California Transgender Leadership Summit

February 17 - 19, 2006

The envent opened on Friday evening with an opening panel discussion and a reception. The workshops started on Saturday, and ran along 3 tracks. There were 3 workshop sessions (one of each track per session). The tracks were Personal Development, Community Building, and Institutional Change.

In the registration area, there was a resource area from which people could obtain information about programs and events throughout California.

Opening Panel Discussion
Bringing our voices together: Developing a shared vision around transgender identity and activism:
Rabbi Levi Alter, President FTM International (Los Angeles); Danielle Castro, Health Education & Training Center (San Jose); Nick Gorton, Physician (Davis); Tracie O’Brien, Transgender Health Project, Family Health Centers (San Diego) Personal Development
• Healing Ourselves - becoming leaders: Miss Major, TGI Justice Project (San Francisco); Marty Rawlings, San Francisco Transgender Empowerment, Advocacy & Mentorship – SF TEAM (San Francisco); Valerie Spencer, Activist (Los Angeles)
• Advocacy: What does it really mean?
• Fundraising strategies for transgender organizations/projects: Margarita Ramirez, Senior Program Officer, Liberty Hill Foundation (Los Angeles); Gayle Roberts, Nonprofit Fundraiser (San Francisco); Rachel White, Gay & Lesbian Adolescent Social Services (Los Angeles)

Community Building
• Fostering sustainable coalitions between Transgender communities; Effective communication around identity and privilege: Danny Kirchoff, Equality California (San Francisco)
• Community Organizing: Tools and Strategies: Malachi Larabee-Garza, School of Unity & Liberation (San Francisco)
• Connecting the dots; sharing strategies for local organizing: Shirley Bushnell, West Hollywood Transgender Task Force, APAIT (Los Angeles); Vicki Ortega, LAGLC (Los Angeles); Hannah Howard, League of Trans Unified Sisters – LOTUS (Los Angeles)

Institutional Change
• Public Policy Advocacy: Making change for everyone: AJ Davis, Director of Public Policy, San Diego LGBT Center (San Diego); Pat Magee, OC FTM (Orange County); Tracie O’Brien, Transgender Health Project, Family Health Centers (San Diego)
• Economic Empowerment and the Transgender Community: Lisa Kassner, Broadcast Engineer, NABE-CWA Local 53; JoAnne Keatley, Co-Chair, San Francisco Transgender Empowerment, Advocacy & Mentorship – SF TEAM (San Francisco); Lance Toma, Deputy Director, Asian and Pacific Islander Wellness Center (San Francisco)
• Media Advocacy: Developing shared messages and strategies: Nick Adams (Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation – GLAAD (Los Angeles)

Sunday Panel Discussion What a movement looks like: Building a statewide transgender rights movement: Shirley Bushnell, West Hollywood Transgender Task Force, APAIT (Los Angeles); Sister Mary Elizabeth, AEGIS (Los Angeles); Robert Haaland, SEIU 790 (San Francisco); Alexander Lee, Director, TGI Justice Project (San Francisco) Since I was unable to attend every workshop, these image are from the workshos I did attend.