An Update on the 2024 Trans Leadership Academy

We are saddened to share that due to a loss of state grant funding for the Trans Leadership Academy (TLA), we will be unable to hold a second cohort of the TLA in Spring 2024 as originally planned. This is not a decision that we have made lightly. After careful consideration, we have concluded that securing enough funding in time to run a second cohort effectively is not possible this year. Instead, we will focus on continuing to expand the TLA program and securing more stable and sustainable funding.

The loss of this funding is an example of an ongoing issue in social justice movements in which small, under-resourced nonprofits that are working to meet immense community needs are overly reliant on individual grants or funders to provide programming and services and also pay staff living wages. We hope that funders, grantmakers, and policymakers see issues like this and understand that they are often the gatekeepers of progress in our organizations and ultimately, in our communities.

Since 2022, the TLA program has been funded by the Community Empowerment and Reinvestment Program (CERP), a grant from the Massachusetts Executive Office of Economic Development (EOED). While we are disappointed that we will not be receiving funding to run the program this year, we would like to thank the EOED team for this grant program that has supported the initial development of the Trans Leadership Academy over the past two years. Through this funding, we were able to successfully run a full cohort of the TLA in 2023, assess the program and curriculum, and report on the positive outcomes and areas of growth. We have been able to demonstrate that this program is viable and can have the impact on our community that we intend. You can read the assessment of the 2023 TLA cohort here.

To alleviate reliance on grant funding such as this CERP grant, we envision a new and innovative funding model for the Trans Leadership Academy. We plan to develop partnerships with corporations, businesses, and other organizations to make the TLA a self-sustaining program based on the virtuous cycle principle. We will invite our partners to make direct financial contributions to the Trans Leadership Academy program to provide trans and nonbinary people throughout Massachusetts with job skills training and career and leadership development. Simultaneously, MTPC will provide education and consultation services to ensure our partners are creating and sustaining affirming and inclusive workplaces for trans and nonbinary people. We envision that graduates will be provided with opportunities for work experience, hopefully leading to direct pipelines of trans and nonbinary leaders in these businesses and organizations. 

While we wish we had better news to share with you all, we are choosing to see the opportunities for growth and development as we are feeling invigorated to continue the work needed to ensure that this program is prioritized and a resource available to our community.

In trans love + power,

Tre’Andre Carmel Valentine, Executive Director
Casey Pons, Steering Committee Chair