Transamerica: The Future of Gender Identity in American Life

Transgender and non-binary people are part of America’s rich cultural diversity. Today, however, the community faces increasing harassment and violence. In recent years, dozens of states have passed new laws that threaten the trans community, including denying access to health care and criminalizing participation in sports.

This free Pride Month program will convene Dr. Gwendolyn Paige Herzig, PharmD (she/her/hers), Oklahoma Representative Mauree Turner (they/them/theirs), and Chase Strangio (he/him/his), deputy director for Transgender Justice with the ACLU’s LGBT & HIV Project, for an important conversation about gender identity during a tenuous moment. Dr. Jay Barth (he/him/his), director of the Clinton Library, will moderate the conversation.

The event will be held in person at the Clinton Presidential Center streamed live online at live.clintonpresidentialcenter.org. 

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Born in northeast Arkansas, Dr. Gwendolyn Paige Herzig, PharmD has spent all her life and career in The Natural State. She attended Arkansas State University for her undergraduate studies in Biology, graduating with University Honors in 2012. In 2017, Herzig graduated from the UAMS College of Pharmacy in Little Rock obtaining her Doctorate in Pharmacy. In 2019, she purchased Park West Pharmacy, located in Little Rock Arkansas, realizing a lifelong dream of community pharmacy ownership. Currently, she is involved in the following: outreach and support for LGBTQ+ initiatives especially within the transgender community; an active clinical pharmacist focusing on transgender care working with Healthy Connection Inc.; an educator for organizations and staff on affirming care and the care involved for LGBTQ+ individuals; and participating in clinical research for new drug entities. Herzig is a proud advocate for disadvantaged communities and looks to provide closure in gaps of care and resources for those affected by such. She and her wife Elizabeth are the proud mothers of two girls, Autumn and Evelyn Herzig.  

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Rep. Mauree Turner (They/Them/Theirs) is the current Representative for Oklahoma’s 88th House District and a Queer, Non-binary, Okie Muslim.

Turner was formerly the Regional Field Director Oklahoma’s Campaign for Smart Justice, an ACLU initiative focusing on criminal justice reform and its many intersections. Their life’s works are geared towards fighting for and maintaining the civil rights and liberties of all. 

As the first Muslim elected in Oklahoma and the first non-binary person elected to a state-level position in U.S. history, they understand why equitable and accurate representation matters. This has led them to work with the NAACP of Oklahoma, CAIR Oklahoma, Freedom Oklahoma, and a continuously growing number of grassroots organizations in the state. 

Since working in and around Oklahoma’s criminal legal system, Turner came to the realization: it’s not about reform, but about reimagining and rebuilding our justice system, with our communities in mind. 

They have championed legislation for accurate and equitable documentation for our community members who live beyond the binary, repealed nuisance laws that give law enforcement more access to our already vulnerable communities, started community conversations about why it’s important to focus on alternatives to incarceration. 

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Chase Strangio is Deputy Director for Transgender Justice with the ACLU’s LGBT & HIV Project and a nationally recognized expert on transgender rights. Chase’s work includes impact litigation, as well as legislative and administrative advocacy, on behalf of LGBTQ people and people living with HIV across the United States. 

Prior to joining the ACLU, Chase was an Equal Justice Works fellow and the Director of Prisoner Justice Initiatives at the Sylvia Rivera Law Project, where he represented transgender and gender non-conforming individuals in confinement settings. In 2012, Chase co-founded the Lorena Borjas Community Fund, an organization that provides direct bail/bond assistance to LGBTQ immigrants in criminal and immigration cases. Chase is a graduate of Northeastern University School of Law and Grinnell College.  

Chase is counsel in the ACLU’s challenge to North Carolina’s notorious HB2, Carcaño, et al. v. Cooper, et al, the ACLU’s challenge to Trump’s trans military ban, Stone v. Trump, and the case of Aimee Stephens, R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes v EEOC, which will be heard by the Supreme Court in October 2019. 

The conversation is hosted by the Clinton Foundation, Clinton Presidential Library and Museum, and Central Arkansas Library System.