The Maryland Trans Resilience Conference

June 22nd 2022 - June 23rd 2022

The second Maryland Trans Resilience Conference will bring together trans people from around Maryland, offering space for profound discussions, community connections, healing, and gender euphoria. Organized by Trans Maryland and Montgomery County HIV/STI, in partnership with local trans leaders, the conference will build community and solidarity among trans communities in Maryland and offer opportunities for connections and capacity-building for trans people.

All sessions are free with optional donation. ASL and Spanish-language interpretation are available upon request.

Maryland Trans Resilience Conference requires masks for all attendees in our space. However, we are sharing common space in the building with other events that may not require masks. Please be advised that hallways and bathrooms may have people who are not wearing masks. Presenters will not be required to wear masks.

Conference Program 2022

Wednesday June 22nd Schedule

All sessions take place at the Silver Spring Civic Center, 1 Veterans Plaza, Silver Spring MD 20910.

Building Power and Advocacy for Self and Community 10:00am-11:00am

Click here to register.

We invite you to join moderator Monica Stevens (she/her), and panelists: Vann Michael (he/him), DREAM (they/them) and Margo Quinlan (she/her) for a 1 hour panel discussion. The conversation will touch on the meaning of power, intersections of our identities in trans spaces, and our panelists' lived experiences around self and community advocacy.

Nonbinary Transition 11:15am-12:15pm

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Join facilitators Randall Leonard (they/them) and Bianca Palmisano (they/them) for a 1 hour workshop. The conversation will touch on history of gender binary gatekeeping, the lived experiences of the presenters, gender euphoria and dysphoria, nonbinary social transition, while also examining the power dynamics involved in the presumption of medical and legal transition in the trans community.

Lunch 12:15pm-1:15pm

No registration necessary.

Youth and Elder Voices Panel 1:15pm-2:45pm

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Join moderator Diedre Gray (she/her) and panelists Vann Michael (he/him), Legacy Forte (they/them), and Monica Stevens (she/her) for an hour and a half panel discussion. The conversation will touch on lived experiences of the presenters, and ground us in our trans history so we know where we've come from as a community, while also highlighting our trans present and collectively dreaming of our trans futures.

Sex On Our Terms 3:00pm-4:30pm

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Bianca Palmisano (they/them) and Blake Mihm (they/he) will lead an interactive discussion on all things sex and pleasure! Far too often, sexual education leaves gender expansive folks out. This workshop will focus on exploring what satisfaction means for YOU and your body, whether it's with a long term partner, a stranger (or strangers!), or between you and yourself. We will bust some myths, discuss harm reduction strategies, and brainstorm ways to communicate needs and desires.

HIV and STI Screening 10:00am-4:30pm

No registration needed!

Star Track Health Program will be providing free on-site HIV and STI screening all day long.

Thursday June 23rd Schedule

All sessions take place at the Silver Spring Civic Center, 1 Veterans Plaza, Silver Spring MD 20910.

Ask Me Anything: Gender Affirming Care Providers 10:00am-11:00am

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Do you have questions about gender-affirming care, but don’t know where to find answers? Get answers to all your questions from healthcare professionals in this session. Everything from hormone and voice therapy, to any kind of surgery will be addressed. Workshop facilitators Calvin Schuster (he/him) and Claudia Taccheri (she/they) will lead this session about gender affirming care.

Please submit questions ahead of time here.

Community Healing Session 11:15am-12:15am

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We invite you to join facilitators Isaiah Lawrence (he/him) of Black Trans Visions LLC and Emily Scott (she/her) of Dreams and Visions as they weave together a one hour healing session for all genders and all bodies. Some days our existence is our resistance, and even those who go hardest for our community need restorative practices and a break, via trans love in community. You cannot pour from an empty cup, so come join us to refill yours.

Lunch 12:15pm-1:15pm

No registration needed.

Navigating Dating Sites and Consent Panel 1:15pm-2:45pm

Click here to register.

Moderator Colton Gibbons (he/they), and panelists Jhané (they/them), Alexa Rodriguez (she/ella), and Octavia Bloom (they/she) will have a 1.5 hour discussion about dating and consent. The conversation will delve into monogamy, polyamory, creating and enforcing your own boundaries, sex work, using dating apps, T4T relationships, and more! This panel may offer time for Q&A at the discretion of the panelists.

Trans+ Exercise 3:00pm-3:45pm

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Get ready to sweat, have fun, and feel empowered. This Gender-Affirming class features all of our favorite workouts from CAKE Society Co's Trans+ rec league. Its all body and fitness level friendly!

No experience needed; grab a water bottle and let’s have fun!

Thursday Evening: Queer Trivia and Social Event

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5:00pm-7:00pm Woodside Urban Park 8800 Georgia Ave Silver Spring, MD 20910

After the conference, head over to Woodside Urban Park for a community dinner. Enjoy socializing with other trans folks, win prizes in a fun queer quiz show with Chris Jay, and get your photo taken in the Braxton Sparks Photography photobooth.

This event will take place outdoors. Masks will not be required. The Braxton Sparks Photography photobooth will take place indoors, and will not require masks.

Check out the program from the 2019 conference below!

Creating Space For Community

The Maryland Trans Resilience Conference, launched September 21st, 2019, brought together trans people from around Maryland for a day of community, workshops, resource tables, and more, all focused on building resilience. The conference ran from 9am-3pm at the Lord Baltimore Hotel, 20 W Baltimore St, Baltimore, MD 21201.

Organized by The Baltimore Transgender Alliance, Trans Healthcare MD, and CLEAR Baltimore, in partnership with local trans leaders, the conference aimed to build community and solidarity among trans communities in Maryland and to offer opportunities for connections and capacity-building for trans people.

Seeing the deaths of our Black and Brown trans sisters and siblings, we feel the urgent need for a trans-led, community-focused conference for our state. When our Black community members live in danger, we must act. Housing, food, job access, and healthcare are all unavailable to so many of our siblings, and trans folks of color can and must lead the conversation. MTRC centers their voices and perspectives, ensuring our most marginalized siblings lead the planning for harm reduction and healing.

The conference's inaugural year saw profound, powerful discussions, community connections, and so much joy. Our deepest thanks to everyone who helped make this first year a success!