Biographies of Presenters (Listed Alphabetically)

 

2022 Presenters

Christen Barnsfield
Christen is the parent of four wonderful daughters and grannyto four grandchildren. She was born in England, raised in the US. She considers herself semi-retired, but with a background in mechanical engineering and management, there’s always something she needs to fix.

Christen knew from an early age that she was not like those around her. She conformed to society’s norms and constantly fought with her inner self. The internet changed everything. SHE WAS NOT ALONE.

Christen states, “I’ve raised my kids to adulthood and now it’s time for me ….” She is looking forward to meeting old and welcoming new friends during this year’s Fair.
Christen is a TransWeek 2022 ambassador on the Welcome Team.

Kate B.
Kate is a transitioning trans woman, and she and her spouse of 25 years have two amazing grown children. This is Kate’s fifth Fair—with 2020 being hilariously remote—and she is proud to serve as registrar and technical advisor on the Planning Committee. In the off season, Kate is a cyber security specialist, project manager, and avid drone flyer. She hopes everyone has a wonderful time at TransWeek 2022.

Kate is a member of the TransWeek 2022 Planning Committee and a member of the ITEO Board of Directors.

 

 

Erin Daily
Erin has been coming to Provincetown since the 90s and has been a participant in FanFair since 2003. Ever since that first year she knew she had found a home. She has worn many hats during this time, including taking many a meal ticket, writing for the daily newsletter, working in the office, directing the Follies, and being on the first timers welcoming committee! Erin was awarded the Fantasia Fair award in 2013, in which she takes great pride. In her everyday life she is married to her wonderful wife Jenna and they share an amazing 15 year old daughter Izzy!

Erin is a TransWeek 2022 ambassador on the Welcome Team.

 

Dallas Denny
Dallas Denny, M.A. is renowned for her work on advocacy, policy issues, and health practices involving transgender people. She has taken leadership roles in many trans organizations and has made hundreds of presentations and keynote talks at universities, businesses, professional organizations, and conferences. She has written and edited four books, more than 25 textbook chapters, hundreds of articles, editorials, and columns for magazines and journals, and assorted booklets and pamphlets. She is former Editor-In-Chief of the journals Chrysalis and Transgender Tapestry and was founding executive director of the American Educational Gender Information Service, Inc (later Gender Education & Advocacy, Inc.). For her service, she has been honored with the major awards of the transgender community. See www.dallasdenny.com.

Dallas is a member of the TransWeek 2022 Planning Committee and Chair of the ITEO Board of Directors.

 

Jessye DeSilva
Jessye DeSilva (they/them) beams when they sing out a secret. The Boston-based artist weaves tapestries of witch pop and folk rock with their empathetic moral fiber, strengthened by the radical honesty that grounds their buoyant melodies. Rich with resilience and compassion, DeSilva centers their craft around community, reaching out from behind the piano to share their uplifting spirit with listeners. Their newest LP Landscapes (April 2022) forges a path through the triumphant and trembling moments of their life, sun-soaked and vivid like the 70s folk rock that soundtracked their childhood. And even when themes of religious trauma and mental health peek through, DeSilva’s smile remains unshakable. As American Songwriter explains in 2021’s “10 LQBTQ+ Artists You Should Know,” “Pain hangs off their lips, fueling them to greater, more soaring heights.”

 

Mason J. Dunn
Mason J. Dunn, JD, is the Deputy Director of Education and Training Programs at the Fenway Institute. Mason is a lawyer, and brings their legal and advocacy experience to the Institute. They have worked in the LGBTQ+ equality movement for over 15 years across the country. Prior to joining Fenway, Mason was Executive Director of the Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition where they successfully advocated for the advancement of nonbinary gender markers on Massachusetts state IDs, participated in the coalition to address restrictions in healthcare and gender marker changes on Massachusetts birth certificates, and worked to build the coalition which passed state-wide nondiscrimination protections in public accommodations for transgender and nonbinary people. In 2018, Mason co-chaired the historic Yes on 3 campaign, which successfully defended the Massachusetts’ trans-inclusive public accommodation nondiscrimination law, in the nation’s first ever state-wide vote on transgender rights. Mason is a board member of the Equality Federation, a member of the Massachusetts LGBTQ+ Youth Commission, and is an adjunct faculty member at the University of New Hampshire at Manchester.

