The expertise available within the Gender Odyssey Conference is among the best in North America. Our experts come primarily from within our own gender communities. The many trailblazers who contribute their time and knowledge are the most valuable resource Gender Odyssey has to offer. The amazing presenters who are a part of Gender Odyssey’s programming each year make up a collective powerhouse of informed, dedicated, and history-making people. You won’t want to miss this powerful life-changing conference!
2012 Keynote Speakers
Gender Odyssey is pleased to bring you Janet Mock and Gene Tagaban to our 11th Anniversary Conference in Seattle, Washington. These two incredible speakers will surely be an inspiration to heart, intellect and soul throughout the conference weekend.
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| Janet Mock – Keynote Presenter 2012 | Gene Tagaban – Keynote Presenter 2012 |
Janet Mock, Associate Editor of PEOPLE.com, is a writer and advocate, who publicly stepped forward as a trans woman last spring in Marie Claire and a video testimony for the It Gets Better project. A native of Honolulu, Janet tells stories from her life on her blog Fish Food For Thought, hosts a relationships podcast called The Missing Piece and lives in New York City where she’s writing her forthcoming memoir Fish Food, about her adolescent journey beyond gender. She’s a graduate of New York University’s Masters program in journalism and holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Hawaii. www.janetmock.com
Gene Tagaban, back by popular demand, is a noted Tlingit storyteller and actor, sharing his wisdom and talent via dance, native flute and storytelling. His heritage is Cherokee, Tlingit and Filipino. Raised in Alaska, Gene has fifteen years experience as a trainer, counselor, motivator and speaker. He has uniquely integrated his interpersonal skills, Native American heritage and performance artistry with traditional training and counseling techniques to develop inspirational and results-oriented performances; presentations and personal growth work with youth, adolescents and adults. www.genetagaban.com
While our 2012 program is in the developing stages, please take a peak at last year’s speakers and presenters. These people helped make Gender Odyssey’s 10th anniversary conference truly powerful!
2011 Speakers and Presenters
Chaz Bono
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he only child of famed entertainers Sonny and Cher, Chaz Bono is an LGBT rights advocate, author, and speaker. Chaz recently began gender transition in the public eye, where he continues to impact change and create awareness and visibility for this cause. Chaz has written a new book, Transition: The Story of How I Became a Man, available this spring. He is profiled in the 2011 Sundance premier, Becoming Chaz, a powerful film documenting his gender transition. Chaz is a longtime activist for LGBT rights and a student at Antioch University. Chaz currently lives in Los Angeles with his partner, Jennifer Elia. www.chazbono.net
This is Chaz’ first time at Gender Odyssey and he will be hosting our Thursday evening’s meet & greet (August 4th.) Our kick off party starts early evening at The Garage, right next door to the Silver Cloud, in the fabulous Echo Room, so don’t miss it!
FRIDAY
Jana Marcus
Known for her compassionate and revealing photographic images of underground subcultures, acclaimed documentary photographer Jana Marcus brings to book format her award-winning work, Transfigurations, a startling and ground-breaking photographic series on the transgender community. Transfigurations explores transsexuals and their notions of masculinity and femininity as they change gender identities. Discovering that gender is both real and illusory, natural and constructed, Marcus’ photographs shed light on the transformation from one sex/gender to another. Jana received her MFA from San Jose State University, a BA in Community Studies from the University of California at Santa Cruz, and studied photography at The School Of Visual Arts in New York City. www.janamarcus.com
Cheryl Kilodavis
Of African American and Caucasian heritage, Cheryl Kilodavis is a published author, strategic marketer, and social entrepreneur. The process of accepting both of her sons’ interests and passions lead Cheryl to write My Princess Boy. It is the story of a boy who likes pretty things the color pink, sparkly dresses, and ballet tutus. The book’s strong anti-bullying message went viral on the Internet, catching the attention of national and international media. Originally written to explain her younger son’s uniqueness to teachers and fellow students, My Princess Boy became more than just a message for them it became a movement of acceptance for every child who has ever felt left out or misunderstood just because they’re different. Cheryl has a Bachelor of Science in Business from the University of the Pacific, and an MBA from Seattle University. www.myprincessboy.com
Dean Spade
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ean Spade is an Assistant Professor at Seattle University School of Law. He teaches Administrative Law, Poverty Law, Law and Social Movements and Critical Perspectives on Transgender Law. In 2002, Dean founded the Sylvia Rivera Law Project, a non-profit law collective that provides free legal services to transgender, intersex and gender non-conforming people who are low-income and/or people of color. While working at SRLP, Dean also taught classes focusing on sexual orientation, gender identity and law at Columbia and Harvard Law Schools. www.deanspade.net
Workshop Presenters and Facilitators
Carol Ann Aldrich earned a masters degree through an interrelated arts project entitled “A Creative Journey into a Wholistic Approach to Dance” (1984). She studied dance therapy at JFK University. For the past twenty-five years she’s taught academic subjects in a high school independent studies program. Tango has taught her to listen, to slow down, and to be a compassionate community member.
