THANK YOU to all of you who supported Live Out Loud’s 2014 Holiday Appeal. We were thrilled to surpass our goal of $15,000 to raise over $20,000!

A few months ago, I visited Bushwick School for Social Justice along with activist and Live Out Loud “friend of the family,” Catherine Marino-Thomas. The opportunity to befriend and work alongside role models like Catherine is one of the biggest benefits of my role as Manager of Youth Programming. However, as a young person, the concept of a role model was something that eluded me….

In November of 2014, the Live Out Loud team attended a panel discussion called Transgender Perspective: In and Out of the Workplace in which transgender women from various walks of life shared their stories and experiences. After an insightful and inspiring evening, one of the panelists, make-up artist Ally Castillo, left our team particularly moved. Her openness, perseverance and vulnerability made her the exact type of role model Live Out Loud wants to connect to the students in our school programs.