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For the past five years, Fast Company published an annual list of 50 LGBTQ+ people who were shaping the worlds of business, tech, politics, and culture. As the list evolvesand given the continued attacks on queer and trans peopleweve decided to change the format this year, looking more deeply into the contributions of eight notably impactful individuals. The leaders we chose to profile for 2025 are at the forefront of their fields. Chase Strangio is the first openly transgender person to argue in front of the Supreme Court. He spoke with nonbinary Olympian Nikki Hiltz about their work, and what its like to be so visible during this moment. Youll also read about Rose Marcario, former CEO of Patagonia and current partner at ReGen Ventures, who calls on other business leaders to double down on their values during a time when many executives are growing quiet, and Audrey Tang, who is working to spread pro-democracy ideas to combat negative sentiments on social media. Olympic runner Nikki Hiltz and ACLU lawyer Chase Strangio on trans equality in the Trump era As anti-trans legislation and rhetoric continue to escalate across the U.S.from sweeping state-level bans on gender-affirming care to renewed efforts to bar trans people from public lifetrans nonbinary elite runner Nikki Hiltz and ACLUs LGBTQ+ rights lawyer Chase Strangio find themselves at the intersection of justice and representation. Read more. Rose Marcario is doubling down on her values When she was CEO of Patagonia, Rose Marcario stood out as one of the most outspoken voices in business against President Donald Trump during his first term. Under her leadership, Patagonia even sued the Trump administration after he issued a proclamation to shrink public land in two national monuments. Now, in the midst of Trumps second term, Marcario is no longer at the helm of the progressive outdoor apparel company, but she’s still taking a stand. Read more. Audrey Tang wants to save democracy with pro-social media A senior fellow at the safer tech nonprofit Project Liberty Institute, Tang builds tools that she can leave behind to empower the next generation with a wider canvas. Concerned about social media algorithms that favor rageful engagement over unity, and having done ample work to maintain democracy in Taiwan, shes spreading her pro-democracy ideas globallyeven as a self-professed anarchist. Read more. How Michigan attorney general Dana Nessel is shaping the legal resistance to Trump Nessel has emerged as a formidable figure in the legal resistance to the Trump administration. In no way, shape, or form does this resemble a normal presidency, Nessel says of Trumps return to the White House. Read more. These leaders are working to ensure LGBTQ+ historyand futuresremain visible Fast Company asked leaders at three New York City-based LGBTQ+ community spacesthe Lesbian Herstory Archives, the American LGBTQ+ Museum, and the NYC LGBT Community Centerto learn more about how these groups are responding to a challenging political moment through legal action, grassroots fundraising, and making the histories of queer people more visible. Read more. Writers: Chris Azzopardi, Rebecca Barker, Jessica Klein, Pavithra Mohan, and Kristin ToussaintEditors: Kathleen Davis and Julia HerbstDesign: Alice Alves, Heda Hokschirr, Anne Latini, Cayleigh ParrishPhoto: Sandra Riao and Maja Saphir
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E-Commerce
For nearly 60 years, California has been able to set its own standards around auto emissions that are stricter than the federal governments, thanks to a special exception for the state under the Clean Air Act. California has used that waiver to implement aggressive emissions standards that prioritize the sale of EVs, and that aim to whittle down the sale of gas-powered vehicles until their complete ban by 2035. Now Trump has signed a joint resolution from Congress that overturns that California waiverand essentially kills Californias efforts to accelerate EV adoption (California has sued to stop the move). If its implementation is allowed, the resolution wont affect only California residents, but would hurt the entire countrys EV efforts, and push the U.S. further behind the rest of the world. California has probably been the largest factor in accelerating EV adoption over the past decade, says Jeremy Michalek, an engineering professor at Carnegie Mellon University and director of the schools Vehicle Electrification Group. California has used its Clean Air Act waiver to set requirements for automakers to sell a certain percentage of vehicles that release zero tailpipe emissions (a requirement which, a few hydrogen powered prototypes aside, can currently be met only with electric vehicles). California has become the biggest market for EVs in the country, accounting for nearly a third of all EV sales in the U.S. The California effect When California sets stricter regulations around auto emissions, it changes what sorts of cars are available for drivers everywhere. Thats been a huge driver in forcing the industry to provide additional options, like to roll out EVs in different market segments, Michalek says. If California sets stricter standards than the rest of the country, automakers have to decide, Are we going to try to customize different vehicles for different markets and deal with all of the logistics and cost, or are we just going to make all vehicles comply with what California is doing? (Californias stricter rules also catalyzed stronger federal standards because the state has long been a part of federal emissions negotiations.) This California effect has been noticed with other environmental regulations, too. A state law requiring product label warnings for toxic chemicals known to cause cancer led to chemical exposures decreasing for people across the country. When brands make a product to meet Californias strict environmental regulations, they usually sell the same one across the country, and everyone benefits. If Californias stricter auto standards go away, it stands to reason that the entire country would lose out on that benefit, too. That wouldnt happen immediately: It takes about five years for automakers to design and bring new vehicles to market. But the movewhich California is already suing the Trump administration overadds to the general uncertainty the auto industry is facing. Automakers lobbied the Senate to end California’s ban on new gas car sales by 2035, and have spoken out in support of Trump’s recent move, saying