Presenter Bios
Keynote Presenter Andrea Jenkins
As a journalist her work has appeared in several local publications, including the Minneapolis Spokesman-Recorder, Insight News, One Nation News, and The Women’s Press. Her poetry has appeared in the Powderhorn Writers Festival, Haute Dish, and the International Journal of Transgenderism and several other journals and anthologies, including When We Become Wears, Square Rebels Press, 2012, and Gender Outlaws Two, The Next Generation, Seal Press, 2011. She has won several awards and fellowships including the Loft Mentor Series, The Napa Valley Writers Conference, and five Cave Canem Regional Workshops.
In 2011, she was named a Bush Fellow, a Many Voices Fellow at the Playwrights’ Center and a CCLI Fellow at Intermedia Arts. In 2010 she won the Verve Grant for Spoken Word Artists at Intermedia Arts and the Naked Stages Grant at Pillsbury House Theatre. She received her MFA in Creative Writing at Hamline University and co-curates the LGBT Reading Series at Intermedia Arts. She performs regularly with OutWard Spiral Theatre, 20% Theatre, Pillsbury House and Intermedia Arts. She is the author of two chapbooks, “tributaries: poems celebrating black history and “Pieces of Scream”. Recently elected to chair the newly established GLBT Caucus of the Association of Writers and Writing Programs, Andrea is lives in Minneapolis and works as a Senior Policy Aide for the 8th Ward City Councilmember, Elizabeth Glidden.
For more information about Andrea Jenkins, please visit her website at http://andreajenkins.webs.com/
Erin Upchurch, MSSA, LSW, is a leading strategist regarding issues of diversity and inclusion. She is the owner of Diverse Strategies, a consulting firm where she regularly facilitates trainings on diversity, organizational development and advocacy for various interest groups and organizations. Erin is a founding member of New Leaf Columbus, a social network for Columbus’ LGBTQ communities of color and their allies; and in 2008, Erin founded Something on the Inside-a creative project that seeks to inspire advocacy and raise awareness regarding the increasing impact of HIV/AIDS on the lives of women and girls. In 2012, Erin was selected to be included in the inaugural publication of Who’s Who in GLBT Columbus. She currently serves on the board of TransOhio, and is an active member of several community groups. Erin is a licensed social worker in the state of Ohio. She received her bachelor’s degree in social work from Eastern Michigan University, and her master’s degree, also in social work from Case Western Reserve University.
S. Bear Bergman is also a good example of what happens when you overeducate a contrarian. Ze is also the author of The Nearest Exit May Be Behind You (Arsenal Pulp Press, 2009) and Butch Is a Noun (Suspect Thoughts Press, 2006) and three award-winning solo performances, as well as a frequent contributor to anthologies on all manner of topics. Bear is also a frequent lecturer and at colleges and universities, regarding issues relating to gender and sexuality, and has advised the staff of numerous institutions on their policies regarding transgendered and transsexual students. An observant Jew, Bear also speaks extensively about how hir religious and cultural lives have shaped one another, and the intersection of identities, especially as it relates to being both Jewish and queer.
Brynn Tannehill is a Naval Academy graduate, naval aviator, and former Lieutenant Commander who works at L-3 Communications at Wright Patterson Air Force Base. She transitioned during 2010-2012. She also writes for OutServe Magazine, and has been featured in The Advocate and the Huffington Post. She lives in Xenia, OH with her wife and three children.
Kevin Poling founded Satori World Medical’s Global Transgender Program in 2009. Mr. Poling is responsible for the developing, coordinating and ensuring the highest quality of patient service for the program. Mr. Poling is highly involved in the LGBT community and has sponsored Transgender Day of Remembrance in San Diego. He is a frequent speaker at transgender conferences throughout the country such as Southern Comfort, TransOhio and Be-All. Mr. Poling obtained his degree in Travel & Hospitality from Hammel College in Akron, Ohio and is a member of the International Association of Travel Agents.
