In every community, there are women doing the steady, intentional work that helps others thrive. Qnotes’ LGBTQ+ Women of Distinction recognizes leaders in Charlotte whose impact is shaping this moment. These women are showing up with clarity, consistency and care, strengthening LGBTQ+ life in our city through leadership that is both visible and deeply felt.
ANN GONZALES
In 1998 Ann Gonzales moved from Waco, Texas to Charlotte, N.C. Inspired to start a marketing business after attending a Charlotte LGBT Business Expo, Gonzales has a plethora of skills ranging from Digital IT and Web Design to non-profit leadership.
She’s a proud Filipino who embraces her roots, although she wants to make one point perfectly clear: “My biggest thing is to let people know, though I’m Filipino – I don’t just represent Filipinos, I represent all Asian communities.”
Gonzales, who previously served as president of the Carolinas Asian American Chamber of Commerce is now the organization’s strategic adviser. In this new role she is tasked with training the new president for the role she occupied since 2016, providing guidance with all operations and answering questions regarding community outreach and how the board functions.
Of her experience with inclusive Chamber of Commerce organizations, Gonzales readily recalls the beginning of her journey.
“A lot of my knowledge and work is focused on small business for all communities, not just the Asian community. I started with the Carolinas LGBT+ Chamber of Commerce in 2012 under [former organization president] Theresa Davis’s mentorship as the organization’s secretary.”
As time moved on, Gonzales quickly made her way up through multiple positions that led to her own presidency. In 2019 Gonzales took a break from her duties as chamber president to assist her mom with the care of her ailing father – a career marine sergeant – who fortunately lived long enough to walk her down the aisle for her wedding in October 2022.
One event that has helped her heal from the loss of her father was the Carolinas LGBT+ Chamber’s annual Friends and Diversity event; a brain child she conceived and worked on with Chad Turner [current president and CEO] bringing together the chambers for African Americans, Latinos and Asians. It’s a unifying event Gonzales is proud to see grow larger each year. With all that going on, Gonzales still struggles to balance her professional and family life.
That’s part of the reason why she retired from her role as president of the Asian American Chamber of Commerce. As for the individuals who come behind her, it’s her wish that they remember their work is “not about one person, it’s about community.”
CHELSEA GULDEN
Chelsea Gulden identifies as part of the microgeneration known as Xennials. Xennials (born between 1977 and 1983) are often referred to as a cusp generation bridging Generation X and Millennials.
Maybe that’s why Gulden is a woman who has made a career out of bridging gaps in public health for those who often face health care disparities, particularly in the realm of HIV health and wellness. Gulden, a native of New Jersey, has been living in Charlotte since 1998 and at the helm of RAIN, a prominent organization providing HIV intervention and prevention to the area’s community residents since 2021. Serving as RAIN’s president and CEO is a joy and labor of love for her.
Among her greatest accomplishments, says Gulden, are “being a mother to my children and the children and adolescents [living with HIV] who grew up in the EPY (Empowering Positive Youth), who I started taking care of in 2006.”
Gulden is a devoted mother of four – three biological children and one step child – to whom she gives her whole heart and soul. While passionately leading her staff at RAIN and serving on multiple committees and boards, she has learned the invaluable lesson of saying “no” and prioritizing her own self-care – something she wishes she had embraced earlier in life.
That’s also her wish for younger women and budding female professionals. “They should value themselves and recognize their needs are important, meaningful and worthy.” Reflecting on Women’s History Month Gulden says, “I love being a woman. I also think as women, we often fall into the habit of caring for others so much that we don’t care for ourselves. This month is a time to reflect and honor our achievements and each other in ways we may not intentionally do during other times.”
BLUE KLEIN
Blue Klein understands the power of being seen.
As communications manager for the Freedom Center for Social Justice, she builds the bridge between bold advocacy and the communities it serves. But for Klein, the work is personal.
Originally from Colombia and raised in a conservative environment, she speaks openly about the journey of unlearning and growth that shaped her commitment to LGBTQ+ and trans advocacy.
“Being able to help the communities I was raised to misunderstand,” she says, “is how I leave my mark on the world.”
After a decade in Florida, Klein moved to North Carolina seeking an environment more aligned with her values. She found it at the Freedom Center, where faith, social justice and LGBTQ+ liberation intersect. What keeps her committed is seeing advocacy move beyond rhetoric. “It’s not just saying the work needs to be done,” she says, “it’s watching it happen.”
Whether supporting immigrant communities, amplifying trans voices or helping mobilize voter engagement, Klein’s work centers survival and collective endurance. “No system of oppression lasts forever,” she says.
In the spaces between the work, she turns to books, Lego builds and the steady comfort of home with her partner and her two cats.
What gives her hope is simple: the next generation. “The fights we’re having now,” she says, “are so they don’t have to.”
