This is hard to write.
Originally posted on Instagram
This is hard to write. I am trans. I am scared. I am worn down. And I need your support now more than ever.
I woke up at 5:30 this morning and couldn’t get back to sleep. My phone was full of alerts about the incoming wave of anti-trans violence.
I’ve been out as trans for 20 years, and in all that time—in Nebraska, in New York, across this country—I have never felt as frightened, as unsafe, and as worn down as I do right now.
This year alone, more than 1,000 anti-trans bills have been introduced. Politicians who barely said the word “transgender” a decade ago now use it constantly, wielding it like a weapon to cast us as dangerous, unstable, and immoral. The bigotry isn’t coded anymore. It’s blatant, it’s constant, and it’s crushing.
And the truth is: I am struggling.
I have poured 25 years into building my career—leading, facilitating, coaching, consulting, creating pathways for equity and justice. But this year, I’ve watched projects collapse. Promised work evaporate. Organizations pull back. I’ve been told outright that it’s “not the right time” to have a trans person out front. And the field I helped to build—work I know I’m damn good at—is unraveling under my feet.
All of this while hate mail lands on my doorstep. While my family receives threats. While I navigate the daily fear of violence simply for existing.
And yet, every day I still show up for my clients, hold their fears, concerns, anxieties, create space for others’ growth, guide leaders through their challenges and successes. I love my work, but my resources are low, and this is getting much harder to do while I’m personally navigating active threats of violence and the relentless, unabashed bigotry aimed at me and my community. It is one of the hardest, loneliest tensions I have ever held.
I tell my clients to listen their gut and trust the skills that brought them to this moment. I try to tell myself this, too—that strategy, creativity, and resilience can carry me through. But right now it’s hard to believe. It’s hard to trust that success and safety are waiting on the other side of this.
LinkedIn isn't an easy space to be right now. My feed is an endless stream of wins and successes, celebrating your brilliant work. I love that you're thriving, but it can be hard to celebrate right now.
So I need your support. I need some of your hustle energy directed here—toward trans people whose careers are being eroded and whose safety is at risk.
Please:
👉Bring trans people into your work.
👉Put the spotlight on our expertise, not just our existence.
👉Invite us into the rooms where leadership, strategy, and vision are being shaped.
👉Use your influence and your platforms to show up for us, the way we’ve shown up for you.
For 20+ years, I’ve made it my job to show up for leaders, organizations, and movements. Today, I need you to show up for me—and for us. Because surviving this moment, much less moving through it, is not something we can do alone.
