MTPC Seeks New Executive Leader

The Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition (MTPC), the go-to transgender advocacy and education organization in Massachusetts, offers an extraordinary opportunity for a new executive leader to partner with its talented Steering Committee, staff and volunteers.  By attracting and mobilizing the under-utilized talents and skills of the transgender community, MTPC has increased the visibility of transgender people and built a vibrant and supportive transgender and allied community across the state.  MTPC is small, powerful, nimble and ready for its next stage of evolution.

mtpclogo-metalThe ED will report to the Steering Committee and is responsible for programming and fundraising, as well as financial and administrative management of the organization. MTPC’s new leader will be expected to play a strong, visible and strategic role in developing and implementing plans to promote growth, impact and long-term sustainability.

MTPC is spreading the word about this opportunity as widely as possible.  Please share this information to those in your network who should be aware of this opportunity.  For the complete position profile and application guidelines, please visit http://www.tsne.org/jobs/ed_ma_transgndr_poli_coalition/

We thank you so much for your assistance in getting the word out.  If you know of someone whom I should contact directly, please don’t hesitate to let me know.  Your involvement in outreach can have a big impact on MTPC’s future!

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MTPC Cosponsoring Trans Film Programming at Boston LGBT Film Festival May 2-14, 2013

MTPC is proud to cosponsor the transgender films highlighted at the Boston LGBT Film Festival, which runs May 2-14 in Boston and Cambridge. The full program with venue information and links for buying tickets can be found at http://www.bostonlgbtfilmfest.net.

Screening of transgender short films

TRANS PEOPLE AROUND THE WORLD screens Sunday, May 12 at the Brattle Theatre in Harvard Square, Cambridge, at 4 p.m. This collection of shorts especially lifts up voices from the global trans community, including many trans women and people of color. Tickets to the shorts screening are available on a sliding scale to make this event accessible to everyone in our community.

  • QUEEN OF THE DESERT, directed by Alex Kelly, takes us on the road with the flamboyant hairdresser trainer and youth worker Starlady Nungari. Starlady’s hair salons began in the indigenous community of Kintore in 2002. Armed with only a bottle of bleach and a pair of clippers, it was a big success. No wonder–hair has always been important in Aboriginal culture. The desert is harsh and cultural traditions stand strong; not everyone lasts long out here. Initially employers were skeptical, saying “you look a bit strange.” Starlady proved them wrong and now drives thousands of kilometers taking her mobile hair workshops to some of Australia’s most isolated teenagers.
  • TRACED IN LIGHT, directed by Daniel Martins (Brazil, Portuguese with English subtitles). A lighting designer in a small independent theater prepares the place for the presentation of the day. His work is extremely lonely, going up and down stairs, testing lamps one after another. Between the complete darkness and the radiance of colored lights, the designer reveals the preambles of a psychological violence suffered due to his gender identity: as a child, he had been forced by his mother to wear an uniform matching to the feminine body that he was born with. This is the turning point in his life that leads him to reflect and speak about the perception society has on gender and trans-sexuality.
  • BODY DIALECTIC, directed by Matt Fillmore, surveys the life and work of Kris/Kristen Grey/Justin Credible, a performance artist who mobilizes trans* issues by means of personal experience and reflection. As such, this film embraces the interminglings of the personal, the artistic, and the political. Tactile and poignant in its approach, the film employs the historical use of personal experience to make larger political claims that do not attempt to neatly categorize the polymorphous relationship between gender and bodies. Like the performance art of the film’s subject, this film is primarily invested in a crucial issue of queer theory and social life: the accessibility of complex questions of gender to a person of any gender and sexual identity or expression.
  • LOVING THE BONY LADY, directed by Scott Elliott, tells the story of Arely Gonzalez, who has built what she believes to be New York’s largest shrine to La Santa Muerte, the Holy Death. Since devoting herself to the skeletal saint, Gonzalez, who is an immigrant and transsexual, has seen her life transformed. The Catholic Church condemns La Santa Muerte, also known as La Flaca, the Skinny Lady, but in the past ten years her popularity has exploded among those living on Mexico’s margins: the poor, drug runners, prostitutes, prisoners. Now, Sante Muerte has crossed into the U.S. In Mexico, Arely Gonzalez suffered discrimination and was kicked out of Catholic churches. In the U.S., she has become a leader among Santa Muerte devotees, regularly opening her doors to anyone who wishes to seek her saint’s protection and comfort.
  • Repeat screening of LA IDENTIDAD DE JUSTICIA, directed by Lucas Waldron (Spanish with English subtitles). In the summer of 2012, filmmaker Lucas Waldron was working in Cochabamba, Bolivia, with an NGO and he connected with several transsexual women who are leaders in the transsexual community’s battle against transphobia in the Bolivian government and society. The result is this powerful documentary about the experiences of transsexual women in Bolivia in relation to sex work, HIV, and discrimination.
  • VOICES OF WITNESS: OUT OF THE BOX, directed by Louise Brooks, is a groundbreaking documentary giving voice to the witness of transgender people of faith. Courageously inviting the viewer into their journeys, the film is ultimately a celebration of hope and the power of God’s love to transcend even seemingly insurmountable obstacles. Produced by Integrity’s late communication director Louise Brooks, the film is being offered by Integrity USA as a gift to the Episcopal Church, as a resource for both teaching and transformation.

