Janet Mock is a writer, television producer, and transgender rights activist. Her 2014 memoir “Redefining Realness: My Path to Womanhood, Identity, Love & So Much More,” which follows her journey as a transgender girl and young woman in Hawaii, became a New York Times bestseller. She co-produced “The Trans List” for HBO in 2016, before becoming a writer, director and producer for FX’s “Pose.” The first trans woman of color hired as a writer for a TV series, Mock was also the first trans woman of color to write and direct any television episode.

Mock has also worked as a correspondent for Entertainment Tonight, a contributing editor for Marie Claire, and a host for MSNBC. She started the social media campaign #GirlsLikeUs in 2012 to empower transgender women and joined the board of directors at the Arcus Foundation a year later to advocate for LGBTQ rights.

Mock has been honored by the Ms. Foundation, Planned Parenthood, Feminist Press, and the Sylvia Rivera Law Project, among other organizations. Her name has been featured on multiple lists including TIME magazine’s “100 Most Influential People.”

Monica Roberts (1962 – 2020) was an icon and a trailblazing voice for transgender rights, both in her home state of Texas and around the country. In 2006, she founded TransGriot, a pioneering blog about issues pertaining to trans women, particularly women of color. Her coverage helped bring national attention to the alarming rates of transgender homicide, and she worked tirelessly to identify victims who were misgendered and deadnamed by the police and local media. Roberts also wrote for Ebony, the Huffington Post, The Advocate, and the Unapologetically Trans column in Out Smart Magazine.

Her many honors include the Glaad Media Award for outstanding blog, the Barbara Jordan Breaking Barriers Award, and the 2020 Susan J. Hyde Award for Longevity in the Movement.

For more than five decades, Miss Major shaped generations of trans leadership through her fierce commitment to trans rights, which included uplifting the voices of Black trans women and incarcerated or formerly incarcerated trans people. Her work at Stonewall, in the streets, and inside prisons, as well as her creation of healing spaces like the House of gg, will forever transform trans rights movements.

Her impact lives in every act of trans resistance, every moment of collective care, and every leader she helped raise. We feel her absence every day, and we carry her wisdom and love forward.

Jennifer Barnes-Balenciaga is Director of Crystal La’Beija Organizing Fellowship, Commissioner of the NYC Commission on Gender Equity, and a Senior pursuing a BA in Political Science/Sociology Minor in Law and Policy at Baruch College. A nationally-recognized community leader, Jennifer’s advocacy has spanned Atlanta—where she was the city’s first LGBTQ+ liaison—to New York City, where she continues her work in civic leadership, education, and the illustrious House of Balenciaga. Her work has been featured in Teen Vogue, Harvard Public Health, The New York Times, POSE FX, and more. Barnes-Balenciaga’s strategic policy engagement, community organizing, and collegiate pursuits are rooted in a legacy forged by elders and ancestors.

Her powerful leadership clears the path for a joyful, powerful, and liberated future.

Cecilia Gentili was a force like no other—a visionary, a fighter, and an unwavering advocate. She dedicated her life to uplifting trans immigrants, sex workers, people experiencing homelessness, and those facing addiction, always standing up for the most vulnerable. Cecilia was a mother to many and a true community powerhouse for TGNB and sex workers’ rights, touching countless lives through her work at GMHC, Apicha Community Health Clinic, a clinic for sex workers at Callen-Lorde Community Health, Decrim NY, and Trans Equity. With sheer grit and creative vision, Cecilia raised millions for trans public health, pioneered policies to protect the trans community, and even created the first-ever Trans Music Festival.

A writer, performer on the iconic show Pose, and a true icon herself, Cecilia had an impact that extended far beyond what words can express.

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.