Our past People of the Year

This is our 18th People of the Year issue. A total of 54 people have been declared our People of the Year, ranging in age from 18 to however old the most senior LDS leader is. We’ve declared mostly people who have affected Utah’s LGBTQ community for the better in a year, but at times it was for worse. But even the latter changes our community for the better, as they tend to get people involved in our progress in response to their ugliness. Here are the covers of our previous 18 People of the Year issues:

2004: Scott McCoy

Executive director of the Don’t Amend Alliance fighting against Utah’s Amendment 3 which banned, for a while, same-sex marriage in the state.

2005: 6 Utahns

Utah Pride Center director Valerie Larabee, Utah Sen. Scott McCoy, Southern Utah Pride founders Amy Marie and Amy Selfridge, Salt Lake Gay Athletic Assn founder Mark Barr, Provo High School Gay/Straight Alliance founder Kaisha Medford.

2006: Larry H. Miller

Former Utah Jazz owner Larry H. Miller for refusing to screen “Brokeback Mountain,” inspiring a community to rise up against him.

2007: Ralph Becker

Then Salt Lake City Mayor-elect Ralph Becker for steadfastly showing a bold plan for LGBTQ rights through his campaign even as KUTV’s Rod Decker warned of gay marriage in city hall.

2008: Thomas Monson

LDS Church president Thomas S. Monson for getting the church involved in California’s Proposition 8, creating thousands of activists in Utah as a result.

2009: 3 Bold Women

Former Salt Lake City Councilperson Deeda Seed, then-SLC Councilperson Jill Remington Love, and then-Salt Lake County Councilperson Jenny Wilson

2010: Brandie Balken

Brandie Balken, who led Equality Utah as it successfully campaigned for ten municipalities to pass nondiscrimination ordinances across the state.

2011: Sister Dottie S. Dixon, aka Charles Lynn Frost

Every gay person growing up needed a Sister Dottie S. Dixon in their lives. Charles Lynn Frost’s character appealed to people all around LDS and LGBTQ culture.

2012: Volunteer Leaders

The most significant effect on LGBTQ Utahns is made by volunteer leaders of a myriad of organizations who bring us together and create community.

2013: Marian Edmonds Allen

Marian Edmonds Allen grew OUTreach Resource Centers from Ogden-based to several locations in Northern Utah.

2014: Those who brought marriage Equality to Utah

Plaintiffs and leaders in the lawsuit that brought Judge Robert Shelby’s decision to overturn Utah’s anti-same-sex marriage laws.

2015: LDS Leaders

Church officials met in private with several LGBTQ leaders through the year and crafted what is now called the “Utah Compromise” in passing nondiscrimination laws in the state.

2016: Misty Snow

The first openly-transgender person to run for a statewide office, Misty Snow brought visibility and open discussion to Utahns.

2017: Carol Gnade

In a tumultuous year for the Utah Pride Center, Carol Gnade stepped in and steadied the boat.

2018: Rob Moolman

Executive director of the Utah Pride Center who immediately reached out to the community, initially bringing respect back to the center.

2019: Mark Lawrence

The man with the vision, the tenacity, and the bull-headedness to create Restore Our Humanity, the group that overturned Utah’s Anti-

2020: Those holding a community together during a pandemic

Utah Pride Center’s Deb Hall and John Johnson, Project Rainbow’s Dallas Rivas, Harrison Spendlove, Bonnie O’Brien and Kate Rusk, Ben Morgan and Cody Scott, Gene Gieber, Michael Repp and Riley Richter.