Trans Kids, Our Kids

About the Author

Jasmine Beach-Ferrara is an ordained minister and Executive Director of the Campaign for Southern Equality. She is the author of DAMN LOVE, a short story collection that received recognition from PEN/Hemingway in the category of debut fiction. Her essay "Southern Fried Pride" was recognized in Longread's Best of 2016 Essay category; and her non-fiction and opinion writing about LGBTQ+ issues in the South have been published in regional and national digital and print media. She received her undergraduate degree from Brown University, her MFA from the Warren Wilson Program for Writers, and her MDiv from Harvard Divinity School. She lives in Asheville, NC, with her family. Adam Polaski serves as the Communications & Political Director for the Campaign for Southern Equality. Prior to this, he worked on the digital and communication teams at Freedom to Marry, the successful campaign to win marriage for same-sex couples across the United States, and Freedom for All Americans, a national organization committed to securing LGBTQ-inclusive nondiscrimination protections. Adam has been recognized for Excellence in Online Journalism by the National Gay & Lesbian Journalists Association and his writing has been published in Hello Mr., The Seventh Wave, The Bilerico Project, and Love Unites Us, an anthology book about the marriage movement. He has also supported communications work to push for the successful passage of the Respect for Marriage Act in 2022, through a campaign that won a Campaign Excellence Award for Public Affairs Campaign of the Year by the American Association of Political Consultants (AAPC). He has provided communications and design support for The Brigid Alliance, the Local Solutions Support Center, Freedom to Marry Global, GLSEN, Campus Pride, Religious Exemption Accountability Project, and the Southern AIDS Coalition. He graduated summa cum laude with a degree in journalism from Ithaca College, where he was a member of the Park Scholarship program. He lives in Asheville, NC. Alexis Stratton has an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of South Carolina, and their stories and essays have appeared in Hayden's Ferry Review, Matador Review and Oyez Review, among other publications. In 2022, their chapbook, Anywhere Else but Here was published by Fjords Review, and in 2023, they won the James River Writers' and Richmond Magazine's Best Unpublished Novel Contest. Alexis also writes for the Rebel Girls book series and podcast and provides grant writing support to several LGBTQ+ nonprofits. Before transitioning to writing full-time, Alexis educated organizations in South Carolina on LGBTQ+ rights, violence prevention, and serving marginalized populations. They currently live in Richmond, VA.