A gifted manager and organizer with a strong grasp of both fundamentals and abstract needs.
Sociologist & Psychologist. Recognized expert on Trans Lives. US Army Veteran. Mother. Grandmother. Widow. Fearless Advocate, Activist, and Community Organizer. Powerful speaker, lecturer, and presenter.
Creator and co-Founder of The Trans 100, a celebrated collection of activists and advocates doing difficult but critical work in the world. Recognized by the White House for this effort.
I have direct service to over 8,000 distinct trans and gender diverse persons, with over 15,000 additional indirect encounters.
I am the Executive Director of the Trans 100, the Trans Services Director for TransVillage Health, and currently I am the Director of Trans Services for Borrego Health. I am the Former Executive Director and Chair of the Board of This Is HOW, at one point the largest trans service organization in the state of Arizona., based in Phoenix Arizona. Chief Executive Officer of Transcentrism, Inc.
I serve on the Inland Empire HIV Planning Council. I have worked with the White House, the United Nations (WHO, Human Rights and Women’s Rights), and I am recognized as an expert on the lives of trans and gender diverse people. I am the TGNC Consultant for BIOS Research. I serve on the Research Advisory Councils of HARP-PS and TransHealth Northampton. I consult with county, city, and state agencies on Trans and gender diverse needs, challenges, issues, and research.
By training, I am a sociologist and psychologist, with degrees from the University of Arizona. My speaking style is interactive, humorous, and fun, intended to provoke laughter and thought in a situation that is often uncomfortable and sometimes unwelcome for attendees. I am focused on issues of Diversity, Equity, Equality, Inclusion, and the healthcare of trans and gender diverse persons. I operate and educate intersectionally, throughout the realm of Public Health.
My standard rate is $500 an hour, two hour minimum, plus travel expenses (which can be waived or split). I develop systems, policies, and tools to enable companies, organizations, and groups develop effective, efficient structures and awareness around an intersectional approach to trans cultural competency.
I prefer to tailor my engagements to the audience I am dealing with, be it helping to formulate policy or law, speaking on Trans related issues, or guiding a collaborative effort to oppose injustice.
As the former Executive Director and Chair of the Board of This Is HOW, at one point the largest trans service organization in the state of Arizona, I did the following:
- Provided direct services to over 3500 transgender persons over a six year period, indirect service to approximately 5000 more.
- Conceived, executed, and completed the single largest trans related fundraising drive in Arizona history, raising over $125,000 in less than 90 days.
- Organized and oversaw the largest gathering of attendees for The Transgender Day of Remembrance in Phoenix for two years in a row.
- Developed and strengthened partnerships with multiple service Agencies and non profit organizations throughout the Valley of the Sun.
- Started the basis of what became the largest collection of support groups in the Phoenix metro area.
- Developed, coached, and encouraged youth and adult activists and advocates.
- Organized a broad range of support groups relating to substance abuse and homelessness mitigation. In a two year period, over 60% success rate.
- Created personal and professional development programs. Created and presented the first broad Trans History program in the state.
- Organized and guided national, statewide, and local efforts among disparate organizations, trans and otherwise, in resistance to state legislation often branded “papers to pee”, successfully lobbying to have it denied by the Governor.
In my current role I have
- built from scratch an effective care system serving over 1200 distinct trans people from ages 9 to 78.
- Improved health plan benefits for managed Medicaid Programs
- Conceived, pitched, and developed a capacity building program that was funded.
- Structured data collection to improve systems for TGD healthcare
- Changed the status of trans care regionally, through provision of training and education to community partner agencies
- Organized with a team of volunteers the first Inland Region Gender Health Conference
- Formed the TGD Collaborative, uniting TGD leaders across the region
- Expanded services and needed resources throughout the region for TGD persons
I was born in 1965, I have five children, I live in the Coachella Valley with the 17 year old Hellyeah and the 2 year old April, my dogs.
My passion, drive, and commitment is exceptional, and you can often find me moderating the largest online gathering of behavioral health, medical, social, and public health practitioners and researchers centered around trans and gender diverse people at International Transgender Health on Facebook.
Prior to the above, I worked for Best Buy and Mervyn’s in a variety of management positions, and did extensive volunteer work in political efforts for a party to remain unnamed.
You must be logged in to post a comment.