Founder and Co-Executive Director of Programs at the New York Transgender Advocacy Group, Kiara St. James was a tireless activist who helped push the passage of NY State’s Gender Expression Nondiscrimination Act (GENDA) and advocated for funding of trans-led community-based organizations and PrEP/HIV treatment campaigns centered on Black and Brown TGNB New Yorkers. She also worked with other activists to end a New York City loitering law known as the “walking while trans” law, as trans women were disproportionately targeted.
Kiara’s vision encompassed liberation, dignity, and creating real pathways for trans, gender nonconforming, nonbinary, and intersex communities to thrive. Through her leadership, she built a movement rooted in love, resilience, and collective power. Kiara passed away in May 2026; New York Governor Kathy Hochul echoed the feelings of many in her statement, “I was proud to know her and to fight alongside her. She will be dearly missed.”