there should be one national standard. But there’s still uncertainty because of the rapid changes to regulations, Michalek says. The U.S. falling behind in EV transition This move combined with the potential repeal of EV tax credits, Trumps tariffs, and his administrations efforts to weaken federal auto emissions standards all hurt the auto industrys ability to plan long term. And if automakers cant make investments in local EV battery factories or onshoring parts of the EV supply chain, that means the U.S. will continue to fall behind in the overall EV transition. The move to EVs is already on a strong trajectory, Michalek says. Changing Californias emissions standards wont totally stop that transition, but it will slow it down. Meanwhile, the rest of the world is already ahead of us, he says. China in particular is an EV leaderwith technological advancements that have made ultra-affordable EVs a realityand even countries across Europe are now outpacing the U.S. in EV sales. Because of the Trump administrations attacks on the Inflation Reduction Act as well, billions of dollars of investments into the EV industry have been canceled since the start of his second term, including plans for EV and battery factories. Part of the goal of the IRA was to diversify and relocate the supply chain for climate tech like EVs, moving it either into the U.S. or to its allies. But these pullbacks are making that plan more difficult. So by getting further behind, Michalek adds, the risk is that if we’re going to have to make this [EV] transition anyway, and we’re lagging behind in building the industry to make the technology, then when we do have to transition, we’ll be kind of at the mercy of other countries that are dominating the technology. Eventually, he adds, were going to be at a disadvantage for not having made these investments sooner. Chaos for automakers and states Repealing Californias waiver could also hurt automakers that focus on EVs. Within the states (and federal) regulations, theres been the option for automakers that werent able to meet the standards to buy credits from companies that did, so that on average the industry is meeting these goals. If there are some automakers who wouldn’t really sell electric vehicles unless they were forced to, because that’s not where their profit center is, it enabled them to transition some funding to other automakers that were more focused on electric vehicles, like newcomers like Tesla, Michalek says. He credits Californias stricter standards for why, at least in part, Tesla was able to survive its early years. California is currently the only state able to set its own auto emissions standards that are stricter than federal ones, but the Clean Air Act does allow other states to adopt California’s regulations, and 17 states, including Oregon, New York, and Massachusetts, have done so. In that sense, removing Californias waiver also directly affects what those other states can do around auto emissions. (Ten other states have joined Californias lawsuit against the Trump administration over its effort to revoke its waiver.) In attempting to revoke the waiver, Trump went through Congress, but California Governor Gavin Newsom says that move was illegal. Its not clear what the timeline will be for a resolution to the lawsuit. In the meantime, Michalek says, there’s a sustained sense of uncertainty for automakers. The chao of it is a deterrent to investment in the industry, and in planning for future vehicles.
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E-Commerce
How often do you leave work thinking, Wow, that was fun! Once a week? Once a month? Never? If you arent having funreal funit may be time to rethink your work life, says Bree Groff, author of Today Was Fun: A Book About Work (Seriously). The idea that work needed to be fun didnt hit home for Groff until her mother was diagnosed with terminal cancer in 2022. She took a leave of absence from her job at a New York-based transformation consulting firm to care for her and her father, who had Alzheimers disease. After her mother passed away, she went back to work part time with a new perspective. One of the things that became obvious while taking care of my parents is that at some point, well run out of Mondays, she says. They aren’t a renewable resource. So, what are we doing to our lives when we’re wishing away five out of seven days of every week? A common attitude is that work is called work for a reason; its something to get through to get a paycheck. The flip side is: Love what you do, and you’ll never work a day in your life. This phrase suggests that the solution to work being drudgery is that it should be your passion and your identity. That notion also didn’t sit right with Groff. Many of the leaders shed worked with were pouring themselves into their work, but they were also sacrificing their health, sleep, and relationships, hoping for a reward that would come someday in the future. It seemed to me that the answer was somewhere in the middle, Groff says. Every day that I spend at work comes out of the finite bank of days that I have on the planet. What would it take to have fun today? If youre not having fun, Groff offers two places to start. Micro Acts of Mischief Too often, people feel they need to be their most buttoned-up, professional, palatable versions of themselves at work. But once we put on a business mask, we stifle all of our vitality, play, and joy, Groff says. Instead, introduce micro acts of mischief into the day. These are moments of diversion to the work culture or routine. If you have to adhere to a dress code, for example, wear some ridiculous socks. Or add a joke or ridiculous font to a presentation deck. Or literally mix things up, she suggests. One day we rearranged the office furniture, pulling comfy chairs over, so we could all hang out a little bit better, Groff says. The facilities team wasnt pleased with us, but it felt a little mischievous, sneaky, and fun in a way that made our team chuckle. Micro Acts of Connections You can also cultivate fun through micro acts of connections, including camaraderie and self-expression. Groff recommends sending a coworker a direct message or email, expressing appreciation for something they did. You can also ask a colleague to grab coffee. Make it light, she says. The idea is to gain a sense of the people you’re working with, knowing a little bit about their lives outside of work. Where do they live? Do they have a pet? Its getting to know them as a human and not just about the work at hand. Also, look