Authentic Selves: Celebrating Trans and Nonbinary People and Their Families

About

Peggy Gillespie MA CSW is the cofounder and director of Family Diversity Projects a nonprofit organization devoted to helping eliminate prejudice stereotyping bullying and harassment of people who are discriminated against due to sexual orientation gender identity race national origin religion and disabilities of all kinds. The organization tells the stories of real people presented in award-winning traveling photo and text exhibits. These exhibits tour communities nationwide in schools universities houses of worship libraries workplaces museums and other institutions. Gillespie is the editor of all of the exhibits and books including Love Makes a Family: Portraits of LGBT People and their Families among others. She is also an actress and performed recently in the award-winning show A 24-Decade History of Popular Music starring Taylor Mac. Jazz Jennings is the star of the award-winning TLC documentary series I Am Jazz. She is a twenty-one-year-old LGBTQ rights activist author and a student at Harvard University. Jazz wasn't allowed to use the girls' restroom in her elementary school for five years and was prohibited from playing girls' soccer in her state for more than 2 years. After a long battle the United States Soccer Federation (USSF) created a policy to include all transgender athletes who want to play soccer. In 2021 The Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in Washington DC opened an exhibit called Girlhood . . . Its Complicated which included Jazzs life story making her the first transgender girl to be featured as an historical figure. Jeanette Jennings is married to her soulmate Greg and a proud mom of four adult children. Jeanette spreads her message of unconditional love and acceptance through media and speaking engagements all over the United States and is the Co-founder and President of the Transkids Purple Rainbow Foundation which helps to support transgender youth.