Additional transgender films

Continue reading →

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MTPC Seeks New Executive Director

POSITION OPEN: Executive Director
Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition

Location: Boston, Mass.
Posted: 04/26/2013
Apply by: 05/31/2013

Founded in 2001, MTPC is dedicated to ending discrimination on the basis of gender identity and gender expression. MTPC envisions a world where persons of all genders are treated with respect and fully participate in all areas of society, free from fear of prohibition, harassment or violence based on their gender identity and/or expression. The organization has accomplished major advocacy successes including passage of the Massachusetts Transgender Equal Rights Act in 2011. By attracting and mobilizing the under-utilized talents and skills of the transgender community, it has increased the visibility of transgender people and built a vibrant and supportive transgender and allied community across the state. Its current annual budget is $100,000 under the fiscal sponsorship of the Boston Alliance of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Youth (BAGLY). MTPC currently has in place an Interim Director, part time staff and interns, and a volunteer Steering Committee.

The Opportunity

MTPC is small, powerful, nimble and ready for its next stage of evolution. As the go-to transgender advocacy and education organization in Massachusetts, it is also frequently called upon to assist individuals in the role of direct service provider. Though committed to staying closely attuned to its community’s needs, it has been spread thin as a small organization with limited capacity. Recognizing and managing these (and other) disparate demands will be a key challenge for the new director.

The Steering Committee and staff have identified the following focus areas for the next three years:

  • Advocacy (coalition building and legislative strategy)
  • Education (community advocates program, trainings and speaking engagements)
  • Community (organizing effective community events)

The Position

The new Executive Director will lead an organization of diverse transgender activists and advocates seeking to continue an ambitious agenda of improving the lives of transgender people in Massachusetts. The incoming ED will share this goal and commitment to the organization’s mission, bringing aspirations, perspective and experience to guide the organization. The ED should be passionate, knowledgeable, and politically savvy. The ideal candidate is a seasoned manager with imagination and purpose, able to successfully implement ideas and plans, a skilled collaborator, committed to open dialogue and transparency, and a hardworking self-starter who is dedicated to social justice. The ED will have demonstrable successes as an innovative, facilitative and collaborative leader, able to create a vision and inspire others through positive, inclusive engagement.

The ED will report to the Steering Committee and is responsible for programming and fundraising, as well as financial and administrative management of the organization. MTPC’s new leader will be expected to play a strong, visible and strategic role in developing and implementing plans to promote growth, impact and long-term sustainability.

Application Process

Click here to see the full position description and instructions for how to apply.

Due to the pace of this search, candidates are strongly encouraged to apply as soon as possible with a deadline of May 31, 2013.

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UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on “one of the great, neglected human rights challenges of our time”

In this United Nations video, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon calls LGBT rights “one of the great, neglected human rights challenges of our time.”

The main text of the speech is below, but I recommend watching the full video. It will make your heart grow three sizes today.

We should all be outraged when people suffer discrimination, assault, and even murder simply because they are lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender. We should all speak out when someone is arrested and imprisoned because of who they love or how they look. This is one of the great neglected human rights challenges of our time. We must right these wrongs.

Governments have a legal duty to protect everyone, but far too many still refuse to acknowledge the injustice of homophobic violence and discrimination. We need to document this problem and share information with the states on a regular basis for discussion and action. We must institutionalize our efforts to address discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. We need public education to change popular attitudes.

Some will oppose change. They may invoke tradition or religion to defend the status quo. Such arguments have been used to try to justify slavery, child marriage, rape in marriage, and female genital mutilation. I respect culture, tradition, and religion, but they can never justify the denial of basic rights.

My promise to the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender members of the human family is this: I’m with you. I promise you that as Secretary General of the United Nations, I will denounce attacks against you and I will keep pressing leaders for progress. I’m committed to leading a global campaign in partnership with the United Nations Human Rights Office.

I count on others to join us. Together we can make the world safer, freer, and more equal for everyone.

