Legal Advocacy for Transgender and Gender-Diverse Youth and Young Adults
Workshop Description
Transgender and gender-diverse youth and young adults face unique legal challenges around issues such as changing their name or gender marker, accessing medical care, and being supported and safe in the community. These legal and emotional challenges are compounded for youth involved in the child welfare or juvenile justice system, and those experiencing homelessness. This presentation will identify some of the most common legal issues facing transgender and gender-diverse youth as well as approaches to overcome legal barriers, identify ways forward and access available community resources.
Conference Track
Professional
Primary Contact
Erin Lovell, Executive Director, Legal Counsel for Youth and Children
Workshop Presenters
Naomi Strand, JD, Legal Counsel for Youth and Children
Presenter Bio
Naomi Strand was born and raised in Seattle in the midst of a large interconnected web of family and chosen queer community. She was drawn to law school out of a conviction that everyone should have access to and understanding of the legal system and their rights. Naomi is passionate about working closely with children and youth to hear their stories and develop goals and self-advocacy strategies. She has spent much of her legal career directly delivering a variety of legal services to people at day centers and shelters addressing a wide range of issues particular to those experiencing homelessness. Naomi is further dedicated to advocating for people on issues specific to queer, trans, gender-nonconforming, and LGB communities. Naomi is an attorney with Legal Counsel for Youth and Children (LCYC), where she advocates for youth ages 12 -24 who are or are at risk of experiencing homelessness in King County, WA. She has a BA in English and religion from Oberlin College and a JD from Seattle University School of Law. Naomi uses she/her/they/them pronouns.
Anya Morgan, JD, Northwest Justice Project
Presenter Bio
Anya Morgan (she/her) is a queer femme from Los Angeles and currently loving Seattle as a Julius Glickman Fellow at Northwest Justice Project, focusing on assisting low-income transgender people with name and gender marker changes, health insurance coverage for transition-related care, and access to public benefits. Previously, Anya interned at the Sylvia Rivera Law Project and Texas Civil Rights Project, working primarily with incarcerated trans folks, and co-ran the Texas Law Trans Name and Gender Marker Project during law school. She has a BA in English and French from Wesleyan University and a JD from the University of Texas School of Law.