 

Elise
He comes from a family of three sisters and one brother. At the age of four, his sisters would dress him and his brother as girls, using their clothing. He was fond of the dressing, but his brother fought it and refused to wear girls’ clothing. He remembers his sisters dressing him in a light pink body suit and was very fond of wearing that. As time passed, he continued dressing in girls’, then teen, and now women’s clothing. When he was a teen, he was considered a transvestite. As time moved forward, the term became “crossdresser,” then under the umbrella of “transgender.” He has been a member of Tri-Ess since 1974 and is also a member of Crossdresser Heaven. He has been married for 34 years. He and his wife will travel on getaways to safe places like P’Town and Vegas to lessen the chances of being recognized.

 

 

Jamison Green
Jamison Green is the author of Becoming a Visible Man (2004, 2020, Vanderbilt University Press), numerous essays, peer-reviewed journal articles, and short stories. He transitioned from female to male in 1988 at the age of 40 and led FTM International from 1991 to 1999. He is one of the world’s most accomplished activists working on trans*+ issues and has had significant influence in the areas of anti-discrimination law, employment non-discrimination, medical education, insurance reform in the USA, and access to medically necessary transgender healthcare worldwide. As a writer, a corporate publications manager, and as a strategic advocate, he has inspired and mentored scores of people, trans and cis, masculine, feminine, and on the gender spectrum around the world. He is the proud father of two (now adult) children, and a devoted husband. Jamison was the 2014 Transgender Pioneer Award receipent.

 

Nick Greiner
This will be Nick’s fifth TransWeek; he attended his first Fair with his trans parent, Sibil. Nick was inspired by the organizers and fellow attendees and extremely honored to receive the Mr. Congeniality Award. He lives in Philadelphia where he is an out transman involved in his local LGBT community, including co-facilitating an open trans* group. He and his mom, Sibil, share their story in workshops and talks to promote visibility. He served proudly in the U.S. Coast Guard under Don’t Ask Don’t Tell and vowed to never hide again after he was honorably discharged.

Nick is a member of the TransWeek 2022 Planning Committee

 

Sibil Greiner
Sibil Mae attended her first FF in 2016. Like a phoenix, she has risen from the ashes of alcoholism and personal tragedy to transition and live authentically. Sibil, along with her son Nick, have done parent/child transition workshops and more recently college talks before a class of future Occupational Therapists. You will find her to be an outgoing social butterfly who will welcome you with open arms and an open heart. As a recovering alcoholic, she is in service to help people with their addictions and to help others recognize their own potential in living an authentic life.

She is director for musicals at local community theaters, is active in professional organizations, and soloist and chorus member for decades. Recently retired.

Sibil is a member of the ITEO Board of Directors.

 

 

Karen Jandro
Karen first came to the Fair as a scholarship attendee in 2012.That was a very educational and informative trip for her. It gave her the chance to see full time Karen, an opportunity I hope you will take advantage off!

This year will be her 9th Fair. Karen has helped in many positions at the Fair, from helping register people, to the morning new comers coffee klatch, to taking tickets at the Follies. She also is a prior member of the Planning Committee.

Karen has been awarded the Most Helpful Award, the Congeniality Award, and the Fantasia Fair Award. She is deeply honored to have been recognized with these awards!
On a more personal note, Karen is a great aunt to four adorable children out in WMASS. She is self employed as a medical specimens courier, contracted with the VA. Karen is an honorably discharged veteran of the United States Marine Corps. Semper Fidelis!

Karen is a member of the ITEO Board of Directors and a TransWeek 2022 ambassador on the Welcome Team.

 

Pam Klein
Pam Klein, RN, MSN, ACRN got her start in transgender healthcare at the Tom Waddell Clinic in San Francisco in the early 90s. In 2008 she initiated a transgender program at Boston Health Care for the Homeless and in 2016 she helped Boston Medical Center develop the Center for Transgender Medicine and Surgery. Pam is involved in multiple advocacy efforts for inclusive and equitable health care policies and environments, and she feels indebted to the patients on both coasts who continue to inspire her.

 

 

 

Lauren Kong
Lauren is originally from the Midwest but has spent most of her life in Georgia. She is married to a great guy and has been blessed with two kids. Her older child is part of the LGBTQ+ community, as are her parents.

Lauren attended her first FF in 2021 to support her parent, as she is a proud advocate and supporter of the LGBTQ+ community. She fell in love with the attendees, the atmos-phere, and the acceptance so much that she knew she wanted to return, join in, and help as much as possible.