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The 2013 Boston Marathon

MTPC is heartbroken over the explosions at the Boston Marathon yesterday that took three lives and caused numerous injuries. Marathon Monday, also known as Patriots’ Day, is a day of pride and celebration in this city. At MTPC, we grieve for the individuals and families who are affected by this tragedy.

We are grateful to the first responders and all the community heroes who rushed toward the danger in order to save others. We are all so very lucky to have you protecting us, and we hold you dear in our hearts.

In particular, we are proud (though not surprised) to see Javier Pagan caught being a hero in this now-famous photo from the scene of the blast. Pagan, in uniform on the far right, is the Boston Police Department’s liaison to the LGBT community, and he has been a hero to us for years.

Javier Pagan marathon

Photo by John Tlumacki / The Boston Globe

In times like this, we must respond to senseless hate and tragedy with love and community.

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Fourth Annual Lawyers for Transgender Rights Event to Feature Representative Carl Sciortino and Dylan Orr from the U.S. Department of Labor

The Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition (MTPC) is pleased to announce its fourth annual Lawyers for Transgender Rights (LTR) event on Thursday, April 4 at 6 p.m. at The Estate in Boston. Massachusetts Representative Carl Sciortino will be accepting MTPC’s 2013 Transgender Ally Award, and Dylan Orr of the U.S. Department of Labor will be accepting the 2013 Community Advocate Award. The recipient of this year’s Commitment to Service Award will be announced during the event.

This LTR cocktail reception and silent auction brings together lawyers, law students, law firms, legal organizations, bar associations and law schools to network and build support in the legal community for MTPC’s work on behalf of transgender rights.

“Lawyers for Transgender Rights provides an important opportunity to hear about MTPC’s exciting work while raising money for this amazing organization,” said Bri Lacy, co-chair of LTR’s Host Committee.

2013 Transgender Ally Award recipient Carl Sciortino has been a leading progressive voice in the Massachusetts House of Representatives since his election in 2004. In addition to being a lead sponsor of both recent transgender rights bills, he has led battles for preserving marriage equality and establishing a buffer zone around reproductive healthcare facilities. He has also advocated for a range social and economic justice issues, including raising the minimum wage, closing corporate tax loopholes, passing the state’s landmark universal healthcare law, pushing for improvements in education and testing policies and increasing access to public transportation.

“Carl Sciortino is the very definition of a strong ally,” said MTPC Interim Director Jesse Begenyi. “He has been there at every step of the process in securing equal rights for the Commonwealth’s transgender community, and he understands the complex systems of oppression creating the need for legal protections. You can tell that even beyond fighting for legal equality for our community, Carl is very invested in people as individuals and works to make sure everyone has an equal chance to lead a full and rich life.”

2013 Community Advocate Award recipient Dylan Orr serves as Special Advisor to Assistant Secretary of Labor Kathy Martinez in the Office of Disability Employment Policy at the U.S. Department of Labor, contributing to the development of national disability-employment-related regulations and policy. He also represents the Department of Labor on the National HIV/AIDS Strategy. Among Orr’s volunteer pursuits, he is a founding member of Trans Legal Advocates of Washington and is the first openly transgender person appointed to a U.S. presidential administration. Prior to this appointment, his legal and policy background focused on civil rights and social justice issues.

“MTPC plays an invaluable role in Massachusetts,” Host Committee Co-chair Lacy said. “It led the fight for the transgender equal rights legislation that passed in 2012 and is still working to broaden the legal protections available for gender identity and expression. MTPC also establishes best practices and provides much-needed educational opportunities. I’m thrilled that the legal community has become such a strong supporter of its work.”

2013 Lawyers for Transgender Rights event sponsors include Ropes & Gray, WilmerHale, Foley Hoag LLP, Hirsch Roberts Weinstein LLP, Edwards Wildman, Kauffman Crozier LLP, and many other organizations and individuals (the full listing is available on MTPC’s website).

This year’s event will include live music by Urban Myth and a silent auction featuring items such as Red Sox tickets and a limited edition (only 1 of 39) 20×16 framed photo of the 2004 Patriots signed by 29 players. Tickets will be on sale at the door the night the event: $70 for lawyers, $40 for non-profit and $20 for students. For more information please see masstpc.org/community-events/ltr2013.

LTR Host Committee Co-chair Catherine Deneke said, “We are so proud that the legal community continues to stand on the side of equality and has shown such tremendous support for MTPC and this event.”

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Founded in 2001, the Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition (MTPC) is a 501(c)(3) that works to end discrimination on the basis of gender identity and gender expression. MTPC educates the public; advocates with state, local and federal government; engages in activism; and encourages empowerment of community members through collective action. MTPC is a member of the Trans Advocacy Network, the Equality Federation and the Massachusetts Transgender Equal Rights Coalition.

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