BETHANY MCDONALD
Bethany McDonald has spent more than two decades building spaces where people feel safe, seen and connected.
For many in Charlotte’s LGBTQ+ community, that work took shape at Hardigan’s, the lesbian bar she owned. What began as a nightlife space became something larger: a cornerstone where friendships formed, relationships began and chosen family took root. That same spirit carries into her work as DJ Little Betty, where she fills rooms with music and watches people at their happiest, celebrating milestones, finding each other and claiming space together.
Today, that same instinct to create refuge lives in Heart United for Good.
Since 2019, she has helped grow HUG into a nonprofit that adapts to meet community needs, from food security to animal advocacy to support for schools and smaller organizations. The pantry has expanded significantly, but for McDonald, the impact is measured less in numbers and more in feeling.
“I love being able to make so many people happy,” she says. “Seeing everybody else have a good time or feel relief is the most important thing in the world to me.”
From dance floors to pantry shelves, her legacy is not defined by buildings or programs. It is defined by one constant: creating spaces where people can exhale, feel welcomed, and know they belong.
ABBY MEDEROS
Abby Mederos has helped shape the Carolinas LGBT+ Chamber of Commerce from the inside out.
Joining the organization over three years ago as its first staff hire beyond the CEO, she stepped into a role that was still being defined. Today, as director of operations, she oversees events, systems and strategy for an organization that has expanded regionally and opened a dedicated Impact Center for members and entrepreneurs.
“I love understanding people,” she says. “When you see different cultures and backgrounds come together and realize they have more in common than they thought, that’s community.”
That belief comes to life at Chamber events, where she finds purpose in watching connections form across differences. “Anytime I hear someone say, ‘This really is a community,’ that’s why I do it,” she says. “Seeing people who have never met each other building relationships makes it all worth it.”
She also founded the Chamber’s internship program, creating a pathway for students to gain professional experience and mentorship. In two years, she has worked with 12 interns, helping cultivate the next generation of leaders.
A second-generation Cuban-American, Mederos draws strength from her heritage and from the belief that progress requires persistence. Her message to her younger self remains steady: “It’ll all be all right.”
MEREDITH THOMPSON
Her favorite color is teal; she’s a Gen Xer and a force to be reckoned with. Meredith Thompson is a name many associate with Charlotte Pride.
Quite possibly that’s because she has been a fixture with the organization for some time now. Currently Thompson serves as the organization’s managing director – at the helm of Charlotte’s largest annual parade and countless activities leading up to the massive uptown event.
Thompson has been in this role for four years but confirms her weighty tasks as managing director has made the duration feel as though the time has passed in dog years!
Thompson, who previously owned the Canine Café (closed in September 2024) along with her wife, grew up in Memphis, Tenn. but has been a North Carolina resident since the ’90s. She moved to the Charlotte area shortly after graduating from Davidson College with a degree in English.
“I’m proud of having kept a business going for a couple of decades and the joy it brought to so many people who love dogs,” she beams. “It’s really tough to keep a small business going – especially a brick and mortar.”
When it comes to the challenge of engaging difficult people in her many roles, Thomson embodies an old adage with a smile, “Kill ‘em with kindness. It’s better and healthier for you and the cause you’re trying to affect.” With her passion for “equity for all beings,” it’s no surprise this vegan powerhouse would land in the positions she’s embraced so fondly.
For individuals that follow in her footsteps, she offers the following: “My hope would be, in spite of everything, that they continue to believe in themselves and a better world. Right now, they [our current administration] are essentially trying to take voting rights away from married women or anyone who has changed their last name.
“So, we have to look back and be inspired by the women of the past who have bravely fought in the face of adversity.”
ANGEL TRUESDALE
Angel Truesdale believes stories matter.
Born and raised in Charlotte, she has woven together scholarship, film and community engagement into a life centered on representation and access. As a research and instruction librarian at UNC Charlotte, she helps students navigate information and inquiry. Beyond the classroom, she has long supported Charlotte Pride, Reel Out Charlotte and the Independent Picture House, elevating queer and trans stories through film.
“Identity is everything, and representation is everything,” Truesdale says. “Our stories deserve to be told. We are not a monolith. We are all of the things.”
For Truesdale, film is immersive and transformative, a way to step into worlds beyond your own. That belief carries into her advocacy on campus, where she serves as president of the LGBTQ+ Staff and Faculty Caucus and helps sustain community amid shifting policies. She also champions the university’s LGBTQ+ archives, which preserve Charlotte’s rich queer history for researchers and the broader public.
As a Black LGBTQ+ woman, Truesdale speaks candidly about the impossibility of separating the personal from the political. Grounded in family, chosen and biological, and inspired by cultural icons, she practices mindfulness and emotional intelligence as tools for resilience.
“I live my life out loud,” she says. “I’m proud that I’ve been able to be authentically myself.”
For Truesdale, joy is not incidental. It is intentional, and it is sustaining.