At Borealis Philanthropy, we’re not just dreaming of a world rooted in queer and trans liberation—we’re actively co-creating pathways to build it. This work hinges on investing in queer and trans-BIPOC leaders, particularly trans women of color, whose visions, ferocity, and joy continue to shape today’s grassroots movements for justice. And yet, despite their crucial role in building creative and inclusive movements, their efforts remain severely under-resourced, and their leadership often goes unrecognized.
This is why our Emerging LGBTQ Leaders of Color (ELLC) Fund exists: to nourish and build up the capacity of BIPOC trans and queer grassroots leaders. In 2015, the ELLC Fund launched the Young Trans Women of Color (YTWOC) grantmaking program to mobilize resources to support trans women of color organizing across issues and movements. This program is one of a kind within philanthropy and a testament to the Fund’s comprehensive funding approach, which goes beyond multi-year resourcing to ensure relevant capacity-building offerings and opportunities for fellowship.
Currently, the YTWOC program supports a cohort of 12 visionary leaders working at the intersection of multiple movements. Their efforts are providing vital resources for Black trans women in the South, advocating for undocumented trans women’s rights, creating affirming spaces for Indigenous trans and Two Spirit individuals, building sanctuaries for Pacific Islander LGBTQ+ communities, and much, much more.
Some of these leaders are newer to our program, while others have been in our cohort since the Fund’s inception nearly 10 years ago. And all of these leaders are creating systems to safeguard their communities while simultaneously laying the groundwork for a future where BIPOC trans and queer folks are free to live with unbound freedom and joy!
Please join us in celebrating our visionary YTWOC grantee partners—and stay tuned for an announcement of more leaders we’ll be welcoming into our cohort this Fall!
Yuè Begay, Chairwoman & Director of Operations, Indigenous Pride LA
“We trans women of color are all valuable. Invest and nurture us.”
–Yuè Begay
Seeded by a deep commitment to Indigenous LGBTQ+ communities, Yuè Begay is a healer and agitator redefining advocacy for trans and Two Spirit individuals. By interweaving public health, cultural preservation, and community organizing, Yuè constructs affirming spaces that embrace, protect, and celebrate Indigenous LGBTQ+ identities.
At Indigenous Pride LA, Yuè pioneers initiatives that amplify the voices and lived experiences of Indigenous trans and Two Spirit individuals, cultivating resilience, empowerment, and cultural pride. With ancestral wisdom and an unwavering commitment, Yuè stands firmly united in ensuring Indigenous trans voices are heard, celebrated, and uplifted, weaving a vibrant tapestry of Indigenous LGBTQ+ joy and resilience.
Daroneshia Duncan-Boyd, Executive Director, Transgender Advocates Knowledgeable Empowering (TAKE)
Unapologetically Black, trans, and Southern, Daroneshia is a changemaker who has crafted a vital support network for Black trans women at the TAKE Resource Center in Birmingham, Alabama. Through her impactful work at TAKE, Daroneshia is providing essential resources to the trans community in Birmingham, spanning healthcare, housing, and employment support.
Moreover, she is actively mentoring and empowering the next generation of leaders to continue driving change. Daroneshia’s approach, rooted in her personal journey, is fostering a legacy of resilience and empowerment for the trans community in the South, demonstrating the transformative power of investing in leadership from within the community.
Jennicet Gutierrez, Founder & Co-Executive Director, Familia: TQLM
As a visionary and passionate advocate at the intersection of immigrant rights and LGBTQ+ justice, Jennicet fearlessly confronts the unique challenges faced by undocumented trans women. Harnessing the power of storytelling to elevate voices and demand systemic change, Jennicet leads campaigns and initiatives that challenge the inhumane treatment of trans individuals in detention centers, advocating for their freedom and access to vital, life-affirming resources.
