 aims to support emerging and developing trans professionals.){kind=link}
“I didn’t know anyone who was trans growing up,” said AJ Freno, explaining that they lacked language for their trans experience as a kid and didn’t find it until they were a young adult.
Later, while working as a public school teacher, Freno was maliciously outed — and walked away from the field after enduring harassment. It wasn’t until they saw Laverne Cox on “Orange is the New Black” that they came to understand that trans people can be successful in their careers. After switching fields to pursue social work, Freno met a mentor whose visibility helped Freno view themself as a future leader.
“They’ve really helped me become more empowered to speak up and to be a leader just like they are,” Freno said.
Now Freno is helping to launch an organization that will hopefully help trans people feel less alone in their efforts to come out at school or work and pursue their professional goals.
“We want to show people that being trans is not a detriment to you succeeding in whatever career field you want to succeed in,” said Freno — who is vice president of programming at the National Transgender Leadership Conference Committee (NTLCC), a new organization that aims to support emerging and developing trans professionals.
The organization’s name refers to their goal of hosting a large-scale, in-person conference within the next year or so. For now, the organization has planned a summit, which will take place in Massachusetts this fall.
They also recently announced online programming that will be rolled out in the coming months. “Launch to Lead,” a monthly series of free virtual gatherings, features trans professionals from various industries — inviting young, trans professionals or those who are interested in developing their careers to connect with trans people who are already industry leaders.
Freno said part of the initiative is to create spaces where people with similar lived experiences can come together — where they’re not a minority in the room or forced to be the only voice advocating for their community, where people are valued as individuals and viewed as more than their trans identity.
“Being trans is just one part of who you are,” they underlined. “But sometimes, it can feel like you have no choice but for it to take over your whole life — because of the way that other people see you.”
Freno often works to empower trans people by teaching them to self-advocate, increasing access to information and reliable resources, creating educational opportunities to explore trans issues and other important topics, and bringing people into conversations they might not otherwise participate in.
A Rutgers doctoral candidate who currently teaches sexuality and gender diversity for social work students at the university, Freno is known for LGBTQ+ advocacy and community building in New Jersey. They’re currently the director of youth outreach for VentureOutNJ — a queer-centered meet-up group. They also run a consulting practice that focuses on supporting queer-run businesses and training business leaders on LGBTQ+ topics.
But they’ve developed a presence in Philadelphia, too — where they often spend their weekends — and plan to move to the city soon.
“Being in the Gayborhood is one of the best feelings — being in a place that’s for you…” they said.
As a social-work professional, Freno has worked with the Mazzoni Center, collaborated with the LGBTQ+ Health Program at Penn Medicine, and will be at the Philadelphia School District’s upcoming GSA summit. They’re currently the LGBTQ+ support manager for HiTOPS — which serves LGBTQ+ youth in South Jersey and Eastern Pennsylvania — and partnered with the Philadelphia Flyers’ Pride initiative to bring youth to games and talk with players about the importance of inclusion in sports.
“A big part of my work over the past few years has been attempting to make connections with all of the organizations that serve this target population of LGBTQ+ folks, so that we can work together and get people the best services that they can that best suit their needs,” Freno said about collaborating with and learning from LGBTQ+ organizations across New Jersey and throughout the Philadelphia area.
They appreciate that many of Philadelphia’s LGBTQ+ organizations uplift trans people and people of color as consistent leaders within the community. But that doesn’t automatically mean people have access to the resources they need to advance their careers. Many lack the financial freedom to pursue training or other means of professional development — partially because of the financial burdens and other challenges that come with transitioning.
This is why, they underlined, financially investing in trans people — through scholarships, mutual aid, and sliding scale initiatives that ease monetary burdens, for example — can be life-changing for those that receive the support. It’s also why Freno is passionate about establishing clear pathways to trans-affirming resources and leaders through the emerging programs at NTLCC.
“This has been in the works for a long time — before the 2024 election, before the inauguration,” explained Freno, underlining that the NTLCC is focused on sustaining the community through empowerment over many years to come. “As a community, we are so much more than this one moment in time. Trans folks have been here for forever, and we will continue to be here forever.”
In the future, NTLCC will host trainings for allies who want to make a tangible impact — and they encourage those who want to become supporters to sign up for the organization’s newsletter. Trans professionals who hope to mentor young professionals should shoot an email to the leadership team (by contacting [email protected]).
“Dividing us is all too often the goal,” Freno continued about the anti-LGBTQ+ efforts and transphobic rhetoric currently plaguing the news cycle. “My hope in my work and in the NTLCC’s work is that we can bring people together and show ourselves and each other that we have the power to make change and to define our lives in the way that we want to.”