ANNOUNCEMENTS
GENDER EDUCATION AND ADVOCACY PRESS RELEASE
January 1st, 2000
For Immediate Release
Contacts:
Dallas Denny, <[log in to unmask]>
Jamison Green, <[log in to unmask]>
Jessica Xavier, <[log in to unmask] >, (301) 949-3822, vm box 8
[1] ANNOUNCING GENDER EDUCATION AND ADVOCACY (GEA) - THE GENDER ORGANIZATION
FOR THE NEW MILLENNIUM
ATLANTA, GA: The Board of Directors of Gender Education and Advocacy -
Jamison Green, Dallas Denny, Jessica Xavier, Gwen Smith, Penni Ashe Matz
and Sandra Cole (ex-officio) - are proud to announce the formation of GEA,
the organization for gender variant people for the new millennium.
WHAT:
Gender Education and Advocacy (GEA) is a new national organization focused
on the needs, issues and concerns of gender variant people in human
society. We seek to educate and advocate, not only for ourselves and others
like us, but for all human beings who suffer from gender-based oppression
in all of its many forms. We also are a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization
incorporated in Georgia.
WHY:
Although we stand on the brink of new millennium, many in the gender
community will ask why we need another national transgender organization.
While many organizations are now actively engaged in the political struggle
to win civil rights for transgendered and gender-different people, there is
still no effective national organization focusing on the many areas of
*non-political* advocacy. There is a clear need for sustained,
comprehensive and deliberate efforts in such areas as the improvement of
transgender-related health care, HIV/AIDS education and prevention, health
insurance coverage, education and credentialing of health care providers,
and monitoring and responding to defamatory stories in the media. Two
examples of existing GEA nonpolitical advocacy initiatives are the Gender
Advocacy Internet News (GAIN) service (a joint venture with It's Time,
America!) and the Washington Transgender Needs Assessment Survey, the
second largest survey of an urban transgender population in the US.
As this movement enters its sixth decade, GEA will also concern itself with
the preservation of our history - the people, the events, the books,
stories, films and video that have shaped our movement. The primary goal
of this initiative will be the relocation and secure establishment of the
National Transgender Library and Archive, the largest cataloged collection
of works regarding gender variant people in the world.
Education is our middle name and our most important mission. The need for
supportive ongoing public education to assist our political organizations
is an obvious one. We cannot expect our elected representatives to vote
for legislation favorable to transgendered citizens if the rest of their
constituents continue to view us pejoratively. The stigmatized status quo
for transgendered people is no longer an option.
GEA will drawn upon the tradition of excellence exhibited over the past
decade by our forerunner organization, the American Educational Gender
Information Service (AEGIS). Moreover, mindful of the latest
understandings of gender variance, we are developing customized educational
materials targeted for specific audiences.We will train others who are
willing to become gender educators for their local communities or in
specific subject areas. Our educational materials will be distributed
free of charge via our website. In time, we hope to become the premier
public relations organization for gender variant people in this country.
Our website, located at <www.gender.org>, is quickly becoming one of the
premiere locations for news, information, and additional resources for all
those involved or interested in gender issues. It serves as the home of
the GAIN news lists archives and the award-winning "Remembering Our Dead"
project, as well as the many informational resources and advisories
authored by AEGIS, GEA's forerunner organization.
WHO:
The initial Board of Directors of Gender Education and Advocacy:
Jamison Green, Chair
Former President of FTM International, Inc.; Board Member, IFGE;
Advisory Board Member, GenderPAC; writer and public speaker,
internationally recognized advocate for transgendered and transsexual
people's legal protection, medical access and safety, and civil rights
Dallas Denny, Secretary
Dallas Denny, M.A., has written many books and articles on gender
identity. She is founder and was for eight years Executive Director of
AEGIS, the
American Educational Gender Information Service. She founded and
grew the National Transgender Archive, the world's largest cataloged
collection of material about gender identity. For twenty years she was
licensed to practice psychology in Tennessee. She is now a resident of
Georgia and has retired her Tennessee license.
