Cesar Toledo Named to Out Magazine’s Out100 List

The Annual Issue Honors Changemakers in the LGBTQ+ Community Across Entertainment, Politics, Activism, Sports, and More

Cesar Toledo is the executive director of the Wanda Alston Foundation, which provides housing and support to unhoused LGBTQ+ young people in Washington, D.C. With steep cuts to corporate DEI funding, FEMA food and shelter grants, and the federal workforce, it’s been a tough year.

But Toledo — a Latino gay activist who helped launch Out for Harris-Walz, an LGBTQ+ outreach initiative that engaged over 2 million voters in the 2024 presidential election — was up for the challenge. He created new programs like Slay & Sauté, a culinary training program for residents, with help from Wegmans and DC Front Runners. The sweet smell of success was creating “delicious air fryer chicken wings and laughter over stories about burning rice,” he recalls. “It was about more than learning to cook; it was about joy, confidence, and community.”

Toledo’s only begun to slay. “The next chapter of my work is about transformation,” he says. “Not just shelter, but belonging. Queer youth deserve more than just survival. They deserve the opportunity to flourish, to dream boldly, and to live without fear. I’m building toward that future. And I’m just getting started.”

Read more in Out Magazine here.