leo Rocha
Leo Rocha was honored for his outstanding work as a journalist when he was only 20 years old. When Rocha was honored in 2020 he was already working as a Creative Manager at VICE and Newscast Producer at KOMU 8 News.
Now, Rocha works at CBS News as part of their digital team. “I help shape our political coverage online, specifically our videos across the site and on YouTube,” he shares with GLAAD.
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Rocha was also nominated for a Writer’s Guild Award in 2023 for an investigative piece he wrote for VICE about a queer historical landmark that the National Park Service is neglecting. Read the full piece here.
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On top of all of this incredible work, Rocha worked on a documentary about AIDS activist and Real World star Pedro Zamora called Keep the Cameras Rolling: The Pedro Zamora Way.
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The film played at numerous festivals, including NYC’s NewFest, New York Latino Film Festival, OutFest Fusion, and Frameline Film Festival, among others.
Keep up with Leo @leodanielrocha!
Lachlan Watson
In 2020, Lachlan Watson was one of the youngest non-binary actors in Hollywood. They were best known for their role on Netflix’s The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina.
Since then, Watson has not slowed down. They appeared on Syfy’s hit series Chucky and starred in the Shudder Original Film The Unheard.
Up next; “I’m playing a leading role in Y2K, a new A24 movie coming to theaters Dec 6th!” Watson shares. Lachlan will star alongside Rachel Zegler and Kyle Mooney in the upcoming horror/comedy.
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Watson has received countless accolades for their work including a Visibility Award from The Human Rights Campaign, and a See It, Be It award from The Geena Davis Foundation.
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Keep up with Lachlan @lachrwatson!
Full profiles of the 20 Under 20 honorees can be found at TeenVogue.com.
Learn more about the program here and read the 2024 list here!