Shannon Minter

In a dozen years with the center, he has become known for his tireless work on precedent-setting cases. This year, he helped make history as one of the lead attorneys in the same-sex marriage case, successfully arguing before the state Supreme Court that it's unconstitutional to discriminate against gay and lesbian couples by denying them the right to marry. Minter also may have been the first transgender person to argue at the state's high court. Although when asked, Minter never fails to credit the many other attorneys who worked on the case and the courageous same-sex couples who challenged the marriage ban.