About BUFF FAYE

Buff Faye is proud to be an active, visible leader and does drag as a way to raise money for local and national charities. She is the number one “charity queen” raising money for Campus Pride, Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, RAIN, Twirl to the World Foundation as well as many other local charities.  In 2012, Buff was chosen as Creative Loafing's "Best of the Best" Drag Entertainer and Q-Notes Best of Charlotte Drag Queen.  Her drag brunch was chosen in 2020 for Charlotte Magazine's Best of the Best Award for "Best Drag Brunch" and in 2022 by Elevate Magazine as the "#1 Best of the Best" Drag Show.  For five years she wrote a monthly column “Dishing with Buff Faye” for Q-Notes Carolinas newspaper and is the only drag queen to be featured on both front page/covers of Creative Loafing and The Charlotte Observer.  Currently, Buff Faye has her own podcast twice a month on the Queen City Podcast Network with her sidekick Funsize.

Since Buff started doing drag in 2008, she has accomplished many things including being crowned 2019 National Entertainer of the Year and competing in the Miss Gay America placing 5th alternate in 2022.  Buff also won the 2022 Miss Gay Southern America and the regional title of 2018 Miss Gay SouthEast America and finished as second alternate at National Entertainer of the Year in 2018.   She is a former 2017 North Carolina Entertainer of the Year, FI  Prior to this, Buff was a former Miss Charlotte Pride and Miss Hideaway At Large.

Out of drag, Buff Faye is better known as Shane Windmeyer, the founder/executive director of Campus Pride, the leading national non-profit organization benefiting LGBTQ youth nation-wide on college campuses. He is also a nationally recognized speaker, educator and best-selling author of six books including The Advocate College Guide for LGBT Students, Out on Fraternity Row, Brotherhood and Secret Sisters. 

Windmeyer has been featured on IN THE LIFE TV and his work has been the focus of national attention from CNN, Good Morning America, MSNBC’s The Situation with Tucker Carlson, The New York Times, Rolling Stone, OUT Magazine, The Advocate National Gay & Lesbian News Magazine and TIME Magazine. 

Windmeyer has a masters degree in higher education and student affairs from Indiana University and a bachelor’s degree in communications from Emporia State University.

Photo credit: Roxy Taylor Photography