Claire Avitabile is the executive artistic director and founder of the 20% Theatre Company and has been living in the Twin Cities for over five years.
Lyle Blake is a longtime member and active supporter of the queer community. He is a cofounder of the Gender Identity Foundation for Transmen (GIFT). He has been a facilitator and presenter at Gender Odyssey since 2005, and has presented workshops at Forge Forward, IDKE, Philly Trans Health Conference, and Southern Comfort. His essay “My Life is Fine” is included in the 2010 FTM anthology Letters for My Brothers. He’s also a tango dancer.
Jaison Briar is the founder of the Seattle Street Youth Empowerment Project, a weekend drop-in space run by street youth, for street youth. Formerly homeless and a longtime advocate for homeless youth, he brings several years of presenting and organizing experience to the organizations with which he works.
Talcott Broadhead, MSW, is a genderqueer social worker and faculty member who provides gender justice advocacy and therapeutic services to transgender and non-binary individuals and communities. Talcott provides professional trainings and consultation to service providers, schools, and institutions, to increase their competency in serving trans/non-binary clientele as well. Talcott is a violence prevention specialist and currently coordinates The Evergreen State College Office of Sexual Assault and Violence Prevention, and is also a Gender Studies faculty member.
Michael Brown is cofounder and executive director of TransMentors International Inc., a nonprofit organization that provides support in the trans community with mentoring, emergency assistance, housing, and more. TransMentors also provides TransForm Community—educational and advocacy events in U.S. cities. Michael is actively involved in several local trans-related groups, including moderating local “co-ed” trans support groups, and H.O.P.E. House, a Safe House for trans-identified people in Phoenix.
Dr. Michael L. Brownstein is a board certified plastic surgeon and a member of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. He specializes in plastic, reconstructive, and gender-related surgery. Dr. Brownstein has been performing female-to-male chest reconstructive procedures for almost thirty years and his practice is exclusively limited to this surgery. He performs approximately 200 of these procedures annually.
Calvin Burnap has been working with trans and queer individuals as an organizer and service provider for several years. Calvin’s ethos are to work for the empowerment of trans people, particularly the promotion of transfeminine space anew and within existing spaces.
Chris Burns was the founder and president of the Seattle University Trans and Allies club for two years. During that time he provided intersectional programming concerning the transgender community that addressed class, race, differently-abledness, etc. During that time, he created the “Transgender Safe Space Training” for Transgender Awareness Week in an effort to reach out to future allies.
Patrick Callahan is self-employed as a consultant for The Seven-Point Star Group and is an experienced speaker who has presented to national and international public and private audiences. He currently sits on the board of directors of TransMentors International and TCOPS International. His education includes a BA in Philosophy from Michigan State University and a MS in Criminology from the University of Pennsylvania. He is also a former career U.S. Marine.
A. Canelli has been working with gender variant and trans individuals for the last nine years. Canelli’s ethos are to spend the rest of this life promoting autonomy for gender variant/queer/trans people and to promote transfeminine space anew and within existing spaces.
