TIES 2024 Program by EQVA

EV Staff

EEPC Committee

Our Sponsors

Schedule

Event Map

Workshop descriptions

Presenter Bios

Empowerment Hour

Acknowledgements

EV STAFF

NARISSA RAHAMAN

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR (SHE/HER)

ARIANA HAMIDI

DIRECTOR OF PROGRAMS & COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS (THEY/THEM)

KYLEIGH HYNES DIRECTOR OF ADVOCACY & COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT (SHE/HER)

JAIVYN WHITEHEAD DEVELOPMENT MANAGER (HE/HIM)

ILANA ROSENBERG FINANCE & OPERATIONS MANAGER (SHE/THEY)

ISAIAH MAMO (THEY/THEM) PROGRAMS INTERN

EQUITABLE EMPOWERMENT PLANNING COMMITTEE (EEPC)

TARENA WILLIAMS

(SHE/HER)

SOUTHEASTERN TRANSGENDER

RESOURCE CENTER

MEL HOWARD

THRIVING TRANS MEN OF COLOR (HE/HIM/KING/ MONARCH)

BREONA

PITTMAN

(SHE/HER) NATIONZ FOUNDATION

CHARLEY BURTON

EV BOARD OF DIRECTORS (HE/HIM)

RACHEL STALLARD (THEY/THEM) KINFOLK COLLECTIVE

CHRIS BERG

EV BOARD OF DIRECTORS (HE/HIM)

CADEN HANEY (HE/HIM) CHARLOTTESVILLE

Program Schedule

WORSKHOP KEY:

RESTRICTED AUDIENCE

Trans/Nonbinary/GNC or BIPOC only

Caution - Use Discretion

General Audience - ALL are welcome

Non-binary artist, Mx. Bex lives and works in Richmond, Virginia. They create fashion and portrait photography that focuses on authentic expressions of empowerment and liberation

KEYNOTE SPEAKER

TI MALIK COLEMAN (HE/HIM)

COMEDIAN

STORYTELLER ACTIVI

Ti Malik Coleman is a Black trans Baltimore based comedian, storyteller, and facilitator. He believes healing and liberation happen when people are connected and celebrated. Malik's improv and storytelling performances have graced stages all over, including Toronto, Calgary, New York, Chicago, Philadelphia and the Kennedy Center. When he isn’t performing, Malik is building towards community care and capacity building with Rooted Collective, Transform Gender Collective and Affirming Black Families. Ti Malik is currently touring his one man show, 40 Year Old Puberty. 40 Year Old Puberty premiered at Montréal Fringe in 2023, headlined the Chroma Comedy Festival in Portland, Oregon, won the Spirit of the Fringe award in Victoria, British Columbia and the Volunteer Choice Award in Vancouver.

The State of Gender Affirming Healthcare In Virginia

9:45-11:30am

Auditorium - Open to All

In this discussion and Q&A Session, a diverse panel consisting of experts from advocacy groups, healthcare, mental health, and legal fields share insights on gender affirming care, access at the state level, and what is impacting access Topics will include: Legislative & Legal Landscape, Accessing & Navigating Gender Affirming Care in Virginia, and available support to prospective and current patients. There will be space at the end for general Q&A

Self Defense & Safety for Trans Folks

9:45-11:00

Massey 138 - Trans/NB/GNC only

As trans people, we know that we often face violence both at the hands of people we know and strangers. In the last few decades, we have seen a rise in anti-trans violence This can feel scary but it's a sign we need to turn to one another and empower each other. This training teaches skills and techniques for avoiding unsafe situations, verbal-deescalation, safety practices for interacting with police, and basic selfdefense techniques for LGBTQ+ folks. Grounded in abolitionist thought, we take an anti-carceral approach to safety and emphasize community care.

Courage to Face the Unknown: Caring for Trans Youth

9:45-11:00

Massey 218 - Audience 18+

Being an ally to trans youth—whether you’re a parent, uncle, teacher, doctor, or mental healthcare provider—doesn’t come with an easy guide. It involves facing things we may not know or understand, which can often be scary. In this interactive workshop, learn how to care for trans youth despite your fears by challenging your assumptions, feeling your feelings, and committing to self-reflection and personal growth.”

