A place to find community with transgender, nonbinary folx and our allies. A conference for us to gather, learn, and grow.
Join us on Saturday, April 26 from 8:30am-4:30pm at the church for this live streamed and networking conference. Come for a single workshop or stay for the whole day. Bring your own lunch or check out a recommended eatery but plan to eat at the church to socialize and network. A community gathering with light refreshments will be served at 4pm to further our connections and networks. Check out the schedule and register.
Schedule for the Day
Registration: 8:30am EDT – Throughout the Day
Onsite registration will open at 8:30am and will be available through out the day.
Welcome and Announcements: 8:45-8:55am EDT
A warm welcome will be extended to all attendees and details about the days events will be shared.
Session 1: 9:00am-9:50am EDT
Option 1: Trans 101 for the new, curious, and open: This workshop will focus on “the basics,” of what might help you understand and support trans, non-binary, genderqueer, and other gender non-conforming folks, with tools to support us that don’t require you to completely understand.
Option 2: Supporting Your Neuroqueer Kin: Several studies have shown that autistic individuals are significantly more likely to be transgender than allistic (non-autistic) individuals. Multiple researchers suggest that neurodivergent ways of interpreting the world and neurodivergent resistance to conventional thinking contribute to the comparatively high population of transgender autistics. This workshop guides caregivers and supporters of trans autistic youth and adults through that research, describes the experiences at the nexus of trans and neurodivergent, and shares practical strategies for supporting the neuroqueer individuals in participants’ lives. The workshop will hold space for ample discussion and include time for strategizing individualized supports.
Session 2: 10:00-10:50am EDT
Option 1: Let’s Deconstruct the Binary Together: We call this Building Beloved Community Beyond the Binary, but what IS the binary and how do we build community beyond it? Join us as we discuss the long history and development of the binary paradigm, how it is hurting all of us, and spend some time together practicing thought processes to move your own thinking beyond the binary. This workshop welcomes people of all genders and experiences, though at least a 101 level of understanding trans allyship is required.
Option 2: Relational Resilience: Building Secure, Authentic Connections. Learn skills and strategies for fostering strong, meaningful relationships that can withstand challenges and foster emotional security.
Session 3: 11:00-11:50am EDT
Option 1: Creating Fat Liberation in Trans Spaces: This workshop will be a blend of personal story sharing, education and discussion around anti-fat bias and how it can be perpetuated in Trans spaces. Education will be centered on anti-fat bias and how it intersects with anti-trans rhetoric. Please come prepared to ask questions and share some of your experiences of fat joy and resistance. By the end, you will walk away with a basic understanding of anti-fat bias and how to spot it, as well as a few tips on how to make your spaces more inclusive of all bodies.
Option 2: Shapeshifters: Exploring and Affirming Gender Diversity thru Art and Stories Thru beautiful pictures and intimate, personal language, the book ‘Shapeshifters’ tells the stories of seven artists who share their gender explorations ‘beyond the binary.’ Using the book as a jumping off point, this workshop will provide folks the opportunity to discuss their journey with gender, both for ourselves and with significant people in our lives. A special emphasis will be on how we can be allies to nonbinary, queer, and trans folks.
KEYNOTE ADDRESS 1:00-2:30pm EDT
Spencer Bergstedt is a consultant, public speaker, educator, and author specializing in LGBTQ workplace, health care, and educational inclusion issues. Spencer has been advocating for LGBTQ people for over 30 years. His work on transgender legal issues has garnered him an international reputation for both scholarly theory and practical application. Spencer’s work has impacted birth certificate and driver’s license policies, youth participation in after-school activities, and self-help legal information for trans people throughout the US. His lived experience as a transman combined with his legal expertise and executive leadership roles bring a unique breadth of understanding to his clients. Spencer is an engaging presenter who fosters greater understanding on the topic of gender diversity in an open and supportive manner.
Session 4: 2:45-3:50pm EDT
Option 1: Queering Belonging on a College Campus: How To Support LGBTQ+ Students in Challenging Times: This workshop is focused on sharing best practices of creating community, building sense of belonging, and allyships on college campuses for trans and non binary students.
Option 2: Secondhand Masculinity: This is workshop dedicated to exploring the way we currently understand masculinity and how we can challenge it to be so much more. The presentation will define masculinity as we see it currently, exploring the influences on what builds those ideas. The workshop will unpack toxic gender roles and their impact on both people who are masculine as well as those they interact with. Further, the workshop helps participants understand the impact and importance this holds for generations to come, laying the foundation for a new way of understanding masculinity. The workshop utilizes audience participation and activities to cultivate a safe and interactive way to learn.
Option 3: Practical Skills for Addressing Transphobia: Have you ever heard someone say something overtly (or even subtly) transphobic and not known how to respond? Maybe you spent the next several hours or days brainstorming different ways you could have challenged what they said? This interactive workshop will focus on practical ways to engage in productive conversations about gender diversity and transphobia with others, whether it be with friends, family or strangers. We will consider the misinformation and motivations that are often at the foundation of transphobic beliefs, identify common patterns of defensiveness when people’s transphobic beliefs are challenged, and learn practical micro-intervention strategies for responding in the moment. The goal of this workshop is to provide you with tools to engage in these conversations with compassion and bravery.
Community Gathering and Closing: 4:00-4:30pm EDT
An opportunity to deepen community connections and network.