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Max Mutchnick — The co-creator of Will & Grace, Mutchnick began his career writing for The Wonder Years. The characters of Will Truman and Grace Adler are reportedly based on Mutchnick and his best friend, Janet. He has received an Emmy Award, a People's Choice Award and a Golden Globe Award nomination.

In 2006, Mutchnick's alma mater, Emerson College, honored him with the Max Mutchnick Campus Center after he made a major donation to the college, including the set of Will & Grace. He has established the Max Mutchnick Scholarship Fund, which is given annually to a student who has demonstrates strong academics and a commitment to gay rights.

Cool Quote: “The first ‘real' moment for a gay man is when he comes out of the closet. … [In] order to move forward, you have to live and tell the truth.” (Time, March 7, 2005)

Marco Pennette — This television writer began his career by writing for Kate & Allie and went on to co-create Caroline in the City (NBC) and Crumbs (ABC), which featured Fred Savage as gay son Mitch Crumb. He is currently a co-executive producer on the hit drama Ugly Betty (ABC). Pennette lives with his partner, TV talent manager Steve Rabiner, and their daughter, Ally.

Cool Quote: “I was outed in front of my family on the red carpet of the People's Choice Awards. A network executive ran up to me and started talking about my boyfriend right in front of them.” (USA Today, Jan. 25, 2006)

Alan Poul —Executive Producer of HBO's award-winning Six Feet Under, Poul has directed episodes of HBO's Rome and produced the three miniseries based on Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City.

Poul has been on the board of directors of GLAAD and Outfest, and he has received an Emmy, a Golden Globe, a Producer's Guild Award, four GLAAD Awards, three Peabody Awards and the 2003 ACLU Foundation's Pride Partnership Award.

Cool Quote: “There was a period of advocacy where just the fact of presenting gay characters on television, you were saying this is OK, this is not wrong, because you were combating decades of built-in prejudice, but it's nice for us to have come along at a time when we can sort of now correct the balance, let the pendulum swing back and say, ‘See, these people are just as messed up as their straight counterparts.'” (Movieweb.com, May 25, 2005 )

Rich Ross — As president of Disney Channel Worldwide, Ross is responsible for day-to-day management of the entire Walt Disney Company's 62-channel empire of family programming and merchandising spinoffs. Ross is a former children's casting director, and at Disney he helped launch the careers of a whole slew of young stars including Hilary Duff (Lizzie McGuire), Raven (That's So Raven) and Miley Cyrus (Hannah Montana). One of his recent, top-grossing Disney shows is High School Musical.

He is a member of the board of directors for Hollywood Radio Television Society and Cable in the Classroom, an organization committed to improve teaching and learning for children. Ross lives in Los Angeles with his partner of nearly 20 years.

Cool Quote: “Kids on the street can tell you what my priorities are. I'm a wild optimist. You see that thread through anything we do. There are hard times, and there are not-so-hard times, but at the end it is an OK world.” (New York Times, Oct. 22, 2006)

Adam Shankman — Director of Bringing Down the House (2003), A Walk to Remember (2002), Cheaper by the Dozen 2 (2005), USA's Monk and the upcoming feature film Hairspray, Shankman began his career as a dancer, working with both Janet Jackson and Paula Abdul. He has choreographed films including Boogie Nights, George of the Jungle, Dudley Do-Right, The Flintstones and Addams Family Values.

Cool Quote: (referring to the Christian teen character in A Walk to Remember) “Well, you know she has to die, because she won't put on a tight dress.” (The Advocate, March 4, 2003)

Darren Star — Before Star created HBO's hit Sex and the City, which garnered more than a dozen Emmy nominations and several wins, Star was co-producer on Beverly Hills 90210 and created Melrose Place. Star's other projects include the television series Grosse Point (WB) and Kitchen Confidential (Fox).

Cool Quote: “I think, for me, it's not about doing something about a ‘gay' character, but rather doing something about an interesting character whose sexuality is part of his life.” (Austin Chronicle, Oct. 11, 2002 )

Craig Zadan and Neil Meron — These two producers, who head up Storyline Entertainment, are behind the Oscar-winning Chicago; the 1993 television adaptation of Gypsy; and the Disney television musicals Cinderella (1997), Annie (1999), The Music Man (2003) and Double Platinum (1999) starring Diana Ross. Zadan and Meron also produced two lesbian-themed television biopics: Serving in Silence: The Margarethe Cammermeyer Story (1995), starring Glenn Close, and What Makes a Family (2001), starring Brooke Shields.

Zadan and Meron produced the short-lived, gay-themed ABC sitcom It's All Relative (2003–04), the first network series to feature gay parenting and a gay committed relationship in its plot. Zadan and Meron are also producing the upcoming film version of Randy Shilts' book, The Mayor of Castro Street: The Life and Times of Harvey Milk.

As of early 2006, the productions of Zadan and Meron have garnered a whopping 66 Emmy nominations and 10 wins, six Academy Awards, five Golden Globe Awards, two Peabody Awards and two GLAAD awards. The two were the executive producers of the 2005 and 2006 televised GLAAD awards ceremonies.

Cool Quote: In their controversial 2003 production The Reagans, Zadan and Meron purposely included a line for Reagan's character that characterized the real President Reagan's stance toward victims of AIDS: “Those who live in sin shall die in sin.” The film met with protests from conservative activists, and CBS cancelled the mini-series (it was later aired by Showtime).

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