Sue Doerfer, MSW, LISW, is currently in private practice specializing in providing therapy to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered individuals, couples and families. Sue has been an activist in the Cleveland LGBT Community for the past 12 years. She has served as the Executive Director of the LGBT Community Center of Greater Cleveland and Equality Ohio. Doerfer holds a Master of Social Work degree and is licensed as an Independent Social Worker by the state of Ohio. Well known for her community leadership and activism, Sue is directly involved in advocating for the rights of the LGBT community in Cleveland, in Ohio and nationally.
Tara Allison, Esq., is a trans-woman, practicing law in Ohio. Her undergraduate is from the Naval Academy. She graduated from Capital University Law School, cum laude, in 2005. She actively speaks on LGBT issues, speaking to numerous organizations, colleges, and universities. She has been a contributing author to OUTLOOK magazine. She currently serves on the board for The Legacy Fund, BRAVO, and on Diversity & Inclusion Committee of the United Way of Central Ohio.
JAC Stringer is a trans-genderqueer femme radical activist, writer, and performance artist from Cincinnati, Ohio. JAC has lectured across North America with his work focusing trans* education, social justice, and trans*/queer artistry. JAC is the founding director of The Midwest Trans* and Queer Wellness Initiative and Cincinnati Trans* Community Group and is on multiple organizing boards including TransOhio, The Philadelphia Transgender Health Conference, The Femme Conference, and The International Drag King Community Extravaganza. JAC is pursuing a Masters in Social Work at the University of Cincinnati focusing on gender variant wellness services.
Crysti Hart is a 63 year old semi-retired writer and antique collector who grew up in a semi-rural isolated area in Ohio. Two marriages, the military and years later she has been on HRT for a year now with a very supportive family and a whole new set of friends. Crysti now identifies as a transgender woman. Getting here has never been easy but it’s been exciting and fun. Telling her story to help others is now her passion.
Amy Pfeiffer, MA, PCC-S, is a counselor, supervisor, and clinical lead on LGBTQ issues, at The Buckeye Ranch. Amy has also been in private practice with Affirmations Psychotherapy for nearly 7 years. Happily, Amy consults with other child providers to help them understand LGBTQ culture. She loves her job and counts herself lucky to work with adolescents and kids.
Marilyn E. Lloyd, Skylar Seward and David Hagelin are active Lay Leaders with North Congregational UCC. Among their many duties and responsibilities within the church, these individuals reach out to other faith communities to help with LGBT understanding and education.
Brent Walsh was raised in a conservative Christian family in central Illinois. In 2005 he underwent his transition from female to male. Since that time he has helped others find confidence in their own decision to transition by offering advice and support and serving as a guest speaker and a panelist in transgender awareness forums. Brent is currently enrolled in seminary and is a clergy apprentice at LifeJourney Church in Indianapolis.
Dr. Kathy L. Rumer is a Board Certified Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeon who specializes in cosmetic and reconstructive surgery for Trans identified individuals. She is the founder of Rumer Cosmetic Surgery where she works with other specialists to provide the best possible healthcare for her patients. She is on staff at a number of the best hospitals in the Philadelphia area and has been named a Main Line “TOP DOC” in 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011. She was also named a Philadelphia Magazine “TOP DOC” for 2011. She also serves as a fellowship site director for the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, one of the only residency programs that trains surgeons in the art of gender variant cosmetic and reconstructive surgery. Finally, she is an active member of WPATH and has served as an advocate for transgender individuals at a local and national level. Most recently, Dr. Rumer opened a facility that will offer state-of the-art gender confirming surgical and non-surgical procedures. This facility also provides a soothing and calming environment for patient’s during their post-operative recovery.
Lee Conley attended the Ohio State University and upon graduating in June of 2011 he was introduced to SwingColumbus by a friend. Immediately, he fell in love with swing dancing; since his first step onto the dance floor, Lee has danced no less than once a week. Nearly all of his free time is spent working toward improving his own skills as well as sharing his love of this dance with others.
