About

Lana is a queer, nonbinary person and uses they/them/theirs pronouns

Lana Leonard:

Lana Leonard is a New Jersey/New York City based multimedia equity journalist, writer and producer. In December of 2021, they earned their bachelors in journalism and professional writing from The College of New Jersey. They have worked as Jersey Shore reporter with Asbury Park Press and Out in Jersey Magazine. They have freelanced with Thrive Global, LGBTQ Nation and host a live community broadcast with LGBTQ owned 10PRL Film Studio in Long Branch, New Jersey called Late Nights with Lana: The talk show where objectivity is dead. This broadcast uplifts community and equity before power.

Lana has been awarded for their impact on local communities through the She Will Speak foundation (2019) and have been honored with Global Citizenship awards from Brookdale Community College (2016-2017) due to their extensive understanding of civics in media and higher education.

Lana currently holds a contracted position at the GLAAD Media Institute. In their position they broaden LGBTQ+ representation in news media. This means they’re reporting on LGBTQ news the way mainstream media fails to do. They’re a project manager and lead on organization in GLAAD’s 2022 midterm election voter engagement work; other times they’re looking through films, television and books to input producers notes, and more to rewrite the script on LGBTQ acceptance. Their role inside and outside of GLAAD includes broadening coverage of the LGBTQ+ community, media impact and developing a firm understanding of media ethics, equity and, yes, deadline punctuality. Each year Lana grows. They are a blue collar fighter. Their talents derive from the desire to create change through deep thinking, resistance work and organization. That means being on the ground. Let’s connect through my contact page and/or view my resume for more information.

A little FYI: Lana has extensive experience in early education, curriculum writing and play-based pedagogical philosophies such as Reggio Emilia and French inspired forest schools. Lana is an amateur academic, researcher in economics, social thought, LGBTQ history and media polarization. They love a book club, a skateboard and a cup of coffee.