Real People
Meet some of the real people who inspire our work
Alic
Alic is a married gay transgender man. He is a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Future of Nursing Scholar and a former Fulbright Scholar to Thailand. He is a pediatric oncology/hematology nurse currently working on his doctorate. He and his husband have been featured in the NY TIMES and are both active community representatives.
Morgan
Morgan is a 13-year-old transgender girl who is in junior high school. She comes from a typically busy family with two working parents and two brothers. She and her brothers are all involved in numerous extracurricular activities. Morgan aspires to be a professional model.
Lauren
Lauren is a bisexual woman who was assigned male at birth. She is a tech professional in the banking industry with an impressive varied skill set. In addition to her education in the U.S., she has also studied abroad and is an active manager in her workplace.
Gina
Gina is a native of Costa Rica and a partnered cisgender lesbian. She recently launched and is operating a stand-alone non-profit organization. Gina embraces the many facets of intersectionality in her life and is a role model in her community.
Will
Will is a straight transgender man. He and his wife have two young children. Will is an accomplished academic researcher who holds a PhD and is a clinical trial planning analyst with a global biopharmaceutical corporation.
Tom
Tom is a cisgender bisexual man and retired financial advisor. He is currently working as a lecturer at a prominent college. He and his wife have been married for 28 years and are the proud parents of two adult gay sons.
Kelley
Kelley is a cisgender straight woman who is a health and fitness advisor and trainer, a nutritionist and a public health advocate. She actively mentors her clients and friends on a holistic approach to wellness. She has her own YouTube channel and is a recognized public figure in her field.
Amy
Amy is a cisgender straight attorney who is also a political consultant and a social entrepreneur. She started the first ever gay-straight alliance at the University of Texas and is a prominent thought leader in her community.
Robert
Robert is a cisgender gay man who is a recently retired banking executive. He has a long history as a visible community leader. Robert is enjoying the time and opportunity in retirement to travel and visit far flung friends and family.
Devin
Devin is a cisgender gay man. By day he is your friendly neighborhood hipster barista, but by night he is a regionally renowned boylesque performer – the official term for male burlesque dancers. He has performed and successfully competed in shows across the country, including boylesque hotbeds like Las Vegas and New York. Devin has a reserved persona but comes alive in front of a camera or onstage. Devin grew up in a small town in a typically religious southern family. He struggled at times with being accepted in the family, but now has a wonderful relationship with his mother – she designs and makes many of his costumes. Devin is an animal lover and shares his home with both a roommate and many animals, including a dog and several snakes. He also likes to cook and is a movie buff.
Nikki
Nikki is a cisgender lesbian who wears many hats. She works for a local fitness facility, but is also a motivational speaker, performance artist, producer, model, student and creator of the online show The Androgynous Model. Nikki describes herself as a mogul – a powerful person in media. She is breaking new creative ground with the Androgynous Model and seeks to convince people that “you are born to be you.” She is a former scholarship college basketball student athlete, graduated from college with a BS in marketing and is currently pursuing her master’s degree in sports psychology. In addition to her many other responsibilities, she actively helps to care for her mother with health challenges in another state. She grew up with a regionally famous athlete father and in a traditional southern family.
Pam
Pam is a cisgender lesbian who began her professional career at only 18 years old in the armed services. Upon leaving the military, she began working in the protective services industry. Her “regular” job is in a corporate security environment, but her second job is in entertainment. Working in protective services in the entertainment fields yields both additional income as well as a creative outlet to feed her love of all things cultural – including music and dance – no matter the genre. Pam is an excellent cook and loves to travel. She is also a bit of a fashionista and enjoys shopping for, buying and modeling fashion forward clothing. She is close to her aging parents, frequently visiting them in another state. Perhaps most of all, Pam is recognized by her peers, co-workers and clients as an intelligent, articulate gentle soul respected and loved by all.