TGC 2022 Schedule

Presenter: Bethany A. Beeler​ 

We know we’re trans and wish some would stop yelling “You’re deluded!” Yet, how do we know we’re trans? How do our bodies intersect with our thoughts, feelings, hopes, dreams, mental functioning, emotional state and how we live as trans selves? Why is it that those who experience gender dysphoria know they’re not at home with themselves? How is it that, when trans folk empower ourselves to live our true identities, we feel a peace and harmony that cisgender folks take for granted? Educator, novelist and artist, Bethany A. Beeler, author of How to NOT Know You’re Trans: A Memoir and TransQuality: How Trans Experience Affirms the World explores these questions and more to deepen trans self-awareness, as well as equip cisgender allies to best support trans people from an understanding of how body and mind mesh to form all selves—in a quest to know what makes all human beings the gifts we are.

Presenter: Rae Jones, Levi Arithson and Miles Erickson

In this workshop, participants will learn about the new Gender and Sexuality Justice Liaison pilot program in Denver Public Schools. This program came about through a concern of lack of supports and implementation of policy for trans students and staff, and a partnership between teachers, central office staff, administrators, district staff and charter schools. We will share our process of evaluating our district’s policies, supports and gaps, and our draft policy to address these needs. We will share a template to begin this work in your own community.

Presenter: Mafalda Dos Santos

Join the Denver Health LGBTQ+ health services patient advocates in learning more about how to navigate the insurance side of gender-affirming care. We will go over fundamental terms/definitions to give you the tools to better understand how to communicate with your insurance about coverage for gender-affirming care and surgeries. We will go over frequently asked questions and be available for a Q&A.

Presenters: Rebecca Diaz and Aimee Herman-Durica

Through the contemplative practice of meditation and writing prompts, Rebecca Diaz and Aimee Herman-Durica will invite participants on a journey to explore the inner and outer experiences of queerness.

Presenters: Theariale St. Cyr (Felony Misdemeanor) and Alex Vaughan (Trey Suits)

Do you have questions about the art of drag? What is nonbinary and transgender all about? Wondering about the relationship between drag and gender? Through Theariale St. Cyr, also known in the Denver drag community as Felony Misdemeanor, and Alex Vaughan also known in the Denver drag community as Trey Suits, you will learn about their experiences as drag performers, navigating gender identity, being a parent/caregiver and elevating queer and trans youth. All are welcome to this Q&A session with two queer/nonbinary/transgender humans who support the transgender community at YouthSeen.

Presenter: LeeLee James

LeeLee James, owner of Twirling Tech Goddess, encourages radical diversity and inclusion by making the process of learning about technology more fun, accessible and relatable to people underrepresented in STEM. As she puts it, “the family that slays together increases their socioeconomic status together.” LeeLee uses cutting-edge tools and technologies to create fabulous wearable items, then puts them through her patented Twirl Test to make sure that they're stage-ready. Join LeeLee for a discussion around her path to becoming the fabulous Twirling Tech Goddess, what she is working on now, and her journey as a black trans woman. Check out her work on her Youtube channel. 

Sam Feder is a Peabody Award-nominated film director. Cited by Indiewire as one of the “exciting trans filmmakers shaking up Hollywood,” Sam’s films explore the intersection of visibility and politics along the lines of race, class and gender. Sam’s filmmaking practice models inclusion and equity in the industry. Sam is the creator of the Netflix original documentary DISCLOSURE (Sundance, 2020), an unprecedented, eye-opening look at transgender depictions in film and television, revealing how Hollywood simultaneously reflects and manufactures our deepest anxieties about gender. DISCLOSURE is now streaming Netflix.

Presenter: Riley Mancuso

Much awareness around the high rates of violence against the trans community has focused on reporting and punishing individual acts of hate crimes. Through an abolitionist and anti-colonial lens, this presentation will examine ways that this limited approach within the framework of an oppressive police and “justice” system can fail to address many forms of harm and even enable further violence against vulnerable trans people in the U.S. and across the globe. We will also discuss alternative visions of trans safety and true liberation.