Christina Austin hails from Columbus, Ohio, though she grew up in South Carolina. Upon attending Clemson University in 2003, she took up swing dancing in earnest, adding Lindy Hop and Balboa to her repertoire. Her most recent love affair, with blues dancing, began in Washington, DC, in the fall of 2010, and recently she has been working to bring more blues dancing to the Columbus area.
Ellen Seigel, LISW, psychotherapist/intuitive/author (Be Happy No Matter What). Compassionate psychotherapist/sensitive activist/educator private practice in Columbus. Ellen gently helps you to the heart of what you want to focus on supporting you in achieving your goals. Emotional safety is the highest priority. Recognized: NY City GLSEN and NYS Legislature for her curriculum sensitizing school personnel and parents to LGBT needs. Ellen is interested in helping you find your way to true self appreciation and happiness.
Sidney Leister, Sid, is currently working in healthcare as a call center manager. His full transition took place while being employed in his current position so he has faced many challenges along the way. Sid is a single guy who lives with his dog, Twila. He is also a certified personal trainer who enjoys helping people “get fit”. Sid attributes his good health to staying fit and keeping a positive attitude.
Pamela Reed is a retired IBM software engineer, where she worked for over 40 years. She was born and raised in Portsmouth, Ohio and went to college (Notre Dame de Namur University) in California where she lived for many years. Pamela was married for 34 years and has two sons.
Chloe Prince serves as trans patient liaison for Dr. Kathy Rumer in Philadelphia. Chloe is also the founder of both PINKessence.com and TRUessence.org online social networking sites dedicated to the Transgender community with nearly 6000 vetted members. Chloe and her family have appeared on the Anderson Cooper daytime talk show, and been featured in a 1 hour ABC Primetime special “Family Secrets, When Dad Becomes Mom – the Chloe Prince Story.” Chloe has also been a keynote speaker and given lectures at most all the major trans conferences in the United States.
Cindy M. Kirby has represented clients throughout the state of Ohio in family law issues for over twenty years. She is a strong and vocal advocate on LGBT issues. In 2010 the Supreme Court of Ohio invited Cindy to teach a program on LGBT family law issues to all of the Domestic Relations Court and Juvenile Court judges and magistrates in the State. She has sat on the board of Equality Toledo since its inception.
William Maxon-Kann is a doctoral candidate in the Counselor Education and Supervision program at Kent State University and the Director of the Herttna Counseling Center at Walsh University. He is one of the co-authors of the ACA’s Competencies for Counseling with Transgender Clients (ACA, 2010), and he currently practices as a counselor, counselor educator, and counseling supervisor providing supervision/consultation to counselors working with and advocating for transgender clients.
Logan Lamprecht is an assistant professor in the Counselor Education program at Cleveland State University, where he teaches the cultural diversity and counseling and beginning laboratory courses for school and clinical mental health counseling students. In addition, he has been in private practice for the past eight years, of which, he has provided therapeutic services to clients who are transgender or transitioning.
Susan Rakow is a counseling intern (in the Clinical Mental Health Counseling program at CSU) and a clinical associate professor in Curriculum and Foundations at Cleveland State University. She completed her counseling practicum in summer 2012 at the LGBT Center of Cleveland where she provided services to the community including transgender clients. She is currently a counseling intern with the Family Achievement Clinic and Menlo Park Academy for gifted students.
Kat Holtz provides HIV prevention and testing in her position at Townhall II in Kent, Ohio. She presents trainings on sexuality, transgender, and gay, lesbian and bisexual topics. She deals with adults, adolescents, people in recovery, community groups, and congregations. She is the district trainer for the Unitarian Universalist Our Whole Lives sexuality program. She has been a film buff all of her life. She believes that humor is important (if you can’t laugh at sex, then what’s the point?) and that chocolate is critical.
Andrew Lewandowski is a transgender man who has been living full time for two years. He is a graduate student at The Ohio State University working toward two master’s degrees in social work and public health, and intends to pursue a career in transgender advocacy in health care.
