Shawn Demmons is a queer African American trans man committed to social and racial justice. Shawn has 10+ years of experience providing community health education training, capacity building, and technical assistance to increase provider knowledge and awareness about trans people and the best practices to engage transgender communities in health care. Shawn has developed training curricula, webinars, and interactive presentations for the staff and leadership of numerous health care organizations across the U.S. In addition, he coordinated the past three convenings of the National Transgender Health Summit and led the development of a Trans 101 eLearning course for the UCSF Center of Excellence for Transgender Health website. Currently, Shawn directs an HIV capacity-building program where he works to expand the number and ability of health care professionals to provide high quality HIV care and decrease inequities that includes programming on gender-affirming care. Shawn has an undergraduate degree in Black Studies and Masters in Public Health from San Francisco State University, and is the proud papa of a 10-year old chihuahua named Cooper.

Garrett is a 43 year old tranman who began his transition in Florida in the late 90’s. He has lived all over the United States and has held all kinds of jobs in youth advocacy, health care and a few odd ones as well. Garrett has had many titles but the ones that have brought him the most joy in the current years have been friend, brother, and uncle to the vibrant and beautiful trans and queer community that he has built over time. He currently resides in Washington State with his wife and their three dogs. 

Carter, the Co-Founder and Executive Director of the National Black Trans Advocacy Coalition (BTAC), has played a pivotal role in advancing the rights and well-being of Black transgender individuals. As a transgender man who understands the challenges of marginalized communities firsthand, Carter established BTAC in 2011, making it the first national, Black trans-led non-profit organization.

His unwavering commitment to ending violence, addressing HIV disparities, combating employment discrimination, and tackling other critical issues faced by Black transgender people has been the driving force behind BTAC’s impactful initiatives. With over a decade of dedicated engagement with transgender communities, Carter Brown’s leadership has elevated BTAC’s community organizing and programming to an indispensable position within the quest for equality.

Dr. Syrus Marcus Ware is an Assistant Professor at the School of the Arts at McMaster University. A Vanier scholar, visual artist, activist, curator and educator, Ware uses drawing and painting, installation, and performance to explore social justice frameworks and Black activist culture. His work has been shown widely across Canada in solo and group shows, and his performance works have been part of local and international festivals. He is part of the Black August Arts Residency Collective and a cofounder of Black Lives Matter-Canada. Syrus is curator of the That’s So Gay show and a past co-curator of Blackness Yes!/Blockorama. In addition to penning a variety of journals and articles, Syrus is the co-editor of the best-selling “Until We Are Free: Reflections on Black Lives Matter in Canada (URP, 2020).

Max is a 45-year-old queer man, dad and avid fossil hunter, who began transitioning in 1999. He has lived all over, but his longest stint thus far has been in Philadelphia, where he works as a nursepractitioner in an outpatient infectious diseases practice and specializes in caring for people living with HIV. He is passionate about too many things, some of which include harm reduction, queer history, rocks, poetry and boats.