Forged in Fire: LGBTQ+ Leadership Forged In Fire

No Person is an Island - LGBTQ+ Leaders are everywhere! We speak with Tamara Adrián, a Venezuelan lawyer, professor, author and polyglot advocate for LGBTQ+ rights. Tamara was the second transgender person elected to a national legislature in the Western Hemisphere and has been involved in basically all strategic litigation concerning LGBTQ+ rights in Venezuela and Latin America. She knows that no one does this work alone and stresses collaboration among people, respect, and fighting for our common humanity. Find out how Tamara came to "cherish this idea that everyone is able to contribute to the common good."



Guest Biography

Tamara Adrián is a lawyer and law professor, and has been a Lawmaker in the National Assembly of Venezuela where she was elected in 2015. Tamara was the first transgender person elected to office in Venezuela, and only the second transgender member of a national legislature in the Western Hemisphere.

She is a retired professor for undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral programs at the Andrés Bello Catholic University and a professor at the Central University and the Metropolitan University of Venezuela. She is a prolific author of articles and books relating to matters she teaches, as well as LGTTTBI law.

In addition, Tamara is the President for the Committee of the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia (IDAHO-T) and is the President of the Board of Directors of GATE: Global Action for Trans Equality. Tamara served as the Co-Secretary General Alternate from 2013 to 2015 and the World Trans Secretary of the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA) from 2010 to 2013. She is a member of the Scientific Committee for the Chair Human Rights and Sexuality of the UNESCO and a member of the Board of Directors of WPATH.

In our first opportunity to speak with a fellow scholar and practitioner of LGBTQ+ development, we welcome Dominic Longo. Dominic is the founder of Flourishing Gays where he helps people move beyond just getting by in the world top open up a world of flourishing. We get to know some of Dominic's personal story and explore some of the tropes of LGBTQ+ leadership from being the 'best little boy in the world' to building bridges across cultures. Listen in as we examine how LGBTQ+ folks develop their leadership superpowers!

A Naval Officer, Nurse, Lawyer, Educator, Leader. Paula Neira's career spans an incredible set of experiences and professions. She wanted nothing more than to command a ship at sea, but her Naval career was cut short by the need to live authentically well before transgender people could do both. Find out how she developed that still-burning desire to serve into a career in medicine, law, and education that knocked down barriers for others to reach their full potential.

Guest Biography
Paula M. Neira is originally from Jersey City, New Jersey, and graduated from Regis High School in New York City. A member of the United States Naval Academy Class of 1985, she graduated with distinction from Annapolis in May 1985. A Surface Warfare Officer, she served as a regular and reserve officer including serving in mine warfare combat during Operation Desert Storm. Her military decorations include three Navy Commendation Medals, the Navy Achievement Medal, and the Combat Action Ribbon, as well as numerous unit, campaign, and service awards. After leaving the Navy in 1991, she began her career as a registered nurse. She is certified in emergency nursing and focused her career on adult emergency care and trauma resuscitation. From 2008-2016, Paula served as the Nurse Educator in Emergency Medicine at The Johns Hopkins Hospital. She also served as the co-chair of the Johns Hopkins Transgender Medicine Executive Taskforce. In November 2016, she became the founding Clinical Program Director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Transgender Health and served in this role 2016-2022. In March of 2022, she was named as the Johns Hopkins Medicine Program Director of LGBTQ+ Equity and Education in the Office of Diversity, Inclusion and Health Equity.

An attorney and member of the Maryland bar since 2001, Paula was a leader in the repeal of the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy and in the change of military regulations to allow for transgender military service. As part of her role at Hopkins, she lectures nationally on the need for improved transgender cultural awareness and health equity.  In 2015, she made naval history by becoming the first transgender Navy veteran to have her discharge documentation updated to reflect her correct name by order of the Navy. In 2016, the Secretary of the Navy named her to be the co-sponsor of the USNS HARVEY MILK (T-AO-206) and in November 2021, she christened the ship in San Diego. In 2018, she was awarded the GLMA Achievement Award and in 2020, she was inducted as a Fellow into the American Academy of Nursing in recognition of her leadership in advancing diversity and inclusion both in the United States Armed Forces and in healthcare. She is the first United States service academy graduate to achieve this honor in American nursing. Paula and her partner reside in Bowie, Maryland.