Remy Corso is finishing a degree in Gender, Women, and Sexuality Studies and Studies in Cinema and Media Culture at the University of Minnesota. He plans to continue graduate work on representations of gender in film with the goal of one day teaching Queer Theory and Queer and Trans Cinema. A founding member of the Twin Cities Trans March Collective in 2007, Remy is currently also co-chair of the Minnesota Transgender Health Coalition.
Dr. Trystan Cotten is a professor of gender studies, a former phalloplasty patient of Dr. Perovic in Serbia, and the coeditor of Hung Jury: Testimonies of Genital Surgery by Transsexual Men, due to be released in 2011.
Andree Culpepper—mixed-race, femme, survivor, artist—has never stopped her exploration into the ever-personal what-makes-us-tick journey that those less brave hearted might find daunting. Andree enjoys the symbiosis that occurs when her talents, labor, and passion all combine to benefit Gender Odyssey. You’ll likely find her in any conversation that delves beneath the surface of race and gender. She lives, works, organizes, and plays in Portland, Oregon.
Logan De Ley is an adult adoptee who is currently in the process of reconnecting with his biological parents. Logan began his transition in 1986, and became involved in the FTM community in the San Francisco bay area in 2003. He has faciliated support groups, discussions, and presentations for FTMI and the Lou Sullivan Society.
Mitchel Cole Dubin-Bresnikar and Jonas David Dubin-Bresnikar are two transguys who have been in a relationship together for over seven years. Each took different paths to transition at different times during their relationship. This will be the second time Jonas and Mitchel are facilitating a workshop at Gender Odyssey about trans-on-trans relationships. Prior to this they both had extensive experience presenting and facilitating events—Mitchel primarily in the SM community and Jonas through work for Youth For Understanding, an organization for international youth exchange.
Heather D Eslien, MA, LMHCA, is a licensed mental health counselor associate in Seattle and a graduate of Antioch University. As a proud member of the LGBTQ community she serves, her work with gender variant folk remains a special focus. She embraces a Buddhist/Mindfulness approach to therapy, incorporating the deep connection between body, mind, and spirit.
Duncan Gibbs is a corporate web producer by day and art student by night. He’s been an LGBTQ community activist in the past with Queer Nation, GLAAD and CUAV (Community United Against Violence). He lives in Seattle with his partner and hopes to help foster community with other transgender artists.
Jane Goto has over twenty years experience as a corporate trainer and adult educator. She draws on her personal experience of “growing up intersexed” in her popular guest presentations at local campuses. In her role as first responder for the Intersex Society of North America and an international diagnoses-specific support group, Jane has assisted adults, teens, and families dealing with the secrecy, lies, trauma, and shame traditionally associated with an intersex diagnosis.
Jaime M. Grant, PhD, is the ED of the Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership. Jaime has worked for over twenty years with a variety of national and international organizations focused on social justice and human rights. Jaime served as director of the Policy Institute at the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. Her recent work at the Task Force has included a national Census advocacy campaign and a policy paper on issues of aging facing the LGBT aging community.
Marcus Greatheart, MSW, hails from Vancouver, Canada, where he provides individual and couples counseling, as well as professional consultation, in the areas of sexuality and gender. His master’s thesis focused on mental health and wellness among transmen, and is available for free online through the University of British Columbia website. Marcus is will attend medical school at McMaster University near Toronto later this year.
Jamison Green is a San Francisco-based author and educator, and internationally recognized as a leader in transgender law, policy, theory, and education. Green’s work was crucial to achieving transgender-inclusive health coverage for the employees of the City and County of San Francisco in 2001, as well as for employees at numerous corporations. Green serves on the boards of several nonprofits, including the World Professional Association for Transgender Health, TransYouth Family Allies, and the Transgender Law & Policy Institute.
Jordan Harrington has self-published three books in a niche market in the past six years, with the most popular title having sold over 30,000 copies. He was an invited speaker at the first Instock Conference for Self-Publishers in 2009, and his publishing company was referenced in the 2008 book Top Self-Publishing Firms. He holds a degree in philosophy from Michigan State University and is currently writing his first novel.