Genelle Denzin is a cisgender, knitting, earth worshipping, database analyzing, sci-fi lovin’ prison abolitionist and mother to three kids, one of whom is a Two-Spirit. Her interest in this topic derives from a wild hope that we can fix the world and make it better for the next generation.
Alec Armstrong is a genderqueer cook, aspiring nurse, and part-time witch who reads too much and who has been involved in prison abolition work in the past. Prison abolition is a part of their interest in social justice and decolonization as a white settler who wants a better world.
Fire Captain, Lana Moore is a 31 year veteran with the Columbus Ohio Division of Fire. In 2008, she became the first City of Columbus employee to come out openly as transsexual and to transition on-the-job. Lana is an active member at North Congregational Church of Christ. She has two children and resides in Westerville, Oh.
Lauren Moore is a senior at The Ohio State University majoring in psychology and an active member at Central College Presbyterian Church.
Andrew Cray is a Research Associate with LGBT Progress at the Center for American Progress, where he advocates for LGBT inclusion and engagement in state implementation of the Affordable Care Act. Before joining CAP, Andrew was a health law and policy fellow at the National Center for Transgender Equality. He holds a B.S. in communications from Northwestern University and a J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School.
Candice is a grassroots activist and organizer who works in the Toledo area. She has organized several actions, including marches, protests, and vigils. She was heavily involved in Occupy Toledo.
Julie Walsh, MSW is the founder, author, and consultant for TransFormation Ministry, a resource for the gender diverse community and their families. She is also in the development phase of GenderNexus, a transformational program for the community. Julie is an active member of LifeJourney Church as a musician and a writer for Be Still and Know. She is also involved with WPATH, NASW, and Soulforce. Julie and her husband, Brent, reside near Indianapolis, Indiana.
Alexis Taylor has been a community organizer in several areas successfully bringing together trans people from all walks of life in Cleveland and eastern Ohio rural counties. She’s currently living with her partner Andrea in Gahanna Ohio.
Lisa Mottet is the Transgender Civil Rights Project Director at the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, where she works on local, state and federal policies and legislation affection trans people. She is a co-author of the National Transgender Discrimination Survey, of Transitioning Our Shelters: A Guide to Making Homeless Shelters Safe for Transgender People, and Opening the Door to the Inclusion of Transgender People: The Nine Keys to Making LGBT Organizations Fully Transgender-Inclusive.
Mara Keisling is the Executive Director of the National Center for Transgender Equality, which she helped found in 2003. A native Pennsylvanian, Mara is a transgender-identified woman and a parent. As one of the nation’s leading voices for transgender equality, Mara has appeared on news outlets such as CNN and CSPAN. She is also one of the co-authors of the National Transgender Discrimination Survey.
Charleta B. Tavares is nationally recognized and has served at the local, state and national levels as a trainer, policymaker, administrator, and/or elected official specializing in cultural competence, behavioral/physical health, social services, child welfare, housing and criminal justice issues. She serves as the Executive Director of the Multiethnic Advocates for Cultural Competence (MACC) a statewide non-profit and has presented workshops, lectures and keynote addresses on cultural competence, health disparities, behavioral and physical health integration, social justice etc.
Linda Laroche, LSW currently works at Columbus Public Health in the Linkage to Care program for people with HIV. She has worked in HIV since 1987 as a Disease Intervention Specialist, a Ryan White Case Manager, an HIV test counselor and an HIV Prevention provider.
Francseca Schumann is a HIV+ Transwoman who works in the food service industry, whose life has been transformed since her diagnosis. Frenchy is motivated to share her story to help others in her community to become educated about and aware HIV and remove the stigma.
Milo Primeaux and Daniel Dietz are both public interest law students at CUNY School of Law, and are co-founding a project for trans health justice in New York City. Milo has served for two years on the NYC Bar Association LGBT Committee, and has interned with the Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund, the Legal Aid Society, and the Community Service Society. He is a former TransOhio board member and graduate of the United Way of Central Ohio’s Pride Leadership Program. Daniel has served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Peru and Ryan White Case Manager at the Multnomah County HIV Clinic in Portland, Oregon. He has also interned with the Urban Justice Center, the Legal Aid Society’s Health Law Unit and Juvenile Rights Project, and the NY Attorney General Health Care Bureau.
