Jose (he/him) and Lizette Trujillo (she/her) are small business owners and community advocates for transgender youth and families. They spend much of their time volunteering in their local community, where they facilitate a support group for families of transgender, gender-creative, and gender non-conforming youth. They are excited to serve on the Human Rights Campaign's Parents for Trans Equality Council. Jose and Lizette are proud parents to a 15-year-old trans son. Jose and Lizette have learned so much through their child's experience, and are committed to creating awareness and change around trans youth and their needs.

Mehereen Baig (she/her) is a mother to three boys, ages 24, 17 and 18, with the two eldest being cisgender and the youngest being transgender. As an immigrant from Pakistan, Mehereen came to the United States at four years old and was raised in a conservative, traditional Muslim family. While in college she broke a cultural norm by marrying outside of her customs and nationality to an American convert to Islam. It has not been the easiest journey for her to face abandonment and rejection from some members of her family, but armed with constant education and an open heart, she fiercely shields her sons from facing the same challenges.

Mehereen is an educator of 26 years at the elementary level.. Within her district, she is currently working to bring an LGBTQIA curriculum to classrooms ranging from elementary to high school. Although Mehereen is fairly new to the news of her son coming out to their family, she is well-versed in unconditional acceptance in diversity and is outspoken within the Islamic community.

Debi Jackson (she/her) and her husband Tom are raising their two children in Kansas City, Missouri. Debi became an advocate for transgender rights in 2014 when her speech about her daughter’s transition at 4 went viral. The self-described "conservative Southern Baptist Republican from Alabama" now speaks on behalf of transgender children and their families around the world.

Debi was awarded the 2016 NEA GLBT Caucus Role Model Award for her contributions to education about the LGBTQ+ community. She trains schools across the US on creating trans-inclusive policies and how to best support students through their transitions. She serves as a board member for the Los Angeles Gender Center and SAVE, Inc. in Kansas City.

Her non-binary child, Avery, has also told her own gender journey story in a children’s book, “It’s Okay to Sparkle” and was featured on the cover of the “Gender Revolution” issue of National Geographic magazine.

Stephen Chukumba (he/him/his) is a single father of four children, Asha Ming, Chima, Hobbs and Nokosi. One of Stephen’s children identifies as a transgender boy and since his son’s coming out, Stephen has made it his mission to disabuse the world of its ignorance and intolerance of LGBTQ people and the issues they face.

Stephen is a scrum master at Capital One, where he is an active member of several business resource groups devoted to assisting the members of minority and disenfranchised groups. As a member of the Human Rights Campaign’s Parents for Transgender Equality Council, PFLAG and GLAAD, Stephen leverages his membership in these powerful advocacy platforms to speak and educate about the unique challenges faced by people of color raising transgender youth.

Rachel (she/her/hers) and Frank Gonzales (he/him/his) are advocates and allies in the movement for transgender equality. As the parents of a transgender child, they fight to ensure that other parents are able to advocate for their transgender children and that all transgender people receive the love and support that has allowed their trans daughter to thrive. Rachel and Frank have testified multiple times at the Texas Capitol, and have been an integral part of blocking Texas’s anti-transgender bathroom bill in 2017, and the many bills proposed in 2021 and continue to push for trans equality across Texas and around the country.

Jennifer Solomon (she/her/hers) lives in Miami with their four children, two of whom are part of the LGBTQ community. Their oldest daughter just celebrated her second wedding anniversary with her beautiful wife. Cooper is the youngest and identifies as gender non-conforming. While his gender identity is male, his gender expression is fabulously female. A pediatric registered nurse by profession, Jennifer chooses to spend her time advocating for all LGBTQ youth to live safe and healthy lives as their authentic selves. She is the founder and president of PFLAG South Miami Chapter. She has created a safe space for families to gather, receive support, give advice and become allies for their loved ones.

For the last five years, Jennifer has been a member of the Miami Dade County Public Schools (MDCPS) LGBTQ Safe School Advisory Council, where she works with local organizations to provide the superintendent and school board members with tools and guidance to ensure a school environment is a safe place for learning. She also serves on the MDCPS Student Services Advisory Committee. Sharing her family’s experience with raising a child who redefines what it means to be a boy will hopefully help educate others and make the world a kinder, gentler place for all children.

Joy Wilson (she/her/hers) is the proud mother of two daughters, Piper and Ella. Her youngest child, Ella transitioned at the age of 8. In an effort to destigmatize trans youth, her family put out a video with Basic Rights Oregon that was showcased at TEDx Portland. Joy has been an outspoken ally and advocate, whether in meetings with public school officials, speaking at press conferences, or doing interviews with news media. In addition to casual one-on-one advocacy, Joy has spoken in more formal settings, such as a panelist for the Oregon Council of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry conference as well as for 1st & 2nd year med students at Oregon Health & Science University, all to help educate and advocate for meeting the needs of transgender youth.

Joy is an active member of Basic Rights Oregon, and serves as a founding member and the Chair of Fierce Families, a network fighting for transgender youth in Oregon. Joy's daughter, Ella, was lovingly mentioned in Anne Hathaway's touching acceptance speech as the recipient of HRC's 2018 National Equality Award.

Keisha (she/her/hers) and Sean (he/him/his) Michaels are the parents of two children and live in suburban Maryland. Both are originally from Massachusetts, they met while attending the same HBCU and have since enjoyed the Mid-Atlantic region for most of their adulthood. Keisha practices medicine full-time and is an avid reader. She co-moderates a Facebook physician group that supports parents of children who identify as LGBTQI. Sean is an entrepreneur and stock market trader.

Keisha and Sean are the parents of a transgender child and have committed to helping other families love and accept their children and family members who are gender atypical.

Kamela (she/her/hers) and Kole (he/him/his) Heyward-Rotimi live in North Carolina. As parents, they teach their children to express their true selves, not what society dictates. Not too long ago, their youngest put this lesson into practice when he shared his truth, that he is transgender. Since that time, as his parents and people that love him, Kole and Kamela have committed to educating themselves. Their own transition involves a learning process of deep exploration and the relinquishing of previously held ‘norms.’ The Heyward-Rotimis’ are committed to advocating for and supporting their teenage son.

Kamela is a member of the Black LGBTQI Family, Parents, and Caregivers Meeting Group. She and an area parent are also forming a support group for parents of color of LGBTQIA+ children in North Carolina.