Jody Helfand has an MA in English and an MFA in Creative Writing. He has over fifty publications in poetry and prose and has written two books: Places Male And Female—a book of poems about his gender change, and The FTM Sex Guide. On his webpage, www.jodyrosehelfand.com, he writes a blog combining thought science and transition issues.
Dj. Hicks lives in Vancouver, BC, Canada. He shares a blessed life with his lovely companion, Susan. He is the creator and manufacturer of the premiere stp device, the PPP-pissin’, passin’, packer. Dj. has been making this product and assisting transmen at urinals around the world for over nine years now. When not playing with his dicks, Dj. earns his living as a pyrotechnician, stage manager, production worker, and technical assistant for special events.
Peggy Holman, Seattle-based author and consultant, has helped explore a nascent field of social technologies that engage “whole systems” of people from organizations and communities in creating their own future. In The Change Handbook, 2nd edition, she and her coauthors profile sixty-one change processes. Her award-winning book, Engaging Emergence: Turning Upheaval Into Opportunity, dives beneath these processes to make visible deeper patterns, principles, and practices for change to guide us through turbulent times.
Michael Huffington works part-time as a wellness coach for the YMCA, and is studying to be a Doctor of Physical Therapy. He believes that exercise is medicine and is very interested in wellness promotion within the trans community.
Lucien Justice is a transgender male sex worker, exploring the fringes of sexuality and gender dynamics of a more or less mainstream male population.
Zander Keig, a happily married transsexual man, is a full-time MSW student at San Diego State University. He has been engaged in advocacy, activism, mentoring, and education on LGBT topics since 1987. Recently, Zander coedited Letters for My Brothers: Transitional Wisdom in Retrospect, a collection of stories written by twenty-four transsexual men about their transition journeys (available here.) Keig is also coeditor of Hung Jury: Testimonies of Genital Surgery by Transsexual Men due to be released in 2011.
Mara Keisling is the founding executive director of the National Center for Transgender Equality. She is considered one of the foremost authorities on discrimination against transgender people in the United States, and has almost twenty-five years of professional experience in social marketing and opinion research. A Pennsylvania native and a transgender woman, Mara completed her undergraduate studies at Penn State University and did her graduate work at Harvard University in American Government.
Megan Kennedy has worked with young people in East King County since 1997. Most recently, Megan has been a youth and family counselor and coordinator of the B-GLAD support group for LGBTQ and questioning youth at Youth Eastside Services.
Kristen Knapick, MA, LMHCA, is a mental health counselor associate in private practice in Seattle. She specializes in working with those for whom
kink/poly/sex work/queerness/gender variance are a part of life. Her lengthy experience as a member of all of these communities gives her a unique, nonjudgmental perspective. Go to reThinkTherapy.wordpress.com for info on her practice.
Kai Kohlsdorf is a PhD student at the University of Washington, studying transgender sexuality. He works closely with tm4m in San Francisco and is a sex-positive activist in the trans community. Kai has presented at several trans conferences as well as women’s studies conferences on the topics of sex, trans, and genderqueer identities.
Lisette Lahana, LCSW, is a queer-identified psychotherapist who has worked with gender variant youth, trans people, their partners, and family members for over twelve years. She currently runs a therapy group for female partners of transmen in her private practice in Oakland, CA.
Kari Lerum is an associate professor of Interdisciplinary Arts & Sciences & Cultural Studies at the University of Washington, Bothell, and an adjunct professor in Gender, Women, and Sexuality Studies at the University of Washington, Seattle. Her research and teaching focuses on the intersections of sexuality, institutions, and culture. She is a longtime advocate for sexual rights, anti-oppression work, and the rights of sex workers.
Qian Li is a transmasculine, 1.5-generation Chinese immigrant and agent of transformation. In music composition he designs performance frameworks to investigate alternatives to structures of oppression by mobilizing the audience. In March he produced a workshop to access conventionally silenced Asian-American voices through a new work for gamelan and taiko and group movement and rhythm games, funded by a Leeway Foundation Art and Change Grant. He founded and runs Feedback Circle, a national, multidisciplinary, peer-feedback group.
