FEATURED SPEAKERS & WORKSHOP FACILITATORS
André Pérez, Director / Producer of America in Transition EPISODES AVAILABLE FOR SCREENING EP1: LEARNING TO RECOGNIZE MYSELF AGAIN Little Rock: The threat of violence is an everyday experience for trans people. When Tiommi Luckett’s worst fears come true, she struggles to reconnect with the bold, adventurous woman she’s always been against a backdrop of selfimposed isolation. Episode addresses HIV criminalization, sexual violence, and healing from trauma.
André Pérez is a mixed-race transgender oral historian, educator, filmmaker, and community organizer who founded the Transgender Oral History Project in 2007. He created a traveling multimedia historical exhibit about trans activism in 2009. André’s videos have been featured at the Chicago History Museum and Philadelphia Folklore Center. André recorded 500 interviews for StoryCorps, including 50 segments that aired on NPR and WBEZ. Summer 2016, Pérez released Been T/Here, a docuseries about trans people of color in Chicago focusing on love, creativity, and healing, on Open TV. André currently works as Director of Marketing and Communications at Trans Lifeline.
Tiommi Luckett, Storyteller & Advisory Board Member
EP2: A FAMILY MATTER Milwaukee: Dezjorn is a pretty boy. After modeling from infancy, his mother struggles to understand why her child wanted to become a man. Even as he became a transgender public figure, he hid his gender identity from his mom. Now they are trying to understand one another before it’s too late. Episode addresses family acceptance, media literacy, race, and social transitioning.
Tiommi Luckett is a Black transgender woman. Former co-director the Arkansas Transgender Equality Coalition, she advocates for the liberation of trans & GNC people, prioritizing the decriminalization of HIV, decriminalization of survival sex work, affordable housing, equal opportunity employment, comprehensive healthcare and HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment. Luckett works nationally with Positively Trans under the tutelage of the Transgender Law Center, blogs for A Girl Like Me, is a Community Advisory Board member of The Well Project, sits on the Steering Committee of the US PLHIV Caucus, and is part of Positive Women’s Network-USA.
IN DEVELOPMENT (COMING SUMMER 2017)
Dezjorn Gauthier, Storyteller & Advisory Board Member
EP3: LEGISLATING HATE North Carolina: Unspoken tension explodes when North Carolina law makers pass the most regressive law in 50 years. Follow residents as they fight the bill while dealing with the new reality it brought. Episode addresses civil rights and history. IN DEVELOPMENT (COMING FALL 2017) EP4: DETAINED WITH APATHY Arizona: A decade ago, a trans woman named Victoria testified to a congressional committee about the mistreatment and abuse she suffered in an immigrant detention facility. Learn about what has and has not changed in that time and what you can do to support Latina immigrants today. Episode addresses civil rights, trans history, and immigration. EP5: MOVING FORWARD, LOOKING BACK Wisconsin: Part Ogibwe and part Onieda, Ty Defoe grew up on a reservation. He was mentored since youth to become the only hoop dancer from his tribe, reminding humans of their connection to the Great Mystery. Join Ty as he attends Bay Area American Indian Two-Spirit Powwow, the largest gathering of it’s kind. Episode addresses coming of age, colonialism, and cultural preservation.
Dezjorn Gauthier started modeling at just 6 months old for top children’s brands, winning national titles. He was featured in a Barney’s New York campaign with all transgender models and has since enjoyed international coverage as well as celebrity shoots all while attending Washington University School of Law. Dezjorn owns his own clothing business I am here, I am he LLC which brings awareness to trans men of color through education, empowerment and inspiration.
Karari Olvera-Orozco, Production & Advisory Board Member
Karari Olvera is the genderqueer first born of Mexican immigrant parents. An activist, writer, and makeup afficionado, Karari is the co-founder and former editor-in-chief of xQsí Magazine, an online LGBTQ Latin@ multimedia publication based out of Los Angeles. They current serve on the board of United Latin@ Pride, organizing the Midwest’s first and only week-long celebration of LGBTQ Latin@ Pride, and Karari is the first genderqueer person on the National Board of the Trans Latina Coalition.
Lex Lawson, Producer & Tour Manager
Lexington L. Lawson is a writer, educator and community organizer focusing on youth experiences, social justice issues and LGBTQ identities. They have developed curriculum, performed workshops and trained trainers for over ten years with community groups, social service providers, high school and college students, and institutional decision makers. Lexington is also a writer and producer for the award winning animated web series McTucky Fried High.