Jessica Xavier, Treasurer
Former National Director, It's Time, America! former Spokesperson,
It's Time, Maryland! former Board Member, AEGIS; former Outreach
Director, TransGender Educational Association of Washington, DC;
former project consultant with the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against
Defamation (GLAAD) Currently Survey Coordinator for the Washington
Transgender Needs Assessment Survey, the second largest of its kind
in the US.
Sandra Cole, Ph.D., Professional Services Director (ex-officio)
Past President of the American Association for Sex Educators,
Counselors, and Therapists (AASECT) and an elected fellow of the
Society
for the Scientific Study of Sexuality. She is Professor at the
University of Michigan
and Director of the University of Michigan Gender Services Program.
She has been
an integral part of the trans community for more than 18 years.
Gwendolyn Ann Smith, Internet Services Director & Webmistress
Webmistress for AEGIS, ITA, Remembering Our Dead; Community Host,
onQ's Transgender Community Forum, Transgender Gazebo @ Gay.Com;
Transgender Community Advisor, GLBTHS; Former Board Member, AEGIS.
Penni Ashe Matz, Media Director & Manager, GAIN
Eastern Director, It's Time, America! Chair, It's Time, Massachusetts!
Director of Communications and Newsletter, Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and
Transgender Employees of Bell Atlantic and their Allies (GLOBE)
OUR MISSION AND VALUES
Our Mission...
We are committed to the civil rights, health and well-being of all members
of our diverse community. Accordingly, we dedicate ourselves to providing
an array of information services, educational materials, advocacy training
and technical assistance of the highest quality.
We pledge compassionate support and passionate advocacy on behalf of
transsexual and transgendered persons in their journeys toward health of
body and mind and in their pursuit of personal freedom, including the
freedom to alter their bodies and change their gender roles.
Our Values...
Fundamental to our success as an educational and advocacy organization is
devotion to a unique set of values. This statement of values defines and
communicates those motivating philosophies behind our mission:
Excellence-- A primary value, our excellence is born of individual
commitment to the highest personal potential-- for if we are able to reach
our individual potential, we can achieve excellence as individuals, as an
organization and as a community.
Community-- We value its well-being and we are committed to its progress,
as expressed through our involvement with other transgendered, allies and
other relevant persons and organizations that vitalize, energize and
support our trans communities in the cities, the states, the country and
the world.
Diversity-- We intend to serve and to seek the involvement and cooperation
of all members of our diverse community, including female-to-male trans
people; trans people of color and other ethnic minorities; trans youth and
seniors; transpeople living with HIV/AIDS and other disabilities;
intersexed persons, and our Significant Others, Families, Friends and
Allies.
Persistence-- Since change is often incremental in nature, we seek to
employ a determined patient focus in our advocacy efforts, noting that
smaller victories of today lead to larger victories of tomorrow. We
understand that we must act locally while thinking globally.
Service-- We recognize that a personalized commitment of caring for others
can be the source of our own growth and well-being, and we seek to foster
this caring commitment in other members of our community.
Teamwork-- Our success stems from teamwork. We recognize the equal value
and individual contributions of each team member. We believe in mutual
regard for each other and for those we serve. We encourage teamwork by
working together respectfully, communicating openly and supporting the
expression of differing opinions and perspectives.
Progress and Innovation-- We understand the need for these attributes in the
provision of our services and organizational management. While preserving
the tradition and wisdom of those who have gone before us, we seek new
information and state-of-the-art technology. We welcome new ideas to help
us remain leaders in setting the direction of our community.
CONCLUSION
We envision GEA's mission to be complimentary, not competitive with the
excellent work of other national gender organizations. In the immediate
future, we shall be announcing specific GEA initiatives and projects, along
with requests for your financial support. All donations made to GEA are
tax deductible under section 501(c)(3) of the IRS code. But most of all,
we want you to consider Gender Education & Advocacy YOUR organization. We
want our services to be relevant to YOUR needs. Please let us hear from
you, and look for future press releases that will let you know how you can
be a part of this exciting new organization.
Gender Advocacy Internet News (GAIN), is a free Internet news service,
brought to you courtesy of Gender Education and Advocacy, and It's Time,
America!
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