for places to show your personality by putting your own stamp on your work. This isn’t just for creative marketing professionals, Groff says. A barista at a coffee shop can make latte art. Or a project manager can make a brilliant project timeline. How can you put your stamp on your work? Connection and self-expression humanize the workplace, Groff says. We should like the people that we’re spending our days with. Sometimes, we’re spending more time with our colleagues than our families or significant others.” Are We Having Fun Yet? Groff says you can usually tell if you’re having fun, and you can always tell if you’re not. It’s almost childlike in its sensibility. I define fun as a sense of play, experimentation, and vitality. My metric for the day is: How many minutes have I spent laughing? Dont confuse fun-looking workplaces with fun work, Groff adds. Theres a difference between thinking of fun as icing on the work cake, or fun as being the cake itself, she says. If we look at fun as the icing, thats where Ping-Pong tables or happy hour get a bad rap. You cannot fill your days with Ping-Pong and happy hour, or nothing gets done. Id also argue that is a superficial sliver of fun. Having fun at work is using your skills in a way that makes you feel good because you contributed and made an impact on customers, clients, or other parts of the organization. While there is a business argument for having more fun at work, such as increased productivity and performance, the existential argument is much stronger. If I’m a manager, I don’t want to end my career thinking, I really extracted every last hour from that employee or I made them perform better for the business, Groff says. I want to make sure that these humans have made good use of their days on the planet. That they’ve gotten to contribute joyfully and profoundly.
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E-Commerce
Morgan Lombardi, Keurigs senior director of product management, believes pod coffee makers have become too big, too mechanical, and maybe even a little bit ugly. Weve seen that coffee makers, including our own, have started to feel more and more like a machine, she says. They are also getting increasingly bigger while kitchens are getting progressively smaller. Which is why Keurig is introducing the K-Mini Mate, a 4-inch-wide brewer that costs $79.99 and launches exclusively at Target starting June 29.After seven years watching consumer behavior at Keurig, Lombardi tells me she observed that people were starting to view their morning brew routine as an obligation rather than a moment of pleasure. Her team discovered that consumers wanted their morning coffee ritual to feel like this wonderful little momentrather than a mechanical click-CLACK! chore. The coffee maker needed to be gentler to the eye and to the touch, and it also needed to be much smaller. Both were hard challenges, she says, because the current puncturing mechanisms for Keurigs brewers are too unwieldy to allow for a subtler, smaller design.[Photo: Keurig]The space problem drives everythingKitchen real estate drives modern appliance design decisions. Nobodys kitchen is getting any bigger, Lombardi explains. Yet, coffee makers remain essential equipment to turn on human brains in the morning, and they need to be there 24/7not taken out of a cabinet. They require permanent positioning, she says, creating a design constraint that forces manufacturers to think smaller.The most significant technical challenge to achieve the smaller footprint involved redesigning what Keurig calls the puncture mechanism. Standard Keurig brewers use a mechanical crunching motion to pierce K-Cup pods; a big handle pushes down to move the array of needles that open holes in that pod. If you have ever used a Keurig machine, it feels a little like pushing down the handle to turn off the Death Star. The standard Keurig mechanism feels like you are crunching something inside, Lombardi says.[Photo: Keurig]To enable the smaller brewer size, the puncturing mechanism needed to be much shorter: The space between the brewer mechanism and the bottom of the brewer needed to be able to fit a travel mug [around 7 inches], she says.[Photo: Keurig]They managed to reengineer the mechanism and change its position, which allowed them to get rid of the crunching handle and turn it into a flat surface that matches the cylindrical shape of its front. The new mechanism doesnt give you the same hard resistance as the previous one, which allowed Keurig to use soft-spring open and closing. She thinks that this alone creates a feeling thats more human, making the act of making coffee more like a soft handshake and less like destroying coffee pods inside a plastic crunching machine.[Photo: Keurig]A new design languageThe resulting machine is much more attractive. The design language features softer radius curves compared with Keurigs standard angular aesthetic. The brewer uses rubberized touchpoints alongside ABS plastic construction to make it feel softer to the touch, too. A small rubberized tab on the top helps you to take the water deposit out, requiring just a finger to easily remove the top. The water reservoir also sits flat on counters without tipping over, like a water jar.[Photos: Keurig]The resultavailable in black, red, and greenis a machine that brews up to 12 ounces of coffee and is about 33% smaller than Keurigs previous smallest model. One that, perhaps more importantly, doesnt look like your great aunts brewer from yesteryear, but like a modern piece of design.The companys research revealed that younger consumers entering the coffee-maker market prioritize simplicity and visual appeal over advanced features. Generation Z buyers need coffee makers for college or first apartments, but they dont have strong preferences about brewing functionality.[Photo: Keurig]According to Lombardi, consumer response has been great during testing. From initial foam prototypes through in-home use studies, people fell in love with this productand theyre saying, you know, its small. I havent seen anything like this. Its just really cute. When can I have it?She also tells me that the K-Mini Mate represents the first product in what will become Keurigs new visual brand language across its entire lineup. Keurig updates its visual brand language every five years to match shifting consumer preferences, she points out. Future models will incorporate similar aesthetic principles while adding features like larger water tanks. So, thats definitely good news for Keurig fans everywhere.
