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Staff
photo by: Sean Black
Aryah Lester
She/Her/Hers
Deputy Director
Aryah Lester, a nationally-awarded author, speaker, and educator, is a woman of trans experience from New York living in Washington DC.
Aryah is an Advisory Board member of Unity Coalition (UC|CU), and is also national Board Chair of STARR - the nation’s first transgender organization, which was founded by Sylvia Rivera and Marsha P. Johnson. Aryah founded Trans-Miami while sustaining the work of her organization, the National Alliance of Transgender Advocates and Leaders (NATAL). She speaks with universities as a guest lecturer, and is a consultant with government agencies such as the Department of Justice and Homeland Security.
Aryah has received many awards and her work is featured in numerous national articles; recently, and has worked at NMAC. Aryah has received many awards and her work is featured in numerous national articles; recently, she was inducted into the national Trans100 list. She currently serves as the Deputy Director of Transgender Strategy Center.
Reagin Wiklund
He/Him/His
Operations Manager
Reagin Wiklund is the Operations Manager for TSC where he manages internal operations, finance, and program tracking and implementation. Supporting the Founding Director in setting and achieving organizational growth goals.
Reagin has worked as a consultant for initiatives and organizations that focus on improving health outcomes for transgender individuals. He partnered with Riordan Strategies to manage an Elton John AIDS Foundation initiative focused on improving health outcomes for transgender people and black gay and bisexual men. Reagin also worked at Fenway Health on a HRSA funded initiative, aiming to improve health outcomes for people living with HIV.
He holds a certificate of Financial Success for Nonprofits from Cornell University and graduated Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science from Syracuse University, with a business degree in Supply Chain Management and Management. He was awarded an Emerging Leadership Award at the National Transgender Visibility March in September 2019 and was a POZ 100 2019 Honoree, for POZ Magazine’s 10th annual POZ 100, celebrating TGNCNB advocates who are making a difference in the fight against the HIV/AIDS.
Morey Riordan
He/Him/His
Founding Director
Morey has been involved in HIV activism and work for over 25 years. He has served as the Executive Director of four nonprofit organizations, including Women Organized to Respond to Life-threatening Disease (WORLD) and the Sperm Bank of California, a feminist sperm bank focused primarily on LGBT family creation. Morey led the effort to become the first fully-licensed sperm bank in the US to accept gay men as sperm donors, despite stigma-driven opposition from the FDA and other regulators.
He served as Vice President of Access & Innovation at AIDS United and managed several national grantmaking initiatives for nearly seven years. Following this, Morey became Principal at Riordan Strategies, working as a consultant to funders and community-based organizations focused on creating a more just and equitable world. Currently, Morey continues to consult with several funders and is also the Founding Director of the Transgender Strategy Center.
Faculty
Tatyana Moaton
She/Her/Hers
Tatyana is the CEO and Principal Consultant for Envision Consulting, the first and only black trans led consulting firm in the country. She has extensive experience working in Human Resources championing strategic initiatives geared towards Diversity & Inclusion currently for Howard Brown Health, the Midwest's leading provider of healthcare to LGBTQ+ community. Tatyana is a veteran of the U.S. Armed Forces, serving honorably as an Intelligence Analyst in the US Army.
She was reared in the City of Chicago and attended college in Milwaukee, WI. She obtained both her Bachelor of Science in Developmental Psychology and her Masters of Business Administration with a concentration in Human Resources Management from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. She is a staunch advocate for the Trans community and has worked with the American Civil Liberties Union as a spokesperson for Trans litigation and LAMBDA Legal. Working with the U.S. Center for Disease Controls, Capacity Building Branch as a consultant to develop the first intervention geared towards the transgender targeted population.
Jordan Blaza Olsen
She/Her/Hers
Training & TA Manager
Jordan Blaza Olsen is an experienced Public Health Advisor who has worked in the HIV/AIDS health and wellness industry since 1996. Jordan was a CDC Price Fellow for HIV Prevention Leadership, a member of the DHHS Leadership Campaign on AIDS Transgender Forum, and a founding member of UCSF’s Center of Excellence for Transgender Health. She is a highly skilled training facilitator, educational program developer, capacity builder and technical assistance provider.
She graduated Summa Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science degree in Public Health from Walden University, a member of The National Society of Leadership and Success and Alpha Sigma Lambda Honor Society. Jordan is an excellent healthcare services professional who believes that a genuine interest in the well-being of others is key to accomplishing many things regardless of available resources.
General Consultants
Kayla Gore
She/Her/Hers
Kayla is the Co-Founder and Executive Director of My Sistah's House. She is an advocate for the rights of homeless women, especially homeless transgender women. Her community organizing work has included fighting for housing equity and the just treatment of transgender people by law enforcement. Kayla has a long history working for the rights of transgender people in the South, while also providing trainings for CBO’s, educational institutions, and healthcare organizations on trans inclusivity.
She also has over 10 years of experience in HIV/AIDS and prevention services. Kayla connects transgender people to a diverse range of medical and social services, ensuring that community members have the support and care they need to survive and thrive. Additionally, she is an advocate for transgender decriminalization in Memphis, TN and has worked to build legal support services to meet the needs of transgender people in the South. Currently Kayla is a Southern Regional Organizer for TLC@SONG; a collaboration of Transgender Law Center and Southerners on New Ground
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We are dreaming and designing accessible, collaborative, and creative strategies and tools, working together to reaching our goals for justice.
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We know that empowering the community comes from within. Together we will open up powerful spaces for and with our trans communities.
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We are trans-identified individuals with a diverse set of backgrounds, skills, and experience.
Contact us today!