Teaching Trans People To Thrive

9:45-11:00am

Massey 220 - Audience 16+

This workshop will present topics related to transgender sexual health and share information related to HIV and STI status.

2024 Election Reflections and 2025 Legislative Look-Ahead 11:30-12:30

Auditorium - Open to All

Join Equality Virginia's Executive Director for a post-election debrief on what the results mean for Virginia's LGBTQ+ movement. While we may still be awaiting the outcomes of certain races, this session will provide valuable insights into the election’s impact and key takeaways. You’ll also get an update on the upcoming 2025 legislative session and statewide election in Virginia, plus information on how you can get involved!

Gender-Affirming Voice Care

11:15-12:30

Massey 218 - Open to All

This hour-long workshop on gender-affirming voice care is presented by a multidisciplinary team of a speech-language pathologist and fellowship-trained laryngologist from UVA Voice at UVA Health It will include information about anatomy and physiology of the vocal mechanism, along with key concepts relating to vocal health. This interactive workshop will provide basics in voice feminization, voice masculinization, and increased vocal flexibility as it relates to those seeking gender congruency with their voice. It will provide expectations for voice changes on HRT. Surgical interventions related to gender-affirming voice care will be discussed by the surgeon who can provide details and discuss expectations. Audience participation and questions are welcome.

Neuroqueering our Narratives: Rewriting the Stories We Tell Ourselves through NeuroInclusive Frameworks

11:15-12:30

Massey 220 - Open to All

This workshop will introduce neurohumility* as a way to expand understanding and celebration of queerness! Understanding and accommodating the ways we gather and make sense of sensory, social, and emotional information coming from inside our bodies, outside our bodies, and everything in between is essential. It is essential both to being at ease with one's self, and to being in community with others. It's also integral to healing, and mental health! This workshop will provide opportunities to recognize and challenge neuro-normativity in ourselves and in our communities, suggestions for exploring and embracing neuroqueerness for TNGNC folks of all ages, and provide thoughts for moving together toward a more neuro-inclusive future.

*Neurohumility is a term coined by Rachel Leah Kraus, LCSW-C.

Understanding Gender Diversity and How to Create Welcoming, Inclusive Environments

11:15-12:30

Burnette 178 - Open to All

This workshop covers a little bit of the history and cultural aspects of gender diversity across the world This presentation includes a slide that names many identities with the help of audience participation to name others and how intersectionality of our identities plays a role in levels of acceptance and inclusion.

Death Care for Trans & Nonbinary People

11:45-12:30

Burnette 171 - Open to 18+

As organizations across different industries work to create more inclusive environments, it helps to think about who our current systems were designed to serve and imagine the alternate universes that we’d be living in if those systems had been designed differently. In humancentered design, this practice is called “alternative worlds." This workshop to address the question of what our death care system would look like if it had been designed with trans and nonbinary folk in mind.

Reclaim our Names! Trans Name Changing is Trans Power

11:45-12:30

Burnette 180 - Trans/nonbinary/gender expansive only

Join sociology professor turned trans self-determination coach for an interactive session for trans, two-spirit, nonbinary, agender, intersex, and genderfluid people starting the name-choosing (and name-changing) journey from a place of self-determination. We'll start with a brief consciousness-raising exercise about names and what they say about our identities (it's not just gender!), and a discussion of naming conventions as sites of power and control, belonging and disavowal, and uniqueness and connection through an intersectional lens. Then, we'll shift to setting our individual rules for when, who, how, why, to what, and where/in what contexts we'll change our birth names as an act of self-determination. Our work together will ground that individual self-determination -- choosing a new name (or not), on what timeline, to what name(s), and which names, and who has a vote besides us, and will it be legal or just at work -- in collective trans power via trans culture, our/her/history, and kinship.