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E-Commerce
Fast Company recently posed the question: Why isnt your workplace wellness program reducing stress? The answer, as the article rightly pointed out, isnt about bad intentionsits about bad execution. Most wellness initiatives are still treating symptoms, not causes. But we need to go even deeper. Workplace wellness isnt failing because its frivolous. Its failing because employees arent engaging with it. Stressed and burned out Corporate America spends an estimated $65 billion a year on wellness perks, from mindfulness apps to meditation pods yet 77% of employees still report feeling stressed, and 82% say theyre at risk of burnout. In the largest academic study of U.S. programs, fewer than half of eligible employees ever engaged with the resources on offer (RAND Corporation). Digital-only benefits fare even worse: app sprawl and discovery fatigue mean that most perks are forgotten before theyre used. A meditation app buried in a browser tab cant move the needle on mental health, absenteeism, or retention. Its easy to blame employees for being disengaged, or to point fingers at toxic culture. But the truth is more subtleand more solvable. Complexity kills engagement When HR teams assemble a buffet of stand-alone appsfinancial coaching here, sleep tools there, therapy platforms somewhere elseevery login is another cognitive task. Overwhelmed workers dont skip your yoga discount because they dislike yoga. They skip it because they dont remember where the link lives. At YuLife, we partnered with the University of Essex to study this problem. We found that bundling insurance, rewards, virtual care, and micro-challenges into one gamified experience radically changed engagement patterns: Users take healthy actions on 20 of 30 days, double the norm 54% return monthly, 50% engage daily Daily steps rose 13%, equivalent to adding 4.5 years of life expectancy Self-reported stress dropped 53%, productivity rose 57% Crucially, activity inside the app predicted use of other benefits. Those included 4× more Employee Assistance Program utilization, 2.4× more virtual GP visits, an 11.5% drop in absenteeism, and a 2.75% drop in turnover Engagement is the missing variable Wellness programs arent underperforming because employees dont care. Theyre underperforming because the programs werent designed with real behavioral engagement in mind. Three blockers we can eliminate today: Perk fragmentationConsolidate your well-being tools. If it takes more than two clicks or logins, it’s too much. Build a single front door, ideally integrated where work already happens (Slack, Teams, a unified app). Slow-burn rewardsPoints that take months to redeem lose meaning. When users can swap earned coins for gift cards the same week, engagement jumps 30% and rises again with leaderboards or friendly duels. One-size-fits-all contentA new parent, a cyclist, and a burnt-out manager dont need the same nudges. Personalised AI-driven prompts that respond to user behaviour drive a 3x increase in healthy habits. Well-being is infrastructure, not a perk We often hear that wellness is hard to measure. But thats usually a reflection of low engagement, not flawed strategy. At 20% adoption, noise drowns out signals. At 50%+, the ROI becomes clear, including a 5% drop in claims costs for employers integrating preventive data into group-risk underwriting. If fewer than half your people open the app, the program doesnt work. No matter how many perks you fund. The takeaway? Treat well-being engagement as a performance indicator like churn, CSAT, or NPS. Then: Start with one frictionless entry point Deliver generous, rapid-fire rewards Use behavioral science (and yes, a little fun) to sustain momentum Track outcomes investors care about: utilisation, risk, absenteeism, retention We dont need more perks. We need platforms people actually use. And that starts by treating engagement as the product and not the afterthought.
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E-Commerce
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