Dr. Tony Mangubat is a graduate of the University of Washington Medical School and studied general surgery at the University of Kentucky. Dr. Mangubat performs a full spectrum of cosmetic procedures including chest reconstruction for FTM patients. Dr. Mangubat has served as a trustee of the American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery, chairman of the American Board of Cosmetic Surgery Review, and president of the International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery. See www.southcentercosmetic.com for the full resume of Dr. Mangubat.
Kory Martin-Damon was born in Matanzas, Cuba, and immigrated to the United States (Florida) in the late 1960s. Kory transitioned to male in the 1980s and then re-transitioned to female when she turned forty. If there is one thing Kory knows it’s that she doesn’t know gender and only guesses and plays along as the occasion calls for. Kory spends most of her time at work (groan!) being an adjudicator for employment security in the state of Washington.
“Shihan” Mac S McGregor’s martial arts career began at the age of seven when he joined a self-defense class in elementary school. Having over thirty-eight years experience, he currently serves as headmaster of McGregor’s Martial Arts. Mac is one of only a handful of martial artists to be awarded the rank of tenth degree in a traditional Okinawan / Japanese martial art and holds the rank of fourth degree or higher in seventeen different traditional styles of martial arts.
Terra McKeown is a social worker advocating and caregiving for people with developmental disabilities, a bodyworker and writer. Ze sits on the board of Bent Arts and is building up a bodywork practice with an aim to provide healing for trans people and people with disabilities. When not busy with work, school, massage, writing, helping to organize Gender Odyssey, and generally having a good time around Seattle, Terra enjoys yoga, bellydance, and lounging in the sun. The latter, of course, happens far too infrequently in this town.
Julian Melson worked many male-dominated jobs in the field of construction prior to transitioning in 2006. Two years ago he faced the prospect of working a new job with a primarily all-male crew. Not being socialized as male but being seen as one brought up a lot of fears. Now, two years later, Julian would like to share how he addressed those fears, how things played out, and where he’s at with those same fears now.
Theresa Melson is the wife of a transman and identifies as bisexual. They met four years ago, before Julian started his transition. Wanting to be supportive, she accompanied him to support groups and was disappointed to find a lack of support for partners. She was further saddened to learn that most relationships don’t survive a gender transition. She is eager to share her experience, strength, and hope with regard to this incredible journey. Julian and Theresa are married and live in Phoenix, AZ. They are both active members in twelve-step recovery from drugs and alcohol.
Dr. Toby Meltzer graduated from LSU Medical School in 1983 and is board certified in General and Plastic Surgery. He is an active member of the American Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons. He began private practice in 1996 in Portland, Oregon, before moving to Scottsdale, Arizona, in 2003. Dr. Meltzer handles approximately 200 genital reconstruction surgery cases per year. He performs both MTF and FTM genital reconstruction surgery, facial feminization, body contouring, chest surgery, and repairs/revisions. www.tmeltzer.com
Lisa Mottet is the director of the Transgender Civil Rights Project at the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, which she has led since 2001. Lisa assists transgender activists and allies with transgender-related legislation and policy, with a focus on passing anti-discrimination laws. Lisa coauthored “Transitioning Our Shelters: A Guide to Making Homeless Shelters Safe for Transgender People,” and “Opening the Door to the Inclusion of Transgender People: A Guide to Making LGBT Organizations Fully Trans-Inclusive.”
michael munson is the founding executive director of FORGE, a Milwaukee-based national organization focusing on the impact of trauma/violence and aging on transgender/SOFFA individuals and communities. munson’s work on violence against transgender individuals is groundbreaking, stressing the intersectionality between complex components of identity, experience, and societal constructs that both spur violence and catalyze healing. He is deeply committed to bridging fragmented communities and engaging professionals to embrace these complexities and learn key skills to better serve their constituents.