Lauren is a TransWeek 2022 ambassador on the Welcome Team.

 

Dee LaValle
Dee LaValle grew up in Massachusetts and has been a Fair attendee since she began her transition almost eight years ago. She is honored to have been recognized as last year’s Fantasia Fair Award recipient. Dee works for an international multimedia corporation. In her career, she has held senior leadership positions utilizing team building, project management, statistical analysis, Six Sigma, and Lean manufacturing skills. Dee is on the Board of Directors of her company’s DEI buisness resource group PRIDE and has been honored to visit facilities and departments promoting LGBTQIA+ awareness. She and her spouse Jolie are proud parents to a 21-year old daughter (where did the time go???), a 17-year old high school varsity football starting nose-tackle son, a Lhasa Apso, and a black cat who is always plotting Dee’s demise.

Dee is the TransWeek Fair Director and an ambassador on the Welcome Team.

 

Jolie LaValle
Jolie was born and raised in Brockton, Massachusetts, home of the first department store Santa. She is a graduate of Wellesley College. She and her spouse Dee have been married for 29 years (the blink of an eye). Her spouse came out to her as a transwoman in 2015. Dee, their daughter (21) and son (17) love to ski. Jolie is afraid of heights and plays lodge mom. She loves her backyard, knitting, British/Australian/ New Zealand crime dramas, genealogy, and true crime podcasts.

Jolie is a member of the TransWeek 2022 Planning Committee and an ambassador on the Welcome Team.

 

 

Sgt. Carrie Lopes (Retired)
Carrie Lopes retired in May 2018 after 34 years of service with the Provincetown Police Department. She served as a patrol sergeant for 16 years and was the Civil Rights Officer and LGBT Liaison Officer with FanFair for 21 years. She also handled Domestic Violence, Elder Affairs, and Sex Offender Management for the department and served as a training officer for both full-time and seasonal personnel. Carrie is enjoying retirement with her family, getting projects completed (finally), traveling, and looking forward to continuing her relationship with the Fair.

Carrie is a member of the ITEO Board of Directors.

 

Jossy Lopez
You can call her Jlo… Born and raised in Puerto Rico. She came to the Fair with her partner Bonnie for the first time in 2019 not knowing what to expect and ended up doing nails for some of her new friends! Now I look forward to meeting new people and catching up with old friends at my mani table every year!

Jossy is a TransWeek 2022 ambassador on the Welcome Team.

 

 

 

 

Jennifer
Jennifer is attending her second Fair in 2021 (having been shut out in 2020!) and is a planning committee member for 2021. Not being an out or transitioning transwoman, Jennifer has made the most of, and enjoyed immensely, attending trans gatherings for the past decade and being herself. In addition to the Fair, she’s made many appearances at First Event and more recently Keystone. Jennifer is looking to contribute any way she can to make this year’s FanFair a rousing success.

Jennifer is a member of the Fantasia Fair 2021 Planning Committee

 

 

Carole MacKenzie, LCSW, AASECT
Carole MacKenzie is a licensed clinical social worker in private practice in Hartford, CT. She focuses on service to the LGBTQI community and has for many years, working with trans and queer clients, gender-creative children, their families, and allies. She is an AASECT-certified sex therapist and supervisor. Carole, together with her little dog Virginia Woof, teaches Human Sexual Behavior in the psychology department at the University of Hartford, CT and is a member of Hartford PFLAG, and WPATH.

 

 

 

Dan McKeon
Dan comes from upstate New York, where he shot his first photos with a black-and-white Polaroid Swinger camera back in 1967. Influenced by his Uncle Frank and his Aunt Mary, the family photographers, Dan spent much of his childhood making sure family events were memorialized on film. He moved to Provincetown in 2009, following retirement from his 35-year career with the New York State Office of Mental Health. In 2011 he became the Event Photographer for the Provincetown Business Guild and has worked with Provincetown Magazine since 2012. In 2011, he was Production Photographer for the independent film, Bear City 2, the majority of which was filmed in Provincetown. His work has appeared on MSNBC and on NBC’s Today Show, and he has been awarded first prizes in several local photography contests. Additionally, Dan started a wedding photography business in 2012 and has expanded into real estate photography as well. He donates his services to local charitable organizations, including the AIDS Support Group of Cape Cod and Helping Our Women. He also is the Event Photographer for the Pilgrim Monument, Crown & Anchor, and the Boatslip Resort, plus he’s a featured photographer for Cape Air’s magazine, Bird’s Eye View.

