Transgender 101
Presented by Adrien Lawyer, executive Director of the Transgender Resource Center of New Mexico (TGRCNM)
As the Transgender Resource Center of New Mexico (TGRCNM) points out, transgender people are not known and understood by others, and this training is meant to address this lack of information and experience. Transgender 101 will be an introduction to transgender people, their lives and issues. As fundraisers, it is important that we increase our knowledge and awareness about the lives of all people we interact with in our work. Additionally, this training will also encourage you to examine your own gender identity and the cultural norms and expectations we hold surrounding gender and sexuality. Intentionally longer than AFP-NM’s usual programs, this session will also include a panel from TGRCNM’s Speakers Bureau who will be on hand to share their personal experiences and perspectives and to assist in the Q&A portion of the session.
BACKGROUND: Did you know that transgender folks are twice as likely to experience homelessness as the general population? We are also twice as likely to experience unemployment. For transgender people of color that goes up to a staggering four times! Transgender people experience discrimination and even physical violence on a consistent basis. Adrien Lawyer, Co-Director of the Transgender Resource Center of New Mexico, will provide basic training including a chance to engage in dialogue and have your questions answered directly. The objective is to personalize transgender folks and to increase visibility and awareness while decreasing the discrimination, fear, hostility and violence that is routinely directed toward members of our population.
MORE INFORMATION: The Transgender Resource Center of New Mexico is
the only agency in the state that exists solely to serve transgender people and our families and loved ones. We are one of very few organizations in the United States that provides as wide an array of services, education and advocacy as we do. Founded in 2008, TGRCNM has provided more than 1100 Transgender 101 trainings all over the state of New Mexico including multiple UNM campuses, Albuquerque Healthcare for the Homeless, Rape Crisis Center of Central New Mexico, Planned Parenthood, Barrett House, Crossroads for Women, New Mexico Physician’s Assistant Association, the Farmington Police Department and many more varied audiences. We have assisted in crafting policy in several different arenas in New Mexico and have provided individual advocacy for many transgender people in our state. We provide direct services to some of the most impacted folks in our communities. These services include food, bus passes, HIV testing, clothing, support groups, legal assistance, employment search assistance, a safe restroom, a computer lab, and much more. We accompany transgender people to name change hearings and doctor appointments and provide some emergency relief as well.
ABOUT THE PRESENTER, ADRIEN LAWYER: Adrien co-founded TGRCNM in 2008 with Zane Stephens to be a clearinghouse of service provision, education, and advocacy for the transgender community in New Mexico. He has facilitated over 1,300 Transgender 101 training sessions throughout New Mexico, including training every corrections department in the state, numerous district attorney offices, police departments, public and private schools, healthcare and social service facilities, and countless businesses, nonprofits, and other entities. Adrien has led successful advocacy efforts for model transgender student policies, gender-neutral restrooms, trans inclusion in social service facilities, statewide bullying prevention, and most recently, birth certificate gender marker change.
On a national level, Adrien presents and consults on many issues impacting the trans community, including TGRCNM as a successful model for local service provision. He has been recognized with the Jose Sarria Into the Light Award for community service and the Vincent R. Johnson Model of Hope Award for LGBTQ role models. In 2019, Adrien won the Advocacy In Action (AIA) Professional Innovation in Victim Services Award presented by the New Mexico Crime Victims Reparation Commission (CVRC).
Adrien is a trans man and father. In his spare time, he enjoys playing guitar with A Band Named Sue.
Cost: Pay What You Can – 50% of proceeds will support continued programming focused on equity considerations for fundraising; 25% will be donated to TGRCNM, and 25% will be donated to the NM Asian Family Center (as selected by TGRCNM)