With steadfast dedication to queer liberation, she ensures the stories of undocumented trans women are heard, their dignity upheld, and their resilience celebrated, tirelessly organizing to secure greater love, ease, and political power for her community.
Merrique Jenson, Founder & Executive Director, Transformations
Drawing from over two decades of lived experience and wisdom in harm reduction and anti-violence advocacy, Merrique has created vital support networks for trans folks navigating homelessness, discrimination, and systemic barriers in Kansas City.
Through Transformations, they offer mentorship, leadership development, and innovative programming centered on healing, resilience, and empowerment. Merrique’s innovative programs, such as the national virtual summit “The Dolls Are Thriving” and the microgrants initiative, serve as models for comprehensive community care and empowerment, centering the voices and needs of those most impacted.
Merrique Taffy Johnson, Founder & Executive Director, United Territories of Pacific Islanders Alliance (UTOPIA Washington)
“We have built a leadership of sex workers of queer and trans People of Color and incarcerated trans and gender-diverse community members where we believe that the liberation begins when we center those who are most marginalized in decision-making but also in the movement work.”
– Taffy Johnson
For over a decade, Taffy has been a pillar of support for the queer and trans-Pacific Islander community (QTPI) in the Pacific Northwest, serving as a vital resource, refuge, and advocate for countless Fa’afafine, Māhū, Leitī, Vakasalewalewa, and other Pacific Islander folks.
Through her leadership at UTOPIA, Taffy has established essential spaces of sanctuary, empowerment, and community, providing a wide range of services, including health clinics, cultural events, and leadership development programs. By offering culturally responsive support that celebrates the rich diversity of Pacific Islander LGBTQIA+ identities and experiences, Taffy directly empowers the community to celebrate their existence, build community power, and shape new realities for QTPI communities rooted in joy and liberation.
Isa Noyola, Deputy Director, Border Butterflies Project
“We’re looking for a cultural shift—that [trans folks] are actually a part of the fabric of everyday communities. We are not just settling for crumbs—that we’re not just settling for policy wins and bathroom accommodations. But actually, for everyone to really understand gender and to understand our lives in more complex ways”
— Isa Noyola
Driven by an unwavering dedication to trans and immigrant communities, Isa is working to abolish oppressive systems that criminalize and harm trans and queer immigrant communities of color in the United States. With resilience born from lived experience, she combines life-saving legal aid, humanitarian relief, and unrelenting policy advocacy to dismantle the cruel systems oppressing BIPOC LGBTQ+ asylum seekers.
Isa’s rallying cry demands the abolition of dehumanizing ICE detention centers, securing the release and emancipation of transgender women from these facilities, and envisions a world where trans-migrant identities, safety, and joy are not ideals but lived realities.
Nicole Santamaria, Executive Director, El/La Para TransLatinas
“I want to provide the people I work with a holistic, and intersectional approach to continue building communities we want to see thrive. I want to create a space where freedom, equity, justice, respect, peace and health are granted for all, not for the privileged few.”
— Nicole Santamaria
Nicole’s journey to El/La is one of transformation and resilience. Drawing on her rich background in human rights advocacy, she revolutionized El/La Para TransLatinas through trauma-informed leadership, creating holistic community services designed for translatinas. The offerings include hot meals, tailored job training, accompaniment support for medical and legal appointments, and community education workshops on trans rights and health for local organizations and government agencies. Nicole’s innovative approach bridges direct services with policy influence, amplifying translatina voices while nurturing community strength through ever-changing challenges.
Tiare Sua, Director of Prevention and Education, Maui AIDS Foundation
At the Maui AIDS Foundation, Tiare expanded services beyond HIV prevention, incorporating more comprehensive LGBTQ+ support for queer and trans folks in Maui. She initiated a hormone therapy program, partnering with local clinics to provide access and training for trans-affirming care, and has successfully advocated for policy changes in Maui’s public school, allowing trans-student-athletes to participate according to their gender identity.