Community Share: Trans Masc Top Surgery Experiences

11:45-12:30

Burnette 210 - Closed Session: Masc-of-center transgender, non-binary, GNC, and intersex individuals 18+ only

An open discussion for members of the trans-masc community to ask questions and share experiences around the top surgery process - considering surgery, finding a surgeon, preparation, recovery. Please come to listen to and share your story!

Keynote Speaker - Ti Malik Coleman

1:30-2:20

Massey Auditorium - Open to all ages 14+

The 40 Year Old Puberty: Join us for the award winning, captivating journey of self-discovery with 40 Year Old Puberty! Brace yourself for a rollercoaster of laughter and heartfelt moments as our storyteller takes center stage and invites listeners along on the adventurous chaos of embarking on a second puberty at the ripe age of 40. Premiering to rave reviews at the Montreal Fringe in 2023, this sensation has become the talk of the town, headlining the prestigious Chroma Comedy Festival, winning Spirit of the Fringe of the Victoria Fringe Festival, Volunteer’s Choice Award at Vancouver Fringe Festival and captivating audiences across select venues. Prepare to be enthralled as we delve into the hilarious, yet deeply relatable, experiences of a Black man navigating the complexities of realizing his true identity.

Collaborative Community Engagement That Empowers: How larger advocacy organizations can connect with grassroots organizations to share resources and create more equitable rural communities

2:30-3:45pm

Massey Auditorium - Open to All - Content Warning: Adult Language

This workshop will discuss the importance of empowerment and ethical collaboration between regional and statewide organizations and localized grassroots organizations. We will discuss common errors and misalignments in purpose that can occur from the initial planning stages, to execution, to how you celebrate and share in the success of your endeavors. We will discuss ways to handle conflict between organizations ethically and with an awareness of the power dynamics at play. We will approach the topic from both perspectives and how each can gain from the strengths of the other without leaving one organization feeling exploited or getting combative. We will use storytelling to highlight the Patchwork Kinfolk partnership with VRHA to create a queer community health event as a tangible example for how this type of advocacy is successful

Supporting your client throughout their mental health journey: roles of both LGBTQ+ & allied therapists for Best Practice

2:30-3:45pm

Burnette 171 - Service Providers only

Cultivating rapport and trust is essential to supporting patients and clients. Join two LCSW’s for a discussion on best practices to provide the best care to clients. Attendees will be encouraged to bring questions or case situations and actively be involved in the discussion about how to support clients throughout their journey, that may be gender and identify focused or not. Attendees will be able to safely ask the hard questions in a space focused on growth and learning. Attendees will leave the workshop with a better understanding of how to approach clients with a trauma-informed practice, understanding the deficit that this population walks in the door with, and are able to identify ways to educate themselves and participate in the LGBTQ+ community beyond the therapy office

We Are: Therapeutic Interventions to Support Healing

2:30-3:45pm

Massey 220 - Open to All - CW: References to trauma (no explicit details) There is a movement part associated with this presentation and that may need to be modified for individuals with mobility challenges. This workshop/empowerment clinic will combine psychoeducation, therapeutic self-exploration, and somatic grounding skills/nervous system regulation to promote healing through traumatic experiences and intense emotions that feel stuck in our mind/body. We will do gentle stretching to release tension from the body and learn regulating movements to help calm the nervous system. We will explore the definition of trauma and how it impacts our mind, bodies, and the way we react to different moments in our lives We will practice selfexploration into our own challenges and accept ourselves as protectors instead of thinking of our actions as sabotage. In finding empathy with these parts of ourselves, we will develop a deeper understanding as to why we react in certain ways and how to alleviate the distress in healthy ways. We will learn grounding skills to use in times regulation is needed, varying in sensory needs (movement, tapping, sound, color, etc). This will be a time to set aside to accept that we are healing from difficult moments in our lives and to learn techniques to mindfully protect and heal ourselves in whatever comes our way.