Presenter: Kyle Inselman

How does your gender show up at work/school? How about others’ genders? In this session, you’ll reflect on your gender identity and positionality, learn about how sexism and cissexism can impact everyone in the workplace, and discuss actions you can take toward gender equity with this awareness. Open to people of all genders and career stages—students too! Kyle Inselman is a career coach and CU Boulder alum, with nearly 15 years of experience advocating for trans inclusion and equality in higher education. He is an assistant director in career services at the University of Denver and recently founded an independent career coaching practice, Pride in Your Path, LLC, to meet the career needs of the LGBTQ+ community and beyond.

Presenter: Lexie Bean

This workshop, hosted by author Lexie Bean, will provide participants the chance to write and reflect, using the novel The Ship We Built as a guide. The book is noted as the first middle-grade novel centering a trans boy to be written by one at a major US publisher. The Ship We Built is a book about faith, queer love and imagination as a tool for survival amongst abuse against the backdrop of 1990s Michigan. Written as a collection of letters, participants will be read segments of the book, which will serve as writing prompts. There will be time at the end of the workshop for a Q&A with the author. 

We're giving away 35 free copies of The Ship We Built before TGC! Sign up to receive your book here (limited to the first 35 registrants).

Lexie will be speaking directly to childhood sexual abuse from their own experience and through the lens of their 10-year-old narrator. Please take care of yourself in any way you need to before, during and after the event. Resources at CU Boulder include the Office of Victim Assistance (OVA). OVA provides free and confidential information, consultation, support, advocacy and short-term counseling services to CU. Boulder students, graduate students, faculty and staff who have experienced a traumatic, disturbing, or life-disruptive event.

This session is co-sponsored by the CU Boulder Office of Victim Assistance.

Presenter: Shea Diamond

Shea (pronounced She-uh) Diamond is a powerful Black trans woman, whose acapella performance of her song I Am Her at a Black Trans Lives Matter event caught the attention of record producers. As a singer and songwriter, her career has taken off and she recently released her debut EP, titled Seen It All. Her song Presence of a Legend is featured in the movie “Mama Gloria” about transgender pioneer Gloria Allen. Shea’s journey is complex including running away, living in Flint, Michigan, becoming emancipated, being incarcerated and embodying her trans identity. As songwriter Justin Tranter states, “Not only does this woman have a very beautiful, powerful story to tell, she can back it up as a musician. Every time she opens her mouth to sing, you believe every word. And in terms of songwriting, she's a real storyteller.” Please join us as we talk with her about her journey, her visibility as a trans woman, and her advocacy work for the community. You can hear more of her powerful music on her Youtube channel. 

Presenter: Felix Lefevre

Are you trans, nonbinary or otherwise non-cis? Are you autistic, or do you have ADHD? Then you’ve probably heard it too – that voice in the back of your mind that always seems ready to lecture you about the ways your identity isn't valid. Maybe it’s your height, or the way your nose looks from a particular angle. Maybe it’s the idea that you haven't suffered enough. Or that you’ve suffered too much, but that somewhere deep down, you believe you deserve it. That your trans and nonbinary friends secretly don’t (or shouldn’t) accept you. That you’re faking it. That you’re just “not trans enough.” It feels pretty awful seeing it all written out like that, doesn’t it? Well, you’re not alone – believe me, I know. I’m a therapist, and I work almost exclusively with neurodiverse trans, nonbinary and gender diverse clients. And while I would never violate their privacy, I can say that I hear this stuff all the time, and that there are reasons why it happens. Interested? Come join this talk to learn more about why your mind seems determined to crush your self-esteem about your gender identity, and some ideas about what you can do about it.

Presenter: Sam Sharpe

Misunderstandings of biology are frequently weaponized to invalidate, erase and pathologize transgender identities. My workshop will examine and challenge these misconceptions through a nuanced, inclusive and culturally contextualized perspective on biological diversity. It will also discuss how biological sex and gender norms are derived from a racialized, eugenic history and have been used as oppressive tools of white supremacy to pathologize those who are queer, trans, intersex and people of color. Rejecting the narrative that trans existence is “unnatural” or anti-science and understanding ourselves as part of the inherent and essential biodiversity of life on earth is a powerful way to find joy. Dispelling the shame from political attempts to use biology against us can empower our sense of self and reduce barriers to finding community. Equipping ourselves with the knowledge and tools to challenge internal and external sources of invalidation can play an integral role in facilitating social change.