With 25 years of experience in TGNC service provision, HIV prevention, advocacy, and community organizing, Cristina founded Translatina Network in 2007, which has become a vital resource for trans immigrant communities. Cristina has also been featured on numerous panels, committees, and boards. Before founding Translatina Network, Cristina spent over 11 years developing resources and programs for transgender people at The Center.

Her powerful advocacy work has been recognized by the NYC Health Department, the NYC City Council, the Queens Borough President, and more.

Tori Cooper wears many hats: HIV advocate, educator, and first Black trans woman appointed to the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS. In 2021, she was recognized by POZ Magazine as one of 100 Top Black Advocates and The Advocate as one of its Advocates of the Year.

Tori Cooper’s bravery, authenticity, and fearlessness in her work towards trans rights and health care equity inspire us in our work every day.

Sean Coleman is the founder of Destination Tomorrow, a LGBTQ+ center in the Bronx that provides services like job readiness, HIV testing, and emergency housing. In this interview, he describes growing up in Brooklyn with his grandmother and brother. At a young age, he became involved in the ballroom scene, a community which still provides most of his close relationships. Sean also discusses his spiritual identity, the changing landscape of hormone access, erasure of Black trans masculinity, and his start with grassroots organizing for the Bronx trans community in the early 2000s.

As the founder of Destination Tomorrow, Sean Coleman’s work shows us the importance of investing in and strengthening our communities so that we can unite and respond strategically to create positive change.

A nationally recognized advocate for trans rights, health equity, and HIV advocacy, Marissa Miller, Founder of Trans Solutions, is a Lead Organizer for the National Trans Visibility March, and has contributed to organizations like AIDS United, the CDC, and Positively Trans (T+). Marissa has worked for the last 20 years on the local, state, and national levels to improve access to treatment and care for transgender people and people living with HIV, and to erase stigma and discrimination through education, policy, advocacy, and visibility.

Marissa has worked with some of the nation’s most influential national agencies working to End the HIV epidemic including: AIDS United, NMAC, CDC, HRSA, NIH and a former Board Member for Positively Trans (T+) Transgender Law Center. Through her work with the CDC Marissa served on the team that created the first intervention specifically designed for Transwomen, TWIST.

Lorena Borjas lived her truth every day of her life, whether it was running the Lorena Borjas Community Fund providing bail assistance to LGBTQ+ immigrants facing arrest, creating and running a mutual aid fund when the COVID-19 pandemic began, or founding Colectivo Intercultural Transgrediendo. Lorena tirelessly worked to ensure that transgender sex workers had access to HIV testing, syringe-exchange programs, and mental health services. Her legacy reminds us of the power of trans leadership and its commitment to community care and liberation.

Lorena’s legacy is one of love, compassion, and unwavering dedication. She saved countless lives, offering not just services, but also hope and support when it was needed most. Though she passed in March 2020 from complications of COVID-19, her work continues to inspire and guide future generations of activists.

A pioneering civil rights leader, Cecilia has dedicated her career to advancing equity for LGBTQ+ communities, people living with HIV, and marginalized populations. She played a key role in shaping groundbreaking policies on healthcare access, transgender rights, and social justice, earning international recognition as a human rights advocate.

With decades of leadership experience, she continues to amplify underrepresented voices, build inclusive coalitions, and champion systemic change that uplifts communities locally, nationally, and globally.