ADAM From Pom-Poms to Protest: The Science of Transforming Shame into Radical Joy – Growing up in a repressive farm town teaches you how to hide, but it also accidentally gives you the blueprint for how to make noise. This session breaks down the psychology of shame and explores how we can systematically turn it into radical, unapologetic queer joy. We will look at how personal storytelling acts as a shield against hostile environments and how stepping into your authentic self, crop tops and all, is the ultimate form of local resistance.
ALENA Lilly’s Story: A Psychosocial Model for Improving Health Outcomes in Transgender and Gender Diverse Individuals – By the numbers, transgender and gender diverse individuals face worse health outcomes, shorter lifespans, and increased mortality as compared to their cisgender peers. Common conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, asthma, and autoimmune disorders may be unaddressed or poorly managed due to a combination of factors – including experiences of stress or stigma within the healthcare system. Alena is a psychotherapist who is committed to raising awareness of this issue in honor of their late partner, Lilly, a transgender woman who struggled to navigate her own chronic health issues. Alongside Lilly’s story, this workshop will offer concrete suggestions for tackling psychosocial barriers to good health in transgender and gender diverse individuals, in a format accessible to both laypeople and other professionals. This workshop is designed for participants 18+; parents are welcome!
ALENA Sexuality and Assertive Communication for Transgender and Gender Diverse Individuals – Transgender and gender diverse individuals sometimes face unique challenges in developing satisfying sexual interactions, both with cisgender partners and in the context of T4T relationships. In this workshop, Alena will outline and discuss some of the most common challenges; participants will also be encouraged to share their own stories. Finally, this workshop will explore assertive communication strategies for getting your sexual needs met. This workshop is designed for participants 18+; partners (regardless of gender identity) are welcome!
ANDI Respect For All in Healthcare – I believe there are barriers to our trans, bi, gay friends getting the healthcare they need and want, and I would like to know how you get to bridge those barriers. Let’s have an open discussion on how to navigate this very important topic.
BEA SWEET & BEATRICE Healing Beyond Labels: Trauma-Informed Tools for Resilience and Empowerment – Everyone carries stories that influence how they show up in relationships, work, and community. This trauma-informed workshop provides a compassionate framework for understanding the effects of adversity while equipping participants with practical strategies to foster resilience, emotional regulation, and sustainable well-being. Participants will leave with tools to move from surviving to thriving.
DANIELLE When Faith and Identity Collide – Many people have experienced religious teachings that conflicted with their identity. This workshop creates space to discuss faith, spirituality, healing, and reclaiming personal truth.
DANIELLE From Shame to Self: Reclaiming the Right to Exist – Growing up, many of us were told who we should be, who we should love, and how we should express ourselves. This discussion explores the journey from shame and conformity to self-acceptance and authenticity.
JESSE From Pre-T to Post-Op: Inside The FTM Playbook – Every trans guy starts somewhere — confused, alone, and usually Googling at 2 AM. I did too, in 2011. This workshop pulls back the curtain on the actual journey from first shot to final stage and everything that nobody tells you happens in between. We’ll walk through the real decisions: timing, providers, surgery, family pushback, naming yourself, building a life that sticks. I’ll share the wins, the detours, and the things I got wrong so you don’t have to. Most importantly, we’ll look at the framework I built over 15 years — the one that became the FTM Playbook — and how you can use it to run your own game with intention instead of just hoping it works out.
JESSE The Unfiltered FTM Hour: Ask Me Anything – Some questions you don’t ask your doctor. Some you don’t ask your therapist. Some you’ve been sitting on for years waiting for someone who’s been there. This hour is for those. Fifteen years in, Jesse has heard it all and asked most of it himself. Sex drive after T. Beard patchiness. Side effects they don’t list in the pamphlet. Tattooing your new parts after phalloplasty. What changes, what doesn’t, what nobody warns you about. He’s got stories to share. Like the time when the cops got called on him at the Ritz-Carlton for using the women’s restroom — still the best compliment he’s ever received. Also, fair game: gender versus sexuality. Coming out at work and benefiting from insurance loopholes. And this part matters: yes, you can live stealth, passing, happy, and find someone who loves you for exactly who you are. It gets better. Jesse’s proof, and he’ll tell you how. No script. No filter. Bring your craziest questions.
JESSICA Talk Saves Lives – Talk Saves Lives: An Introduction to Suicide Prevention is AFSP’s flagship suicide prevention education program that covers the scope of this leading cause of death, what the research has found to be the warning signs and risk factors of suicide, and the strategies that prevent it.
JOEY HRT 101 – This course is designed to help an attendee become familiar with the most important aspects of hormone assisted gender transition.
JOSEPH Gender-Inclusive Family and Community Empowerment: Growing Into Pronouns, Acceptance, and Allyship Together – When someone comes out as transgender or nonbinary, it is rarely a solitary journey. It often becomes a shared process of transition for parents, partners, siblings, and the wider circle of loved ones. Yet when families lack understanding or the words to respond, communication can break down at the very moment connection matters most. These ruptures take a real toll: they are closely linked to the mental health and relationship challenges that so many trans youth and adults face. This interactive session offers a different path. Join YES Institute for an educational dialogue on the practical, research-informed practices that help family members and communities grow into using pronouns with confidence, into genuine acceptance, and into active, sustaining allyship. Together we will explore supportive models that empower trans people across the lifespan, from healthy youth development to thriving adulthood, employment, and entrepreneurship, and we will preview emerging research on the intersection of autism and transgender experiences.