Trans Resilience in the Classroom: The 2023 Model Policies

2:30-3:45

Massey 220 -Open to All

In July 2023, the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) released the “Model Policies on Ensuring Privacy, Dignity, and Respect for All Students and Parents in Virginia’s Public Schools” (2023 anti-trans model policies), policies that seek to impose harmful, anti-trans practices on Virginia’s young people Since their release, over a dozen school boards have adopted the 2023 anti-trans model policies or a variation of them, but not without significant opposition led by trans and nonbinary students, their parents, educators, and other community allies. This workshop led by community leaders and LGBTQ+ advocates, provides an overview of the 2023 anti-trans model policies and their impact on students, parents and educators as well as highlighting 2-3 examples of school board advocacy, emphasizing lessons learned and how to advocate in your school district.

Diversity in Recovery Support Group

2:30-3:45pm

Burnette 210 - Open to All 18+

An LGBTQ+ addiction recovery support group.

Purposeful Storytelling: Amplifying Trans Voices through the Power of Why

2:30-3:45

Massey 218 - Open to All 18+

Discover the power of your own story in this interactive workshop designed to inspire meaningful action. Using Simon Sinek’s "Start With Why" method, you’ll discover how your personal experiences and passions can shape purpose-driven narratives that create real change. Through hands-on exercises and group activities, you'll learn how to craft stories that empower you and uplift the trans* community and its allies. Together, we’ll turn your inspiration into action and your voice into a force for advocacy

Healthcare in Later Life:

Lessons Learned from Trans Older Adults

4-5pm

Massey 220 - Open to All

This workshop provides information and resources on selected healthcare topics relevant to transgender and gender-diverse (trans) adults in later life. The workshop features stories of healthcare experiences from interviews with trans older adults during the research study Shaping Affirming Futures with Elders of all gender experiences (SAFE-age).

My Identity- expressing myself through writing and drawing

4-5pm

Burnette 171 - Open to All

Individuals will have the opportunity to express themselves through a prompt for writing and drawing. They will envision themselves writing a children's book, creating a self-portrait for a gallery, or other creative forms of self-expression that allow them to tell part of their story and share about their identity. This will help others to see them, as they see themselves. Their art will tell a story that helps them feel more empowered about themselves as well as guide and support others through shared experiences. Individuals will be able to share their creations if desired.

Celebrating Trans Joy: Telling Stories to Build Communities

4-5pm

Massey 218 - Open to All

What does it mean to tell humanizing stories that showcase the full life experience of our communities? Our trans and gendernonconforming communities are commonly associated with grief and trauma—but we are more than that. From resilience, there is JOY. Meet the storytellers & artist contributors from the ACLU of Virginia and Equality Virginia's storytelling projects and learn how YOU can craft your own stories of joy and transformation.

Our Sacred Bodies

4-5pm

Burnette 200: 18+ and 14+ with parental guidance. CW: religion, transphobia, and other heavy topics like religious institutional harm In this transformative workshop, participants will embark on a journey through the intersections of religion, culture, and trans identities, framed through a decolonized lens. Through an exploration of historical narratives and contemporary insights, we will challenge misconceptions, affirm the sacredness of transgender individuals, and foster understanding among diverse faith communities

Self Loving: the In and Out

4-5pm

Burnette 210 - Open to All

This workshop will guide participants in learning to love themselves authentically, with a specific focus on nurturing their own positivity. Objective: The client will embark on a personal journey, not only becoming present with themselves but also reclaiming their power to feel love, irrespective of the circumstances. During the group, the client will nurture their past, present, and future selves, fostering a sense of self-empowerment and resilience.

emPOWERed Line Dancing

4-5pm

Massey 138 - Open to All

This class is a low-mid impact movement activity. The class is great for people who like good energy, fun pop music, and dancing!

emPOWERed Line Dancing celebrates the inner strength within by honoring the greatness within using positive affirmations and uplifting mantras! Dancers will learn up to five simple and easy to learn line dances that uses a mix of low to mid impact dance steps. These steps are lightly aerobic but quick to master! All of the routines are taught in various styles of modification to include various abilities so safety is considered through the movements. Each routine is given a quick walkthrough followed by a slow paced walk through, and finished off with an uptempo movement of steps set to the beat of the music. The playlist has a set of music of pop queer artists that represent various artists in the LGBTQIA+ community. There is no pressure to have a partner or experience necessary. For the safety of others, athletic closed-toe shoes and a water bottle is highly recommended.