Anthony Neuman, self-identified “mid-op” FTM, has been seen on stage with 20% Theatre Company in Standards of Care and The Naked I: Monologues from Beyond the Binary. Also a writer/playwright, Anthony has written SurvivedBY, a documentary play about HIV/AIDS, and Artichoke Hearts, which received its world premiere in January. Anthony currently works at Bridges to Safety, helping to support victims of domestic violence.
Niko is an Ohio-born and raised-queer trans person who moved to San Francisco. He is a Psychology graduate of Antioch College. He started his high school Gay Straight Alliance (GSA). College afforded him the opportunity to work in various nonprofits across the country, present workshops on issues of sexuality and gender, be certified as a sex educator with San Francisco Sex Information, and do research. Currently he is the program assistant for TRANS: THRIVE in San Francisco.
Annalise Ophelian, PsyD, is a queer- and femme-identified, San Francisco-based psychologist, consultant, and trans ally. She has a background in LGBT-community mental health and is currently a postdoctoral fellow in forensic psychology with a private sector agency, providing psychological assessment, mental health, and substance abuse treatment to recently incarcerated individuals who are on federal probation or state parole.
Sid Peterson has worked as a youth rights advocate and direct service provider in the Seattle area for over a decade. Sid is a documentary video producer focusing on educational projects.
Jake Pyne is a trans activist and dad in Toronto, Canada. Jake’s work has centered around access to services for trans people through The 519 Community Centre, the FTM Shelter Research Project, and the Trans PULSE Project. He was the 2010 Community-Based Research Trainee with the Centre for the Study of Gender, Social Inequities, and Mental Health, and recently coordinated the Transforming Family study and the resulting video project.
Allyson Robinson graduated from West Point, served as an Army officer, earned a Divinity degree from Baylor University, and pastored churches on two continents. In 2008, she was appointed Associate Director of Diversity at the Human Rights Campaign. She’s proudest, though, of her “thrilling” seventeen-year marriage and her four “mind-bogglingly well-adjusted” children. She has served on the boards of the International Foundation for Gender Education, the Association of Welcoming and Affirming Baptists, and Knights Out.
Ryan Sallans is a full-time public speaker who has spent the past six years sharing his transition from female to male with audiences nationwide. His story is shared with an intermixing of humor and intricate clinical details surrounding the transition process. His transition, media appearances, blogs, and book publishing status are all documented on his website.
Edna Seay Hicks is the loving mother of three children, two sons and a daughter. She gave birth to one son and two daughters. She is the grandmother of three and great grandmother of one. She resides in Huntsville, Alabama. She attended her first Gender Odyssey conference in 2009. She wanted to create a workshop in which others could share their experiences. Her son Dj. Hicks is well known for his stp (stand to pee) device.
Erica Sekins (ES) is a disability and queer activist and educator. Currently pursuing a master’s in public administration at the University of Washington, ES is a graduate student assistant at the UW’s Q Center. ES serves on Seattle’s Commission for People with Disabilities, and has served as president of UW’s Disability Advocacy Student Alliance and director of the ASUW Student Disability Commission.
Beth Sheppard grew up in Berkeley, California, and lived abroad for a few years before settling in Oregon with Marty Wilder. She teaches English to international university students.
Megan Smith, MS, LMHP, CPC, is a psychotherapist in private practice in Omaha, Nebraska. Her background includes experience working with domestic violence, homelessness, sexual abuse, sexual offending, trauma recovery, HIV/AIDS, substance abuse, and individuals involved in the sex trade. Megan specializes in working with queer communities, is a member of the World Professional Association for Transgender Health, and, along with her partner, Ryan, cofounded the Professional Transgender Resource Network.
Jace Dylan Starrett is a queer transman who adores his PFLAG-going, rainbow-flag waving, trans-loving mom and dad. He’s an Evergreen graduate from Olympia, Washington, who spends his days working as an advocate for survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault. His long-term goals include becoming a nurse practitioner to provide trans-competent healthcare in his community.