 

Hera Navassardian
Hera Navassardian was born for fashion. As an only child, she was the sole beneficiary of her single mom’s impeccable sense of drama and beauty. She grew up watching her with much admiration—she was always creating something beautiful with her hands, especially when it came to applying makeup. I was fascinated by how she could change her looks on a daily basis. Destined for the style scene, Hera began her beauty career in New York City as a model for Bob Mackie, Geoffrey Beene, Zandra Rhodes, and many others. But she wasn’t just a pretty face; she created pretty faces as a makeup artist and stylist for leading brands like Chanel and Creed of London.

Hera’s greatest pleasure and fulfillment has always been to make people look and feel beautiful. She says, “I put my heart, soul, and experience into helping them achieve their dream look. It’s what I was made to do.”

 

 

 

Zach Oren
Zach Oren who grew up in LA by way of Israel and spent nine lovely, colorful, and stressful years in NYC.
His first roll of film at 12 was of a tree next to a Chevron gas station in Venice Beach with his mom’s old Pentax. He fell in
love with documenting the human experience through his lens.

 

 

 

Maureen Osborne, Ph.D
Dr. Maureen Osborne is a licensed psychologist with over 30 years of experience as a gender therapist in private practice working with transgender people and their families as they navigate the legal, emotional, and ethical challenges of gender dysphoria. Prior to retiring from her Pennsylvania practice and moving to Cape Cod, she also led a long-running therapy/ support group for transgender people called “Transquility,” and she has been leading an online support group for cisgender partners of transgender persons, “Cister Wives,” for almost a decade. Dr. Osborne was honored with Fellowship status in the Philadelphia Society of Clinical Psychologists for her work in community education about transgender issues, and received the “Friend of the Fair” award at Fantasia Fair 2015. She has given talks and workshops at many national and international gender conferences, and continues to educate her local community since retiring from full-time practice. She appeared in the award-winning film, “Trans,” as well as the documentary “Just Gender.”

 

Jude Patton
Jude Patton has been an activist and therapist for some 50 years. He is a licensed family and marital therapist, a licensed mental health counselor, and a physician’s assistant.

Along with Joanna Clark, Joy Shaffer, Diane Sanders, and Candice Brown, formed the Transsexual Rights Committee within the ACLU of California. He was the first out transperson in the Harry Benjamin International Gender Dysphoria Association (now the World Professional Association for Transgender Health). Jude is the editor of two books on LGBTQ+ aging.

In recognition of Jude long years of service, he is receiving the 2022 Transgender Pioneer Award. For a more complete biography of Jude’s service to the transgender community, please see page 51 earlier in this guide.

 

Rupert Raj
Rupert Raj has been a Eurasian-Canadian, pansexual, and trans activist ever since he transitioned from female to male in Ottawa as a teenager in 1971. His medical transition was one of the longest in history: 41 years (from 1971 to 2012), across three provinces and two countries.

Rupert lobbied for transgender rights in Ottawa, Montreal, Toronto, Calgary, and Vancouver, and founded two organizations, three support groups, and three counseling/consulting services for transsexuals, crossdressers, and their loved ones. He was called as a gender expert to testify at the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal in Toronto on behalf of several trans people.

Rupert wrote seven trans-focused clinical research papers, edited three transsexual newsletters and authored three books.

In recognition of Rupert’s 50+ years of international trans activisms, he is receiving the 2022 Transgender Pioneer Award. For a more complete biography of Rupert please see page 50 earlier in this guide.

Abby Saypen
Abby Saypen is a transgender women, not comfortable on the binary. She writes poetry, and fiction. Writing, more specifically, writing poetry has been her way out. She is out to break the stereotype.

 

 

Tina Simmons
By day, she is a software engineer, but in her personal time she focuses on her family and playing the ukulele. To her, every time she attends the Fair it’s a unique experience, between the first-time attendees and seeing old friends. Tina has enjoyed helping to facilitate the morning meet and greet session in the past. If you see her, feel free to say hi!

Tina is a member of the ITEO Board of Directors and a TransWeek 2022 ambassador on the Welcome Team.

 

 

Sr. Alice
Sr. Alice has been coming to FanFair for over a decade although her first was 1989—when her name was Anon. and she stayed but a day before running away.

