Social Justice, Health & Wellness Evening @ O, Cinema

Wednesday, April 10, 2024 at 6:30 PM EST

FREE

Join us for an important panel entitled Pride. Progress. Perseverance.

LGBTQIA+ populations have unique lived experiences partly defined by adversity, discrimination and harassment. Time and time again the LGBTQIA+ community has stood up against mistreatment, violence, and hostile legislation that focuses on one section of our community to invalidate their existence, which ends up impacting us all. Whether you wear one or all colors of the Rainbow, Queer, Lesbian, Gay, Bi, Trans, Non-Binary, Gender Non-Conforming, Intersex, or if you are an Ally wanting to be involved, join us at this special panel led by a group of subject matter experts who will take the opportunity to address the increased levels of hate to offer inclusive and protective strategies to make all members of our community feel valued, respected, and fulfilled.

You are encouraged to ask questions of the panelists following the presentation.

SCHEDULE

6:00 - 6:30 pm - Doors open - mix and mingle

6:30 – 7:45 pm – Panel discussion: Pride, Progress and Perseverance

7:45 pm – 8:15 pm – Question & Answer Session

8:15 pm – 8:30 pm – Networking/Photo opportunity

8:30 pm - Event ends

Moderator:

Dr. Erica Jayne Friedman (They/She/He)

Director of Pride Center at ‍ Florida International University

Dr. Friedman welcomes all pronouns and is a social and personality psychologist and activist focused on LGBTQ+ issues from an intersectional, social justice lens. They advocate for people's right to self-determine their genders and orientations through research, education, and direct action. They disseminate this information through their work as the Associate Director of FIU's Pride Center and as the founder of Deviate 2 Elevate, a consulting business which seeks to provide individuals, organizations, and businesses with the confidence to better provide for and support LGBTQ+ employees, clients, and loved ones. They are also a part of the House of Milan in the Miami Ballroom Scene, co-leading a movement for increased representation of gender non-conforming categories in the Ballroom community worldwide.

Panelists:

Brayland Brown

Board President

TransInclusive Group

Brayland Brown is an unapologetically black man of trans experience. He is the Board President of Translnclusive Group, which advocates to protect and defend equality for Transgender and LGBQ in South Florida. Brayland is also the Co-founder and Co-director of The Smile Trust, which is an international nonprofit that works towards Community Resilience, Housing & Food Security for all. He is a proud alumnus of the prestigious HBCU, Howard University with a BBA in marketing and Nova Southeastern University with a master’s degree in marketing. He is a serial Entrepreneur with a focus on developing Black Owned Startups and Small Businesses. Fun Facts: Bray is a sneaker connoisseur, LEGO collector, and writer.

Jan Moore

Founder

Narwhal Magic Kindness

When her daughter came to her and shared her truth just five days past her fifth birthday, Jan Moore embarked on a journey. Nearly eight years later, she advocates to make the world a loving place for all transgender and gender-diverse people. Jan is the author of Transgender Healthcare: A Roadmap for Parents of Young Children and eagerly awaits the release of her first children's book, Be You Bravely, a story of love and affirmation. Jan has been a featured speaker for the Centers for Disease Control 911 initiative and has been interviewed for the Phluid Project, speaking about the joy of parenting a child who identifies as transgender. Jan is the founder of Narwhal Magic Kindness, a website dedicated to educating parents and caregivers of trans and gender-diverse children, and is the author of her blog, My Life Unedited (www.jan-moore.com). Jan Moore will be joining virtually

E.C. Pizarro III (he/him)

Executive Director

TransTech Social Enterprises

E.C Pizarro III is an award-winning Brand Designer and Digital Artist. He is also the Creative Director of his design firm, 1Z2R, the Executive Director of TransTech Social Enterprises, and the founder of Marsha’s Web (a resource directory for TLGBQIA+ communities, that centers BIPOC Transgender, Intersex, and GNC business owners/organizations). Recently honored as The Out100, Out magazine’s greatest and most well-known tradition: a prestigious compilation of the year’s most impactful and influential LGBTQ+ people. Passionate about his people and his purpose, he is dedicated to using his talent and voice to create a new temperature in the industry for emerging designers by driving confidence in their brand and fostering a foundation for success by working with entrepreneurs and fortune 500 companies, alike.

Micheal Riordan (she/her)

Director of Media and Communications

Compass Community Center

The LGBT Community Center of the Palm Beaches

From an early age, Michael knew that she had feelings that were not being experienced by a majority of her peer group. In the 1980’s there were few resources for transgender people; in many cases, no one knew that transgender people existed. At the age of ten she tried to express feelings of gender dysphoria to a family member and the reaction she received convinced her to hide how she felt for the next 27 years. Today, Michael happily works at Compass Community Center and identifies as a transgender woman. She has kept her birth name. She has a BS in Communications and a Masters in Educational Leadership. Michael is a firm believer that transgender people should live openly and proudly when it is healthy and safe for them to do so and advocates for equal rights for transgender people.

Jesse Fraga (he/him)

Journalist

Lilly Ann Velez (she/her)

Executive Board Member & Secretary for Miami Beach Pride

Former Board Member for Trans Collaborative Network

Operations Manager @ Amazon

As an advocate for trans rights, Lilly is committed to sharing her life and experience to provide support to other people of trans experience during their journey.