Cori Yaeger, PhD, is a psychologist in Cincinnati who has extensive experience in the GLBT community. In the past three years she has made Gender Identity Issues a major focus of her work. She serves on the Board of the Cincinnati Academy of Professional Psychology and has a goal of educating other professionals about gender issues.
Melissa M. Alexander is a transgender woman enjoying life in Columbus, OH. Melissa has completed her transition undergoing her Gender Confirmation Surgery (GCS) in May of 2009. Melissa works as a meeting and event planning where she has obtained the CMP (certified meeting professional) designation which is only held by about twenty percent of her industry. She is currently also teaching as an Adjunct faculty instructor for several community and technical colleges. Prior to her work in this field and her teaching, Melissa practiced employment and labor law for twenty years in West Virginia and she has been admitted to practice in West Virginia and Kentucky as well as several federal courts. Melissa obtained her B.A. degree at Northern Kentucky University in 1982 in Political Science (cum laude) and graduated 22nd of 140 in her law class at West Virginia University in 1985. She is in a committed relationship with her partner Paula K. Prichard and she has two adult children from her previous marriage. Melissa is active with NCTE as well as Equality Ohio in addition to her work with TransOhio including involvement with the TransOhio Speaker’s Bureau.
michael munson is the co-founder and Executive Director of FORGE, an organization focused on improving the lives of transgender individuals by building stronger connections, providing resources, and empowering growth through knowledge. His educational background is in psychology, with an emphasis in trauma. Munson’s work on violence against transgender and gender non-conforming individuals is groundbreaking, stressing the intersectionality between complex components of identity, experience, and societal constructs that can both spur violence, as well as catalyze healing for individuals and communities. He is passionate about engaging professionals to embrace these complexities and learn key skills to better serve their clients/constituents.
Loree Cook-Daniels, FORGE’s Policy and Program Director, has been researching, organizing, and providing services to transgender survivors of violence since 1994. She co-led the initial, groundbreaking study of transgender sexual violence survivors that led to FORGE receiving four large federal grants to address the pressing and unmet needs of these survivors. In 2011 she co-led two Office for Victims of Crime-funded research projects related to transgender sexual assault survivors and the agencies who serve them. She has a B.A. in Women’s Studies and History, an M.S. in Conflict Management, and has completed a Certificate in Trauma Counseling.
Carrie C. is a semi-retired medical professional from southeastern Ohio who thinks about these things a lot and enjoys exploring diverse perspectives.
Trystan Reese has worked for the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force for 6 years. In that time, he has worked on trans non-discrimination and relationship recognition campaigns all over the country, from Kalamazoo, Michigan to Miami, Florida to the No on 8 campaign in California. He believes deeply that working on ballot measure campaigns is merely A part of the work that needs to be done for social justice, not the ONLY work that needs to be done. That being said, he loves building big teams of volunteers to change policies that affect the lives of LGBT people all over the country. Trystan lives in LA with his partner John. They are parents to 2 young children.
Cate Stock is a chair of the Political and Community Outreach subcommittee of the HRC Columbus steering committee. She is also currently the facilitator for the Columbus Bi Network and has previously held leadership positions within HRC@OSU, the LGBTQ & Allies Student Association, and comBIne @ OSU.
M. Mason is an HRC volunteer leader (Board of Governors) and HRC’s National Political Co-chair. She has participated in HRC’s Lobby Day in Washington, D.C. for several years and is excited to help others participate in getting critical protections passed.
Paul Stonner is a member of the Political and Community Outreach subcommittee of the HRC Columbus steering committee and a long-time supporter of HRC. He has over twenty years of presenting and providing training regarding federal regulation in the student lending community.
