April (she/her) has 15 years of experience working in the HIV Prevention and Social Services Sector. She is currently a Linkage & Retention Specialist at the Trans Wellness Center in Los Angeles providing much needed wrap-around services to the transgender, non-binary, and intersex communities. These services include linkage resources such as Primary Care & HRT, Mental Health, Substance Use Recovery, Support Groups, Housing, Benefits Enrollment, PrEP and PEP, and Name and Gender Marker Change. Her passion for this work began through her special connection with the community and clients she serves– them being much like herself. Many clients find themselves thinking that there is no hope at the end of the tunnel; however, April is evidence that there is hope, having been there herself. She has made a life-long commitment to advocate for her community and other underserved communities at her reach and beyond.

Carla Ibarra (she/they) is a transgender rights activist and public health professional with more than nine years of community-focused work highlighting health equity and justice in BIPOC trans and non-binary communities.

She is a commissioner at the Transgender Advisory Council of the City of Los Angeles, advising the mayor on key issues affecting the trans community. At present, she is also pursuing a Master of Public Health (MPH) degree at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California, where she works to continuously works to center the lived experiences of trans and non-binary people in health research and policy.

Because of her work and dedication, Carla was featured in "The Power of Kindness," a special documentary with Lady Gaga, in honor of World Kindness Day. In May 2022, she was a part of the first-ever MTV Mental Health Youth Action Forum held at the White House. Advocating to transform mental health awareness into actual, tangible actions, Carla and other young leaders dialogued with US President Joe Biden, US Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy, and mental health advocate and world-renowned artist Selena Gomez.

Carla is a proud trans Filipina immigrant born and raised in Metro Manila. She now resides in Los Angeles, California, with her beautiful husband and three awesome cats named Chubs, Meatball, and Meatloaf.

Social Media Handles:

Instagram - @miss.carlaibarra

Twitter - @GinangIbarra

Danny Guerra (he/his/him) is a Salvadoran trans genderfluid writer and community organizer living in the greater Los Angeles area. Danny is an educator primarily focusing on alternative sexual practices, remodeling typical relationship structures, safer sex practices, and consent negotiations with a variety of identities. He has been creating educational and social spaces for qtibipoc community members since 2018. Additionally, Danny is the co-founder and facilitator of a virtual support space for disabled adults to talk about their experiences with sexual ableism. Believing community is an intentional action we must consciously opt into, Danny tries to find new ways to choose community every day.

Jennifer Schwartz (she/they) is a licensed clinical social worker, and has worked as a therapist specializing in serving the LGBTQ community, PLWHA, and other marginalized communities since 2012. Additionally, Jennifer is privileged to provide continuing education to other health and mental health professionals on a variety of topics including care coordination, supervision, and cultural considerations for providers serving the polyamorous, LGBTQ, BDSM/Kink communities, as well as clients who are Fat/living in larger bodies. Jennifer currently leads the Behavioral Health department at Corner Health Center, in Ypsilanti, Michigan, following a 9 year tenure as a mental health leader within the Detroit community. She has served an an advisor to the Michigan HIV/AIDS Council, as well as participating on several state and community non-profit committees, focusing on service to marginalized populations.

Jennifer received her MSW from University of Michigan, and her BSW from the University of Michigan- Flint, where she tailored her educational experiences toward sexual health education and sex therapy, as well as general mental health.

LLuvia (they/she) has been working in the HIV field since 2007, working within Transgender communities of color and with black and brown LGBTQIA youth. She is currently the Senior Program Manager for AID Healthcare Foundations' Public Health Division in Chicago. LLuvia also has been working as a Capacity Building Specialist for the San Francisco Health Department for the last 5 years. She sits on various Boards of Directors in the Chicagoland Area and was the Program Manager for the First CDC grant for Transgender Communities of Color at Howard Brown Health.

Olly (They/He) is a trans, nonbinary Research Assistant and study Navigator within Brown University. They received their BSc in Psychology and Criminal Justice & as a Clinical Research Assistant with justice-involved youth and autistic youth/young adults, respectively. He is particularly interested in research focused on the experiences of those who’ve endured complex trauma, as well as the development of psychometric instruments. In their personal life, Olly fosters cute animals and fervently enjoys all forms of art.

Storm Gaustria (she/they) is an Afro-Indigenous trans activist, educator, and queer researcher in Gainesville, Florida. She's a third-year student at the University of Florida studying Sociology. She aspires to become a mental health therapist specializing in care for LGBTQIA* people of color.

Jesus “Yarimah” Iñiguez (she/they) is a Transgender-Gender Queer, Latinx visual artist from Chicago. They have worked in the field since 2015 and have collaborated with Columbia College Chicago, the Haitian American Museum of Chicago, The Center for Black Music Research and the University of Notre Dame in Indiana. They incorporate Pre-Columbian American visual elements into contemporary U.S Latino/a/x styles.

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