EMPOWERMENT HOUR

SERVICES & RESOURCES

Kitt Sopata, along with O’Douds https://www.odouds.us/ will be offering consultations on what haircuts would suit someone, facial hair grooming & or removal tips, hair styling advice, & product tips! Free product sample giveaways for those who participate :)

Hayden will be offering intuitive energy work, scalp massage, and consultations during Empowerment Hours. These services are designed to help individuals connect with their own inner strength, promoting wellbeing on multiple levels.

Nic Pitts L.Ac., of KOAN Acupuncture, is offering auricular (ear) acupuncture. The NADA protocol (from the National Association of Detox Acupuncture) is five tiny points that can help realign in a myriad of ways, including nervous system downregulation and pain relief. . Come experience a half hour of calm embodiment!

Join studio two three on their print truck and learn how to screen print your own poster! Explore different imagery on press and pull a print from start to finish with our team. Participants are encouraged to bring a shirt to upcycle and print with. First 50 get a free tote bag!

Arin Marshall Coaching LLC is offering free 20-minute life coaching sessions tailored to support your journey to healing, growth and empowerment. This space offers a compassionate, affirming environment to explore your goals, challenges, or next steps with a focus on personal growth and clarity.

S Butler will facilitate a CLOTHING EXCHANGE - Bring donations and take whatever you’d like!

Thriving Trans Men of Color will have free binders & education

Need a professional headshot? Aurele Gold will be available with their mobile studio ready for your smile!

Jayme Drew and Calos Coalition will set up a video storytelling booth. Share your personal stories of resilience and TRANS JOY! Videos may be used for EV advocacy campaigns

FREE TIES CLINICS

STI clinic:

10am-5pm

We will be offering free rapid HIV testing (finger prick and results in 60 seconds), as well as pharyngeal swab (oral swab) that checks for gonorrhea and chlamydia in your throat Depending on how close we are to a bathroom we also could do urine samples and anal swabs, which both checks for gonorrhea and chlamydia. Clients don’t need to make an appointment beforehand. Client will have to fill out a consent form for the direct service provider.

Wellness Clinic: 11:30-5pm

The TIES Wellness Center offers free 15 minute conversations with trans-friendly healthcare providers in the medical and mental health fields. This is a great opportunity to ask questions, identify resources, and discuss general next steps to getting your healthcare needs met. Please note: Providers cannot diagnose you at the Wellness Center or provide you with medical/mental health letters. Sign up sheet for walk-ins outside M227/229

Name Change & Gender Marker Clinic: 1-4pm

The clinic will assist clients with name change applications, administrative and judicial petitions for gender marker changes, birth certificate corrections, DMV and social security record updates, DD214 updates (military discharge records), and answering related legal questions. All clients must sign into the legal clinic by 12:30pm

ANGELICA GEHLICH

SHE/THEY

MSW, LCSW

We Are: Therapeutic Interventions to Support Healing; Wellness Clinic, Panelist

Angelica Gehlich (she/they), MSW, LCSW is a licensed clinical social worker/LGBTQIA+ /gender/neurodivergence identity-affirming therapist who specializes in working with people who have experienced traumatic events throughout their lives. Their professional background includes working at non-profit and private agencies local and internationally. They have worked with adults and youth in individual and group formats who have experienced trauma, gender violence, cult and manipulative involvement groups, challenging life transitions, general day to day stressors with a goal of developing a renewed sense of self. They value everyone ' s individual and collective experience and will honor each person at exactly where they are in their journey

ANJENI MOORE

(SHE/HER)

Teaching Trans People to Thrive

Anjeni Moore (also known as Akyra) is a black transwoman who has been advocating for transgender equality for more than a decade . Anjeni is a native of North Carolina and was born under the astrological sign of Leo. Serving as the Transgender Resource Coordinator at the LGBT Life Center, Anjeni has assisted many transgender individuals with resources such as HIV care and prevention needs, health insurance enrollments, legal assistance, mental health, and transitional medical care needs.

