GLAAD RELEASES FIFTH ANNUAL 20 UNDER 20 LIST, SPOTLIGHTING YOUNG LGBTQ TRAILBLAZERS SHAPING THE FUTURE OF MEDIA & ACTIVISM

GLAAD’s fifth annual 20 Under 20 list features a diverse collection of young changemakers, including Olympic medalist Evy Leibfarth, actresses Victoria Bazúa and Ivy Wolk, celebrity beauty influencer Daus Mendoza, activists Hayden Cohen and Aarna Dixit, among others.

New York, NY, September 30, 2024 – GLAAD, the world’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) media advocacy organization, today revealed its fifth annual 20 Under 20 list, spotlighting twenty young LGBTQ people, ages 20 and under, who are accelerating acceptance of LGBTQ people through their work in entertainment, politics, sports, social media, and beyond. GLAAD’s 20 Under 20 list is officially Sponsored by Delta.

GLAAD’s 20 Under 20 list launched this morning in Teen Vogue, featuring individual portraits of each honoree by Kim Salt. See the full list here.

Full profiles of the 20 Under 20 honorees can be found at TeenVogue.com. This year’s honorees include:

• Aarna Dixit, she/her, 20, bi/queer, student, activist, led a campaign for medication abortion access on campus, co-host of podcast Dirty Talk, promoting discourse on sex, reproductive justice, sexuality and femininity through an intersectional lens
• Adelyn Vigil, 16, she/her, student, advocate, has appeared before the Texas legislature to challenge laws restricting transgender participation in school sports
• Anna Hill, she/her, 15, Editor in Chief and Board member of AAPI Youth Rising, promoting awareness and advocacy within educational settings regarding Asian American history, while engaging in meaningful actions to collectively oppose violence driven by hatred
• Chazzie Grosshandler, 18, she/her, GenderCool Champion & Public Speaker, the inspiration behind The GenderCool Project, the youth driven movement dedicated to creating positive change in the world, she has also collaborated with the White House to advance equality for transgender and nonbinary
• Da’Taeveyon Daniels, 17, he/him, activist/organizer/movement builder/student, Director of Partnerships & Development at SEAT, 2023 Banned Books Week Youth Honorary Chair, champion of intellectual freedom, youth civic engagement and anti-racism advocacy
• Daus Mendoza, 19, he/him, influencer, with over 5.2 million followers across platforms, Daus sets the tone for beauty’s hottest trends while being in the spotlight not only as a successful creator but as a member of the Latinx & LGBTQ+ communities
• Dilinna Ugochukwu, 20, he/they, Writer, queer Nigerian American writer who was named 2023 California Youth Poet Laureate
• Emery Bingham, – 17, she/her, Singer/Songwriter, Stage Actress who got her start on YouTube when she was 7, released her first EP Phantoms in 2022, with new singles “Haunted by You” and “The Way You Broke Me” out now
• Evy Leibfarth, 20, she/her, bisexual, Olympic bronze medalist and the first US woman to compete in three canoe/kayak events in the Olympics
• Hayden Cohen, 20, they/them, student/State Policy Director, co-founded Students Engaged in Advancing Texas (SEAT) to ensure students had a voice in education policy-making in the state
• Ivy Wolk, she/her, 20, comedian turned actress, stars in English Teacher, The Bubble and Anora
• Julia Garnett, she/they, 19, student, activist, organizer, LGBTQ+ advocate for the freedom to read, honored for her work at the White House by the First Lady, Dr. Jill Biden and the 2024 youth honorary chair for National Banned Books week
• Kelsey Parker, 19, she/her, student and founder of ThinkBlack, a directory mobile app and website for users to find Black-owned businesses nationwide through several interactive directory features
• Nabela Garcia, 14, she/her, trans Latina student, also known as DunkaShay Monroe, crowned Downey’s Pride Princess and featured on Generation Drag (Discovery+)
• Nadya Lopez, 20, she/her, performer/artist/student advocate, Cuban-Palestinian trans woman, star of GLAAD’s transgender advocacy video campaign “Here We Are”
• Q Licht, 19, he/him, student, transgender advocate, Girl Scout Gold Awardee, founder of the positive LGBTQ+ representation initiative the Purple Sticker Project”
• Rueby Wood, 17, he/him, actor, appeared on the first national Broadway tour of “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”, starred in Disney+ original movie Better Nate Than Ever, also runs a local annual drag show
• Safara Malone, she/her, 19, transgender policy specialist, part of the GSA Gender Justice Leadership Program
• Sasha Knight, 15, he/him, actor, recognized for outstanding performance at the 2020 Outfest Film Festival for his roles in “Cowboy,” “Not Quite Narwhal,” and Disney Plus’s “The Santa Clauses.”
• Victoria Bazúa, 17, she/her, trans woman, actress, portrays Gala in the new Apple TV+ series in “Land of Women”

The honorees on GLAAD’s 20 Under 20 list were selected by an internal committee at GLAAD, specializing in LGBTQ entertainment, media, and activism. Honorees were chosen based on the following criteria: 1) The honoree works to positively affect marginalized communities, particularly LGBTQ people; 2) The honoree has been featured in or a part of broad regional or national news media stories, public media campaigns, or other public media initiatives; 3) The honoree enhances representation for LGBTQ people through media advocacy; 4) The honoree utilizes an intersectional approach to LGBTQ advocacy.

GLAAD launched its inaugural 20 Under 20 list in June 2020, featuring model Aaron Philip, rapper Kidd Kenn, actors Ian Alexander, Joshua Rush, Josie Totah, and Logan Rozos, activists X González, Jazz Jennings, Jamie Margolin, and Sarah Rose Huckman, among others. Check out the list here.

2021’s list featured international pop star Jojo Siwa, actress Yasmin Finney, trailblazing activists and influencers like Andrea Alejandra Gonzales, Ashton Mota, Onyx, Gia Parr, and Ve’ondre Mitchell, and more. Check out the list here.

2022’s list included trans supermodel Alex Consani, actors Elva Guerra, Milly Shapiro, and Gabriella Pizzolo, and groundbreaking activists such as Aidan Kohn-Murphy, Olivia Julianna, Javier Gomez, and Zuriel Hooks just to name a few. Read last year’s list here.

2023’s list included, Jameson Johnson (Ophelia Peaches), Lauren Scruggs, Lee Gordon, Stranger Things actor Noah Schnapp, Rebekah Bruesehoff, trans rights activist,  Trans Youth Prom Organizers: Daniel Trujillo, Hobbes Chukumba, Libby Gonzales, Grayson McFerrin-Hogan, Xavier Logan, and Tik Tok creator Zachary Willmore. Read last year’s list here.

GLAAD’s 20 Under 20 honorees gain access to a network of resources made available by the largest LGBTQ media advocacy organization in the world. 20 Under 20 honorees will receive the opportunity to participate in an exclusive live-stream media training hosted by the GLAAD Media Institute. Throughout the year, GLAAD will also help give greater visibility to the 20 Under 20 honorees in the media, including opportunities such as helping to secure media placements, elevating projects on social media, and connecting honorees with unique industry resources for achieving their future goals.

For more information about the 20 Under 20 program, visit www.glaad.org/20under20.