Beyond the Binary: Understanding Barriers to Create Opportunities for Transgender People

Yee Won Chong

Yee Won Chong is committed to address racial justice, economic equality, environmental sustainability and gender/LGBTQ inclusion as a trainer, strategist, speaker and catalyst for change. His consulting practice focuses on helping organizations embody inclusive cultures that empower their people to address inequities, thrive and fulfill the mission of the organizations. Yee Won is passionate about uncovering commonalities and shared struggles. He believes that by building on our collective experiences, people are empowered to galvanize their power to create a just society. This passion is illustrated through his “Beyond the Gender Binary” TEDx Talk. And his Say This Not That startup, dedicated to bringing greater language consciousness and compassion to communication. Yee Won’s professional experience spans from national to regional work on racial, gender, environmental and economic justice. He has held staff and board positions at Western States Center, United for a Fair Economy, Haymarket People’s Fund, Forward Together, Grassroots Institute of Fundraising Training, Funding Exchange, and Alternatives to Community and Environment.

Amy Herzfeld

Raised in Idaho, Amy Herzfeld has deep roots in social justice activism. She started volunteering for LGBTQ rights campaigns at the age of 14 and never looked back. Amy has been active in progressive movement building in the West for over 15 years and her roles have included Executive Director of the Idaho Human Rights Education Center and Oregon State Director for Working America. Amy has also served as Board Chair for Western States Center since 2007. She’s deeply passionate about building political power for LGBTQ communities and centering racial and gender justice in our work. Her professional experience ranges from human rights advocacy and labor organizing to electoral management and award-winning journalism. Amy’s honored to be a part of Basic Rights Oregon’s mission and team. (Pronouns: She/Her)

Andrea Zekis

Andrea Zekis joins the Basic Rights Oregon team after 10 years in Arkansas. There, she co-founded the ArTEC, Arkansas Transgender Equality Coalition, a statewide transgender organization focused on public education, resource development, transgender inclusion, policy and research. She also served as the group’s executive director for the past year and primary investigator of its Transform Health Arkansas project, which empowers transgender, genderqueer, gender non-binary and intersex Arkansans to lead their own health care research. Andrea is a 2015 Victory Empowerment Fellow for the Victory Institute and previously consulted for the Human Rights Campaign’s Project One America. Besides her health research work, Andrea successfully increased access to legal name and gender change services, advancing policies that support transgender equality at the local and national levels and developed a database of transgender friendly providers in Arkansas. Originally from the Chicago suburbs, Andrea completed graduate studies in journalism at Syracuse University in Syracuse, New York and geographic information systems at University of Central Arkansas in Conway, Arkansas and previously had careers in both fields. (Pronouns: She/Her)