Tiare interweaves policy reform, healthcare access, and community building to create safe, inclusive spaces. Through additional initiatives like H.E.A.R.T.S and AFFIRM Magazine, Tiare’s advocacy resonates beyond Maui, empowering and amplifying the voices of trans folks across the island.
Phoebe VanCleefe, Director of Programs, Bantu Safe Haven
Phoebe’s journey as a Black trans advocate in Philadelphia is one of continuous expansion. At Bantu Safe Haven, she supports the Black Trans Wellness Fund, which provides emergency financial assistance for housing, healthcare, and other critical needs. Phoebe organizes monthly community-building events, including skill shares and has developed partnerships with local employers to create job opportunities for Black trans folks.
Phoebe also leads a support group for Black trans survivors of violence, providing both peer support and connections to professional resources, weaving a network of support that spans generations and challenges for Black queer and trans folks in Philadelphia.
Tarena Williams, Founder, Southeastern Transgender Resource Center
Tarena has nurtured the Southeastern Transgender Resource Center from a seedling idea into a flourishing ecosystem of support in Norfolk, VA. Her expansion has transformed the center into a vibrant community hub. The center offers critical services, including transportation assistance to help folks access medical appointments and job interviews, weekly support groups for trans youth and seniors, and a referral network with trusted local trans-affirming healthcare providers. Rooted in continuous learning and self-care, As a leader, Tarena prioritizes community feedback, ensuring the center grows in harmony with the community’s evolving needs.
Toni-Michelle Williams, Executive Director, Solutions
Not Punishment Collaborative (SNaP-Co)
“Trans folks deserve the right and have the capacity to govern ourselves, resource ourselves, and also to keep ourselves safe.”
— Toni-Michelle Williams
At SNaP-Co, Toni-Michelle is rewriting the narrative of community safety in Atlanta. Her thoughtful leadership drives initiatives that compassionately challenge traditional policing models. Toni-Michelle launched a program training local businesses in trans-inclusive practices, improving employment opportunities. SNaP-Co’s “Deeper than Visibility” report, based on a community survey, has informed local policy recommendations. Toni-Michelle’s work ripples through Atlanta and beyond, inspiring new approaches to justice and community care driven by the community and rooted in healing and transformative justice.
Aneiry Zapata, Community Coordinator, Black LGBTQ Migrant Project
“Being a Black transgender woman represents empowerment, strength, and struggle, because every day we must wake up and go out into the world to fight in order to remain. We live in a society that constantly wants to erase us, that is why we assiduously have to find new ways to remain and to be—we will never let them, erase us.”
— Aneiry Zapataz
A proud trans-Afro-Latina of the Garífuna people of Honduras, Aneiry’s path to the Black LGBTQ Migrant Project is a testament to the power of advocacy and resilience. After enduring years of anti-Black and anti-LGBTQ+ oppression in Honduras, Aneiry fled to the United States in 2015 only to be confronted by new—but all too familiar—xenophobic, racist, and transphobic systemic violence in the United States. This prompted her to develop actions and resources for the LGBTQIA+ migrant community in the United States.
As a community coordinator for the Black LGBTQ Migrant Project, Aneiry bridges opportunities for Black and queer migrants, connecting them with a network of resources they need to live a stable life and access their basic needs. Aneiry’s holistic vision spans generations, from nurturing youth to supporting seniors, offering health care support, sex education, and specific administrative support for migrants navigating confusing bureaucracies as they settle into the United States.
In this overwhelmingly queer- and trans-antagonistic moment, funders must listen to, trust, and invest in trans leadership—and provide long-term, stable, and flexible funding to sustain and strengthen the work of our next generation’s leaders. To learn more about partnering with Borealis Philanthropy’s Emerging LGBTQ Leaders of Color Fund—to resource and elevate the wisdom of our YTWOC cohort and other BIPOC queer and trans organizers—please connect with us at ELLC@borealisphilanthropy.org.