Wyn Wylie, whose drag queen name is “Pattie Gonia,” has been named a “Traveler of the Year” by National Geographic.
“Artist, environmentalist, and drag queen Wyn Wiley—known professionally as Pattie Gonia—helps LGBTQ+ youth discover the wonders of the outdoors,” an article from National Geographic reads. “As founder of the nonprofit Outdoorist Oath, she brings the queer community together in the parks and wild spaces of Oregon, her home state.”
“Her feel-good music videos address environmental justice and pride in identity, and include collaborators such as cellist Yo-Yo Ma and Indigenous trans musician Quinn Christopherson.”
“Every year my community fundraises to send 10 queer youth on a fully scholarshipped backpacking trip,” Wylie told the outlet. “One of the attendees told me and the group around the fire, ‘Being on this trip has helped me reclaim a childhood I didn’t get to have.’ That’s everything to me.”
Others on the “Traveler of the Year list” were Dolly Parton, a disabled skier, and a culinary documentarian.
Wylie was previously part of outdoor brand The North Face’s Summer of Pride tour.
The advertisement invited viewers to “come out” to celebrate the Pride tour in Salt Lake City, Utah, and Atlanta, Georgia.
North Face’s website explained the collection: “Each one of us is a reflection of the glittery, messy, beautiful diversity that is Mother Earth. This Pride, we celebrate the transformational power of finding our runway in the outdoors together.”
“We roar. We heal. We become,” the site added. “Mother Nature guides us to where we need to be–and we dress up to honor her.”