As an ordained minister, Anjeni has also assisted many transgender and other members of the LGBTQIA+ community with how to navigate the religious barriers that many LGBTQIA+ Virginians may face when coming to terms with being able to express healthier lifestyles as they grow into their personal life choices. Anjeni has advocated in multiple spaces to ensure that the voices of all members of the LGBTQIA+ community, especially trans-identified members of the community, are heard and valued. Anjeni lives by the motto: “ If I can help someone along my journey then my living will not be in vain.”

AURORA HIGGS

(SHE/THEY)

Celebrating Trans Joy: Telling Stories to Build Communities

Aurora Higgs (she/they) is a Black queer visionary & activist from Richmond, Va. Aurora works as an equity consultant all around the world. Aurora transitioned in 2018 and uses her platform to promote justice and equity. In 2019, Aurora founded Borealis Consultancy (www.borealisdei.com) where she works as an equity builder, facilitator, speaker, and producer of media that elevate queer, neurodiverse and BIPOC voices Higgs also was invited to assist Del. Danica Roem (D-Prince William), in passing several pieces of legislation related to transgender rights in Virginia, including a bill to make transphobic discrimination by medical providers illegal. Aurora was a featured honoree in Style Weekly’s 2019 Top 40 Under 40 Issue as well as in the Virginia Museum of History and Culture’s Agents of Change Exhibit. The Advocate named Aurora a 2022 Champion of Pride from Around the US And if you ever find yourself on MacArthur Ave in RVA, you can find a mural in honor of Aurora and her impact on the community. Aurora believes that her calling is to show up in spaces bravely and authentically, no matter the repercussions. Someone once said “Show up so BIG in the room that it feels too small after you ’ ve left.” Aurora holds this mantra close to her heart as she creates space for her communities and herself.

BREANN DIAZ

(SHE/THEY

Celebrating Trans Joy: Telling Stories to Build Communities

Breanna is a queer, Latinx person whose lived experience deeply informs their advocacy. She received her law degree from American University, Washington College of Law Breanna currently serves as Policy & Legislative Counsel for ACLU of Virginia, where they work on LGBTQ rights, reproductive freedom, and First Amendment issues They are a recipient of the 2023 OUTStanding Virginians award and recognized as a Richmond History Maker for their LGBTQ+ rights advocacy

BREONA PITTMAN

(SHE/HER)

Storyteller, EEPC

Breona “ Pretty” Ova King, is a native of Norfolk, Virginia and has been performing for over 20 years! She has a background in both pageantry and Ballroom, earning her many titles as well as her legendary status! Breona is a former Miss Nationz Plus,where she used her platform not only to shine but educate on how your past doesn’t have to dictate your future! She will tell you that she living proof that with God anything is possible! She currently works for the Nationz Foundation and hopes of one day starting her own nonprofit for trans identifying people. She has and currently sits on the board of several nonprofits around the 757 community, and it is her goal to leave this world a better place than what she found it! With all that being said, when it comes to Breona, she’s going to make you laugh, entertain you and share some wisdom! So sit back, relax and enjoy one of our very own Divas.

CA RESN

(SHE/HER)

Gender-affirming voice care

Casey Resnick is a speech-language pathologist (SLP) working within the interdisciplinary team of SLPs and laryngologists at the UVA Voice Center at UVA Health. She sees patients in the outpatient setting to evaluate and treat voice, swallowing, and upper airway disorders. Since 2017 she has provided gender-affirming voice training and is part of the multidisciplinary Gender Health team at UVA Health.