A social worker with a strong interest in religion, she was published in Trans Bodies, Trans Selves. She is convinced that the Roman Catholic Church is 90% anachronistic and the 9% of the rest is selling bingo or some such. However, the remaining 1% is looking 10,000 years into the future—to a time when we will have learned peace. The problem of the Middle East will have been resolved and people will wonder how the United States and Russia could have come so close to destroying time (not to mention the planet earth). Alice considers herself a garden variety transwoman and a highlight of her FanFair experience is attending Mass in a skirt.

 

 

Cody Suzuki
“Ask not what your Gender can do for you—Ask what you can do for your Gender.” Hailing from Massachusetts, Cody Suzuki is a local MA/RI trans queer non-conforming spoken word artist. With passions in poetry, play, lyric, and story writing, his original works are educational, most in verse, and often humorous, delivering gender accepting messages to audiences of all ages. Supporting the trans* and non-conforming community everywhere, his wish is to educate, enlighten, and entertain with the same breath! A long-time Fantasia Fair attendee and performer, Cody’s current projects include opening for the URI play Trans Views touring production, RI Pride Trans & Queer Slam, Southcoast Equality Pride, First Event, hosting workshops, spoken engagements, impromptu reads, or anywhere there’s an open mic! You are welcome to join Cody and Nick Greiner on the stage Wednesday night at the Common Threads Fashion Show, hear his words Thursday night at the Open Mic & Poetry Night, then see him perform Friday night at the Follies!

 

Austin Tyler
Austin Tyler is an eight year full-time resident of Provincetown who can often be found involved writing, producing and appearing in a variety of bingo, comedy and drag shows. Having worked with all types of Provincetown visitors & locals in both the hospitality and cannabis industries, he is all about a happy, healthy and memorable time for everyone he meets.

 

 

 

 

Denise Victoria
Denise attended her first Fair in 2021 and it made such a profound impact she wanted to help and get involved. She is not out or transitioning and only started going out in public early in 2021. She is making up for lost time now and plans to help and be as active and supporting in the community as she can.

Denise is a member of the TransWeek 2022 Planning Committee.

 

 

 

Rhonda Williams
How do you explain Rhonda in 150 words or less? She is a force. Rhonda is a spirited, energetic, passionate advocate and activist in the transgender community in the exceedingly backwards galloping state of Arkansas. As a cis wife to a trans woman, Rhonda writes and blogs about transgender issues, and is outspoken and active in her local LGBTQ community. Rhonda is also an engaging speaker and loves to entertain whenever a crowd gathers.

This is Rhonda’s 6th Fair, 5th to co-host Follies, and 4th year on the Committee as manager of social media. Rhonda is extremely proud of the work the Committee has done to make sure each Fair is the best yet. Though she will most likely embarrass herself in some way, Rhonda hopes you will kindly overlook it and have a fabulous Fair!

Rhonda is a member of the Transgender Week 2022 Planning Committee.

Liz Winter
Liz Winter is a long-time Fair attendee who has been happy to be able to facilitate the Pink Fog workshop for the last seven years. Perhaps best known for sleeping in after late nights and her odd sense of humor, Liz holds a Master’s degree in Social Work and is an LICSW. She has done extensive work with child protective services, domestic violence, sexual abuse victims, and group work in her professional career.

 

 

 

Carolyn Wolf-Gould, MD
Carolyn Wolf-Gould attended Hamilton College and the Yale University School of Medicine. She has been a family physician in Oneonta, NY since 1994, practicing transgender medicine as part of general primary care since 2007. She is the founder of The Gender Wellness Center at Susquehanna Family Practice, a center that has been growing rapidly to meet the needs of patients in upstate NY. She and her team of providers are the recipients of a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Clinical Scholars Grant from 2016–2019 to create a rural-based Center of Excellence in Transgender Health for upstate NY.

 

Getting Started at the Fair

Sunday

Fair check in (@Boatslip 1-5 pm)
Review your welcome packet and Fair schedule for the week
Stroll around town and get your bearings
Attend the Welcome Reception

Monday

Check the day's schedule
Kick Off Brunch
Attend the Welcome Dinner/Dance

Tuesday

Check the day's schedule
Attend the Newcomers Lunch

You've settled in. You've got the hang of it.
Enjoy the Fair!

Daily

Afternoon Key Note and Workshops
Mingle in the courtyard at the Crown