Jeri Starrett is an activist for social justice for members of the queer community. As a board member of Bellevue PFLAG and volunteer on the Pride Foundation Scholarship Committee, you may find her writing letters, signing petitions, attending events, and sharing with others that she is so proud of her son who happens to be a transman. She is making the transition journey alongside her son and has been deeply enriched through the process.
Paul M. Steinwald, MD, is a plastic surgeon in the Chicago area who is board certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery and the American Board of Surgery. He underwent advanced training in California and has extensive experience in modern reconstructive procedures for transmen.
Bree Sutherland is the group facilitator for the Montana Gender Alliance in three cities across Montana. She has worked with the University of Montana’s Lambda Alliance, the UM Women’s Resource Center, and the University of Montana Department of Women’s and Gender Studies to provide trans-inclusive LGBTQQI-based events. Bree also serves on the board of directors for the Western Montana Gay & Lesbian Community Center and is the executive director of MontanaTDOR (Trans Day of Remembrance).
Justin Tanis is currently the communications director of Out & Equal. He has worked in transgender and LGBT organizations for close to twenty-five years as a community organizer, leader, educator, and program specialist, most recently for the National Center for Transgender Equality in Washington, DC. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Mount Holyoke College, a master’s degree from Harvard University, and a doctorate from San Francisco Theological Seminary.
Johann vanOverbeek is a peer counselor and group facilitator for Identity House, a nonprofit, all-volunteer organization that provides peer counseling, group support, and therapy referrals to members of the LGBT community of New York City who are struggling with issues of sexuality, alienation, relationships, and family.
Michelle Walks is a queer femme, partner to a transman, and “Momma” to their almost four-year-old son. She is also a PhD student at the University of British Columbia Okanagan. Michelle’s passions are anthropology, mothering, and queer reproductive health.
Lukas Walther spent his early teens solo, roaming several continents by thumb, later living rough year-round in the wilds of British Columbia, working odd jobs, developing trade and people skills. Post-transition he focused on carpentry and construction until eventually resuming urban front-line counseling and advocacy work. Day-to-day life, as well as cross-cultural travel, continues to force him to face complex and unnerving gender-specific situations, providing interesting and surprising post-transition observations.
Dr. Burt Webb is a graduate of Stanford University and Tulane Medical School. Married with four children and living in Scottsdale, Arizona, Dr Webb is in private practice as an obstetrician and gynecologist with several areas of special interest. These include FTM surgery and laparoscopic surgery. He has been involved in transgender care and has been lecturing at conferences for over seven years.
Marty Wilder is a newly licensed Advanced Mathematics teacher in the State of Oregon. He has been living as a man for over ten years and is the father of two children aged ten and eleven. He is happily married to Beth Sheppard.
Jay Williams is a gender agitator who works on creating safe spaces for youth and adults who don’t fit into rigid societal gender norms. In his day job, Jay works with trans, genderqueer, queer, and questioning adolescents in San Francisco, through Community Health Programs for Youth (SFDPH). Jay teaches about transgender experience in substance abuse treatment and inequities in health and mental health care, while reminding providers that working with transgender clients and patients isn’t rocket science.
André Wilson consults with employers, advocates, and health professionals seeking to provide trans-inclusive health services and workplace benefits. A senior associate at Jamison Green & Associates, André serves on the Ann Arbor Human Rights Commission, the Michigan Dept. of Community Health Family Planning Advisory Council, and the Dept. of Education Sexual Minority Youth Working Group. André holds an MS in Environment and Behavior Studies and is pursuing an MSW in Health Policy.
Nadja Dee Witherbee, from southern California, is an SDSU Telecommunications & Film graduate. She spent twelve years working in film production, a Local 600 Camera Union member. Credits include Sweet Valley High, Renegade, Indictment: The McMartin Trial, Wishmaster, Falling Sky, and Inlaws & Outlaws. Her LGBT credits include the Ingersoll Gender Center, Lambert House, Reel Queer Youth, the Board of Directors for Camp Ten Trees, and Three Dollar Bill Translations Film Programmer. She loves husband David and two furry daughters Noa and Nico.