Learn how Matthew Rose moved from investigating conspiracy theories about health disparities to leading HIV and vaccine policy education and advocacy efforts around the world. Matt developed powerful communication skills that allow him to translate between different communities of stakeholders, including those representing the most vulnerable and in-need communities. We explore code-switching, inclusive language, cultural competency and much more in this episode.

Guest Biography
Matthew Rose is a longstanding HIV and social justice advocate. He brings over a decade of experience in community engagement, health policy, and HIV science, focusing on health equity.

He currently serves as a Director at a global health communications and advocacy consulting firm. Supporting clients across some of the world's most dynamic regions to enable policy innovations, mobilize resources, and build political will, engaging global and local audiences to drive change.

Matthew most recently served as Health GAP’s lead on U.S. government policy, focusing on issues including annual appropriations for global AIDS programs, access to essential medicines, and rights-based approaches to end the AIDS pandemic. He also focused on the COVID-19 pandemic, including vaccine development and deployment, science policy, and aid for frontline workers.

Before Health GAP, Matthew served as policy and advocacy manager for the National Minority AIDS Council. He worked on federal legislation related to HIV and health disparities affecting people of color and played a leadership role in the National HIV Biomedical Prevention Summit.

Matthew is currently a member of the Vaccine Advocacy Resource Group, an independent, advocate-led, global team of AIDS prevention research advocates that plays a critical role as a liaison in the highly complex field of HIV vaccine research. He also serves on the Board of Directors for HIPS, which advances the health, rights, and dignity of people and communities impacted by sex work and drug use.

Explore the power of story as a leadership tool with Ross Murray, Vice President of the GLAAD Media Institute. Ross walks us through building powerful narratives for connection. In essence, Ross helps us understand how to use story as a change management tool. We also dive into moments where he faced discrimination, embraced his identity, and turned it all into a panoply of opportunities to help LGBTQ+ people locally, nationally, and internationally.

Guest Biography
Ross Murray is a Vice President at the GLAAD (Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) Media Institute and provides activist, spokesperson, and media engagement training and education for LGBTQ and allied community members, the media industry and advocacy organizations.

Ross is also a founder and director of The Naming Project, a faith-based camp for LGBTQ youth and their allies. He’s an author and his book, Made, Known, Loved: Developing LGBTQ-Inclusive Youth Ministry is available from Fortress Press. Ross is a producer for the "Yass, Jesus!" podcast, a faith and sexuality affirming podcast that believes you don't have to pick between gay and God.

Ross is an ordained Deacon in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, with a specific calling to advocate for LGBTQ people and to bridge the LGBTQ and faith communities.

In our very first episode we speak with Raffi Freedman-Gurspan about her leadership and allyship in service of others. With Raffi, we begin to explore many of the themes we're going to dive into with Forged in Fire.  Raffi's story includes coming out and fighting for civil rights at a young age, understanding a complex set of intersectional identities, self-care in advocacy, shattering stereotypes, her life of service, and so much more!

Guest Biography
Raffi Freedman-Gurspan is the Deputy Director of Public Engagement at the United States Department of Transportation, appointed by President Joe Biden, where she works on behalf of Secretary Pete Buttigieg.

A dedicated champion of human rights as well as an LGBTQ and gender equality policy expert, Raffi has worked in non-profit and government sectors for over a decade. Prior to joining USDOT, she was a Deputy States Director for the All On The Line campaign of the National Redistricting Action Fund, an affiliate of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee chaired by former US Attorney General Eric Holder, where she oversaw community organizing work in the Midwest and East Coast. Between 2017 and 2019, Raffi was the Director of External Relations at the National Center for Transgender Equality, where she managed public education and field organizing operations.

Raffi also served in President Barack Obama's administration between 2015 and 2017, working at the White House as a Senior Associate Director for Public Engagement responsible for LGBTQ community affairs, and as an Outreach and Recruitment Director for Presidential Personnel recruiting talent to work in the executive branch of government. Raffi was the first openly transgender staffer to work at the White House in history and, before leaving office, President Obama appointed Raffi to the United States Holocaust Memorial Council, which she served on between 2017-2022.

Before moving to Washington, DC, Raffi's experience included working in the Massachusetts House of Representatives as a Legislative Director; for the City of Somerville, Massachusetts as the Mayor's LGBTQ Liaison; at the Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition as a Legislative and Policy Staffer; and as a Course and Research Assistant at Boston University's Women's, Gender & Sexuality Studies Program.

A graduate of St. Olaf College in Minnesota, Raffi was adopted from Honduras and grew up in Brookline, Massachusetts.