Dustin Lance Black

Founding board member, American Foundation for Equal Rights (AFER); Academy Award-winning screenwriter, 'Milk'

It seems that the message we too often miss from Milk's work is that all Americans have an interest in equality because soon we will all be minorities in some way or another. Harvey called this his "coalition of the us's" -- not only gays but blacks, Asians, seniors, the disabled.

JD Schramm

Lecturer, Stanford Graduate School of Business

No conversation, no matter how meaningful and powerful, can bring back the millions we've already lost to suicide. The loved ones of these victims also have a thirst for conversation and our efforts to engage with them may very well prevent the next loss to suicide if we can all continue to break the silence and share our journeys.

Pollo Del Mar

Drag queen on the SF social, political, editorial and fundraising scene

Soon, Wendy Williams, the 48-year-old multimedia superstar faces what might be her greatest challenge to date: Broadway!

George Heymont

San Francisco-based arts critic

Whether one takes the dramatic or comedic approach, truth-telling is an acquired skill. Some people just blurt things out, failing to think before they speak. Others carefully mold and caress their thoughts into powerful intellectual weapons which can shatter brittle walls of pretense, denial, and ill-advised bravado.

Rep. Steny Hoyer and Rep. Barbara Lee

From infants to seniors, the sequester affects at-risk Americans in every age bracket, and its cuts will harm families trying to put food on the table. Simply put, the sequester will erect road blocks along the pathways out of poverty.

Kayley Kravitz

Bay Area blogger & Britpop girl

The MVR is a unique approach to music video production. 20 bands are paired with 20 filmmakers at random. They have just one weekend to write, film and edit a music video.

Luna Dance Institute

Dance education organization

As with all the creative arts, dance allows people to feel connected to friends, family and community.

Lisa Kaas Boyle

Environmental Attorney

California is recognized nationally and internationally as a leader in environmental causes, but our legislators have been far too entangled with the petrochemical lobby to get the job done on banning plastic bags statewide.

Vanessa Pinto

Blogger, Vanessa L. Pinto

Artist Steven Johnson Leyba is no stranger to pushing limits artistically. At times he and his art make some people uncomfortable and others enthralled. Leyba's newest piece of performance art is called Project #9.

Barbara Barton Sloane

Travel Editor, Westchester Guardian, www.barbarabartonsloane.com

For 16 consecutive years, Conde Nast Traveler has voted the City by the Bay as the one of the best cities in the U.S.

Phil Powers

Executive Director, American Alpine Club

Outdoor recreation employs 6.1 million Americans, and the sector is growing about 5 percent annually. Conservation and access for recreation, including climbing, biking, hiking, and fishing make this economic impact possible.

Bishop Minerva G. Carcaño

Bishop in The United Methodist Church

The opportunity to reunite their families should be extended to all immigrant families, including LGBT families. It is the just and right thing to do. It is the humane thing to do. It is what we must do.

William Bradley

Political Analyst, NewWestNotes.com

Season 2's slinky cool "The Jet Set" has been definitively dethroned as Mad Men's kookiest episode ever. We've gone from time out of mind to out of mind time.

Dom Phillips

Journalist

I just know that he was an artist, not just in what he did in his life, but in how he lived it. He touched me and I knew him very briefly, just twice, two unforgettable times, two decades apart.

Kelly Rigg

Executive Director, GCCA

If you've ever had the feeling that your lifestyle changes amount to tiny drops in a very large proverbial bucket, I invite you to consider taking one of these 'Top 5 actions' to fight climate change.

Mike Sandler

Political economist, climate change professional and sustainability advocate

The first Indiana Jones movie opens with our hero having his prize stolen from him by a rival archeologist. No one remembers that the statue actually belongs to the Peruvian tribespeople. In 2013, Californians are witnessing an allegory with the repeated raiding of the revenues from the carbon price under state law AB32 that should be theirs.

Andrew Jenks

Award-winning filmmaker

I was a 25-year-old documentary filmmaker from New York working on a show for MTV. He was a 21-year-old dancer in East Oakland trying to move on with his life after the murder of his little brother. I spent a year embedded in his life, and got a front row seat to an American epidemic.