The Advocate released their annual 40 Under 40 list of budding powerhouses, leaders in media, politics, sports, and science, who are facilitating our future. We wanted to highlight some of the incredible young women from the list here, but be sure to check out all 40 incredible women and men on The Advocate.
Christi Furnas, 39
Minneapolis
Artist
The Advocate released their annual 40 Under 40 list of budding powerhouses, leaders in media, politics, sports, and science, who are facilitating our future. We wanted to highlight some of the incredible young women from the list here, but be sure to check out all 40 incredible women and men on The Advocate.
Christi Furnas, 39
Minneapolis
Artist
When Christi Furnas was diagnosed with schizophrenia at 25, she found herself unable to hold a job and instead focused inward, deciding she wanted to define herself as an artist. Today, the Minneapolis-based painter, who’s been showing and selling her work locally for 15 years, uses her experience to help others with similar disabilities. As a peer support specialist at Spectrum ArtWorks, Furnas mentors adults with severe mental illness and encourages them to find the artist within themselves.
“I’ve seen a lot of people grow and realize they have talents they didn’t think they had,” says Furnas, who also helps her artists maintain portfolios and prepare for art submissions.
Most important to the queer-identified Furnas is leading by example.
“I live my life and speak my mind,” she says, “and I think that encourages others to do the same."
Jazz, 11
East Coast
Cofounder, TransKids Purple Rainbow Foundation
If Jazz looks familiar, that’s because in addition to starring in her own documentary, I Am Jazz: A Family in Transition, which debuted on OWN last year, she has also discussed being transgender on CNN, 20/20, and Good Morning America.
A preteen who likes to sing and dance, Jazz (whose parents keep their last name and exact location private for safety reasons) uses her newfound fame to help other gender-variant kids. With her parents’ help she’s launched the TransKids Purple Rainbow Foundation, a nonprofit that supports trans kids and their families, even offering grants for medical needs not covered by insurance.
“I want to help other transgender people be true to themselves,” says Jazz, who is the youngest person ever to be honored in our Forty Under 40. “A lot of transgender kids don’t have the support of a family like I do, and I just wanted to share that it’s OK to step out of their shadows and tell their parents how they really feel inside. You can still be loved if you are transgender."
Brittany McMillan, 17
Surrey, Canada
Founder, Spirit Day
If you wore purple on October 20—as did Cher, the Jersey Shore cast, Raising Hope star Martha Plimpton, Conan O’Brien, the ladies of The View, and some of the White House staff—you can thank Brittany McMillan.
McMillan, a Canadian high school student, is making a huge impact in the U.S. with Spirit Day, when teenagers and adults wear purple to show solidarity against anti-LGBT bullying. Compelled to do something after the high-profile LGBT suicides of 2010, McMillan began the initiative as a grassroots effort, but after the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation encouraged celebrities to join in, millions of people wore purple and altered their Facebook and Twitter profiles in solidarity.
“Spirit Day only takes place one day out of the year, but homophobia happens every day,” McMillan says.
Faith Cheltenham, 32
Los Angeles
President, BiNet USA
Faith Cheltenham’s been trying to accentuate the B in LGBT for almost 15 years now. “In college I pushed for acknowledgement that bisexuals existed,” she says. “But [our existence] would seemingly be invisible within the organizations I was involved with."
A social media producer by day (Duchess Sarah Ferguson is one client), Cheltenham now promotes bisexual visibility as president of BiNet USA, a nonprofit volunteer organization. Through its website, the umbrella organization promotes visibility for a group often marginalized—even among the L, G, and T communities—by disseminating articles, history lessons, links to local groups, and a calendar of bisexual-themed events around the globe.
Cheltenham, a new mom, sees BiNet USA as her contribution to the equality struggle: “[I’m just] one piece in a tapestry of people fighting for freedom."
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