Grace Detrevarah (1962–2026) was a prominent transgender activist, writer, and senior health educator and LGBTQ+ liaison at the Osborne Association, where she helped build and lead the LGBTQIA+ Case Management Program, connecting formerly incarcerated LGBTQ+ individuals with housing, employment, and healthcare.

Born in Detroit, Michigan, she moved to New York City in the early 1980s, where she connected with a community of trans women and sex workers. Diagnosed with HIV in 1988, she became a peer educator while incarcerated. She also studied prison law, becoming a “jailhouse lawyer.” Her own experiences at Rikers Island and in state prisons helped inform her advocacy against abuse and for trans people’s access to healthcare.

Detrevarah authored the memoir “Grace: Transitions and Other Views,” and received several honors including the Gay City News Impact Award, Harlem Pride Award, and Equality NY: Pride and Power Award.

Jahaira Gonzalez is a proud Afro-Latina, native Puerto Rican transgender woman from the Bronx, New York, and a dedicated community advocate with over a decade of service. As Director of Outreach & Prevention Services at Destination Tomorrow, The Bronx LGBTQ Center, she leads initiatives focused on HIV prevention, sexual health education, and community.

In addition to her outreach work, Jahaira manages a food pantry and clothing distribution program supporting individuals facing food insecurity and provides Narcan training to help combat the opioid crisis in New York City. She is deeply committed to helping people navigate and access essential services, working to remove barriers and ensure others do not experience the hardships she faced growing up. Through her work, Jahaira continues to uplift, educate, and empower marginalized communities.

For over 30 years, Diana Feliz Oliva has worked towards health justice for LGBTQ+ people and communities impacted by HIV. She was the first openly transgender/HIV+ person to graduate from Columbia University, work at Gilead Sciences, and lead an LGBTQ+ center in Fresno, California. As the leader of Casita Feliz and the creator of initiatives like Gilead Sciences’ TRANScend Community Impact Fund, the spaces she builds expand access and increase support for TGNB people.

Her leadership and care have transformed communities locally, nationally, and internationally.

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.

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.