“Being trans isn’t hard. What’s hard is living in a world that doesn’t like trans people.”

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“It’s hard to hate someone whose story you know.”

JULIA: "Not having to hide is so freeing."

JULIA: "Not having to hide is so freeing."

LEO: "I didn't know how to be a boy."

LEO: "I didn't know how to be a boy."

ALEX: "Queer people are being told we shouldn't exist."

ALEX: "Queer people are being told we shouldn't exist."

MOSS: "My parents have been nothing but loving."

MOSS: "My parents have been nothing but loving."

Lindsey: "Love is the rebel song."

Lindsey: "Love is the rebel song."

NICOLE: "I prayed for God to fix me."

NICOLE: "I prayed for God to fix me."

DAYLINA: "We can't rely on the government to protect us."

DAYLINA: "We can't rely on the government to protect us."

RACHEL: "I achieved everything I’ve imagined."

RACHEL: "I achieved everything I’ve imagined."

BLAINE: "I have a lot of love and respect for myself."

BLAINE: "I have a lot of love and respect for myself."

BUNES FAMILY: "We're gonna love our boys forever."

BUNES FAMILY: "We're gonna love our boys forever."

MAYA: "I'm not an object, I'm a human being."

MAYA: "I'm not an object, I'm a human being."

GALEN: "The sky doesn't care about gender."

GALEN: "The sky doesn't care about gender."

NOMI: "My honesty led me to myself."

NOMI: "My honesty led me to myself."

THEODORE: "It's a beautiful experience."

THEODORE: "It's a beautiful experience."

ISAAC: "I don't have to think about what she thinks of me."

ISAAC: "I don't have to think about what she thinks of me."

JOSIAH: "I've been lucky so far."

JOSIAH: "I've been lucky so far."

ALEX: "I had to rebuild my life."

ALEX: "I had to rebuild my life."

LIAM: "Texas is not for me."

LIAM: "Texas is not for me."

ERICA: "I wasn't yet ready to accept my truth."

ERICA: "I wasn't yet ready to accept my truth."

ZEPHYR: "I gotta protect my heart."

ZEPHYR: "I gotta protect my heart."

  • Transgender Proud: Stories of Strength & Love

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  • "Thank you so very much for your presentation and dialog today at the West Age Well Center. Your style is professional, kind, and approachable, and it celebrates humanity while offering education. I’m happy our paths crossed and I’d love to host you here again in the future. All the best to you with where this work takes you. What you’re doing is very needed, and you’re a very special person in how you’re carrying forth the message and education."

    — Whitney Garcia, Older Adult Services Program Manager, City of Boulder, Housing and Human Services

  • “I like to think of myself as very open-minded, but I still had misconceptions about trans people because I didn’t know anyone who was trans. After Sal’s presentation, I have a lot of respect for trans people, and I learned they just want to be treated the same as everyone else.”

    — Nancy Fugina, St. Paul, Minnesota

  • “Sal’s slide show was an incredible learning opportunity for me, and it changed the way I understand this complex phenomenon. It’s easy to to be unsympathetic if you don’t challenge your biases, but because of Sal’s presentation, I’m much more empathetic towards trans people, and more understanding of the complex difficulties being caused by anti-trans legislation.”

    — Cheryl Gray, Boulder, Colorado

  • “I found Sal’s presentation really interesting, informative and helpful. You hear so much in the news about transgender issues, but you don’t know what’s right and what’s true. To actually meet a person who is transgender and to hear these personal stories is extremely eye-opening.”

    — Pam Stein, Boulder, Colorado

  • “The way Sal presents these people and their stories is so humanizing, and such a great resource for our community and for people who are questioning or have biases.”

    — R. K., Tampa, Florida

Stay In Touch On Instagram:

When I was 51, I finally figured out what had been rattling around in me for all those years. It was just happenstance that I unlocked the mystery. I was married at the time, and my wife thought it would be a hoot to switch gender roles for Halloween
I’m in Palm Springs for a month. Palm Springs is like Disneyland for trans people. You’re accepted everywhere you go. I’ve never had a negative experience in Palm Springs, and I’m having so much fun being Jennifer. — Jen
My Transgender Proud presentation in Boulder was a HUGE success! Thank you to all the inspiring trans people who graciously shared their stories. I'm looking for more opportunities to present. Please let me know if you have any contacts for me. Thank
Hope to see you Monday night in Boulder!
I came out three years ago when I was eight. I felt like I was in the wrong body, and it made me anxious. I told my parents that I felt like a girl, not a boy. They were perfectly fine with it because my mom is bisexual and my other parent is trans.
I didn’t transition until I was 68. I waited until my whole family died off. If I had come out before then, everybody would have gone zonkers, and it would have put an end to Christmas and everything else. Back then, they were beating up gays,