JOSEPH From Reaction to Relationship: Communication and the Family Acceptance Journey – When someone comes out as transgender or nonbinary, families often want to be supportive but don’t yet have the words. In that gap, well-meaning silence, awkward questions, or old habits around names and pronouns can quietly strain the relationships that matter most, and those communication breakdowns are closely tied to the mental health of trans youth and adults. Acceptance, it turns out, is less a single moment than a process families grow into together. Join YES Institute for an interactive dialogue on how that growth happens. Rather than debating who is right or wrong, we’ll focus on the communication skills that move families from reaction to genuine relationship: practicing pronouns, staying in conversation through discomfort, and building the everyday habits of acceptance and allyship. You’ll leave with practical, research-informed tools you can use at home and in your community and hear from guest speakers who have walked this path.
KATHRYN BELINA Building Bridges: Creating Meaningful Community Connections – A conversation about the power of connection in LGBTQ+ organizing and activism. This fireside chat explores how to build authentic relationships across diverse communities, foster belonging, and create spaces where marginalized voices feel heard and valued. Benefits of monthly townhalls, volunteer networks, and grassroots gatherings strengthen community bonds and drive collective action. Attendees will discover practical ways to deepen connections within their own organizations nd communities to bridge divides between different LGBTQ+ communities and create inclusive spaces that welcome all people. Leave inspired with strategies for building the supportive, connected community we all deserve.
LELAND My Story: Having What You Dreamed About In Life – Let’s discuss what’s holding you back in your life and what’s possible to achieve. This conversation discusses real life situations moving through the years as two spirit, and setting goals to set yourself up for success.
LUNA You Are Sexy! Part 1: Unlocking Your Sexy: A Self Love Guide to Sensual Sexuality – Part 1 will focus on Unlocking your sensuality by focusing on mental, emotional, and spiritual blocks that hinder your access to your sensual sexiness. These inner locks will be addressed through a variety of movements and activities. By unlocking the superpower of your sensuality you’ll feel more confident and sexy in your skin!
LUNA You Are Sexy! Part 2: Embodying Your Sexy: A Sensual Guide to Sexiness Burlesque Style – Part 2 will focus on Embodying and Experiencing how sexy your unlocked sensuality truly is by focusing on physical movements, stretches, poses, and a mini burlesque routine! By moving confidently in your skin you’ll be living into your seductive nature with a burlesque flair! Come to both Part 1 & Part 2 for full effective support. These classes will be intimate and vulnerable! Come prepared with open hearts, open minds, willingness to participate, a journal & pen, wearing or bringing something that feels sexy to you: your favorite outfit and your favorite shoes.
MONIQUE How do we support our youth (ages 12-18) through their experience – This support group is facilitated by licensed psychologists. It is designed for families/caretakers, friends, providers & anyone interested in sharing space with those seeking to find support, connection, feeling heard, and open to share their experiences as being part of a support system for youth (under age 18). Support can look like in home/family & caretaker, school based, program/extracurricular activities, friends, mentors and providers (including therapists & teachers). Support groups have been long seen as a major resource for caretakers and those supporting individuals experiencing major life changes. Youth who are transitioning, questioning and exploring in their gender & sexual identity are at a high risk for experiencing gender dysphoria, body dysmorphia, depression, anxiety, and other health issues. Supportive adults during childhood & adolescence significantly increase positive adulthood adjustment, health outcomes & emotional safety for those exploring and transitioning in their gender identities.
NICK & WILL Chemsex, Harm Reduction, and Recovery: Creating Safer Pathways Without Shame – This educational workshop explores the intersection of substance use, sexual behavior, consent, trauma, stigma, and LGBTQIA+ identity. Drawing from lived experience, clinical work, and recovery advocacy, Will Cashman and proposed co-presenter Nick Fantozzi examine why chemsex can become reinforcing, how shame interferes with help-seeking, and how providers and peers can respond effectively. Participants will leave with practical strategies for risk reduction, affirming engagement, treatment referral, relapse prevention, and individualized recovery support. The session can include audience questions and, with conference approval, may be recorded live for Recovery: Unfiltered with Nick and Will.
STEPHANIE Existing Between Worlds: Navigating Identity Across the LGBTQ+ Spectrum – This discussion explores the shared experience many LGBTQ+ individuals face while living between worlds, identities, expectations, communities, and societal norms. Whether bisexual, transgender, gender-fluid, lesbian, gay, nonbinary, queer, or questioning, many people navigate spaces where they feel unseen, misunderstood, judged, or pressured to fit into simplified definitions. Participants will discuss invisibility, acceptance, identity exploration, family dynamics, relationships, presentation, and the emotional toll of constantly explaining or defending who they are. Centered in lived LGBTQ+ experiences, this session creates space for honest conversation about resilience, belonging, authenticity, and community. Together, attendees will explore both the struggles and strength that come from existing beyond traditional expectations and boundaries.
STEPHANIE Still Here: Growing Up LGBTQ Through Hate, Violence, and Survival – This deeply personal discussion explores the realities of growing up LGBTQ while facing hatred, violence, rejection, and fear during formative years. Speaking from lived experience as a cisgender bisexual woman, this session examines how discrimination, bullying, threats, and societal stigma shaped identity, relationships, self-worth, and survival. Participants will discuss the emotional impact of living through hostility while trying to understand themselves in a world that often felt unsafe or unwelcoming. The conversation also focuses on resilience, healing, chosen family, advocacy, and finding strength despite painful experiences. This discussion creates space for honest storytelling, shared understanding, and recognizing the courage it takes to survive, grow, and continue living authentically.