CHARLEY BURTON (HE/HIM)

Diversity in Recovery Support Group, EEPC member, EV Board of Directors

CHARLEY IS THE OWNER OF CHARLEY SPEAKS. CHARLEY CONDUCTS SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS AND TRAINING WHERE HIS S

Charley is the owner of Charley Speaks. Charley conducts speaking engagements and training where his storytelling and inspirational chat involve his audience on what it is like to be a Black Transman living in the South.Charley is a board member of Equality VA and a board member of PFLAG of Greater Charlottesville. Has been appointed as a board member of the Charlottesville Human Rights Commission, and he was appointed by Governor Northam as one of the members of the LGBTQ+ Advisory Board Founder of Diversity in Recovery An organization that was founded to provide safe spaces for the LGBTQ/BIPOC community to find recovery spaces Charley also has created a group called Black Transmen Can Cook. Through this group, Charley will be creating a cookbook created by Transmen with recipes and stories. Charley was honored in 2021 as an Outstanding Virginian by Equality VA, The Community Root award by Black Pride RVA, and Caring for the Community for Above and Beyond Voice for Equity by United Way of Greater Charlottesville.Charley works for WorkSource where he manages and trains people with various disabilities He is currently enrolled at Morehouse College where in March of 2022 he was voted by his peers as Morehouse Man of the Month Charley’s life story, The Boy Beneath My Skin, available on Amazon is about a survivor of abuse, addiction, mental illness, and gender dysphoria . That in the end shows this one man’s indomitable spirit to recover and live a rich life. This is just not one man’s story, in many ways, it's a story about us all. Hope to see everyone at TIES who has attended before and for those who have never attended and plan to be there, it will be one of the most rewarding, empowering days of your journey. A place in VA where all of us can be US! Thanks EV!

DENISE DENISE! (THEY/SHE)

Reclaim Our Names! Trans Name Changing is Trans Power

Denise! Denise! Ph.D. (they/she) is a trans self-determination coach and proud neurodivergent mixed-Black fat gender outlaw. Completing her doctorate in 2013, she was awarded the Best Dissertation Award from the Section on Mental Health of the American Sociological Association. Dr. Denise is a former tenured liberal arts sociology & gender + sexuality studies professor, having co-authored anthologies Counternarratives from Women of Color Academics: Bravery, Vulnerability, and Resistance and recently Conditionally Accepted: Navigating Higher Education from the Margins. She is now a full-time soloproneur as an academic justice consultant and anti-racist trans liberation consultant.

DEXTE DAVIS

(HE/HIM

ADVOCAT SPEAKER ARTIST

Purposeful

Storytelling: Amplifying Trans Voices Through the Power of WHY

Dexter Davis (He/Him) of Norfolk, VA, is a distinguished influencer, professional Keynote speaker, and sexual health educator. As a captivating advocate, artist, and motivational speaker, Dexter has dedicated over a decade to shaping and nurturing community spaces through innovative educational events and initiatives. He is an Early Intervention Specialist at the Urban League of Hampton Roads and a LGBTQIA Program Coordinator at Norfolk State University, where he is pursuing a Bachelor's degree in Psychology He also serves as the Board Vice President of the Calos Coalition, a nonprofit dedicated to spreading TransJoy, and as Vice President of Service for Alpha Phi Omega National Service Fraternity, Inc. Additionally, he is a member of Alpha Omega Kappa Fraternity, Inc. His core message is: "Life is both too short and too long to be unhappy! How can you forge a life worth living?" If you ' re looking for a speaker, facilitator, or consultant, visit his website at www.dexter-davis.com.

DOVE STANDLE (SHE/HER)

Collaborative

Community Engagement That Empowers: How larger advocacy organizations can connect with grassroots organizations to share resources and create more equitable rural communities

Dove Standley is driven by a passion to understand the root causes of the challenges people face in order to help others and improve the world around her She serves on the Board of Directors for the Virginia Rural Healthcare Association, helped found a local LGBTQ+ organization, and regularly engages in advocacy, empowerment, and direct mutual aid.

EOIN BRADLEY

(THEY/THEM)

The State of Gender Affirming Healthcare in Virginia, Moderator, Storyteller

Eoin is a medical student at the University of Virginia hoping to pursue a career in medicine that’s dedicated to community, gender, and sexual health.

EVELYN AURORA

(SHE/THEY)

Celebrating Trans Joy Through Storytelling

Evelyn Aurora is 24 years old and an aspiring queer and trans storyteller who desires to see all kinds of queer and trans experiences...LIBERATED!!!