Queering Precedent: Behind the Scenes

We are thrilled to invite you to a listening party in celebration of OUTWORDS’ newest podcast project, Queering Precedent.

Queering Precedent delves into the history of transgender, gender non-conforming, and intersex (TGI) visibility and legal rights, in California and beyond, and asks: how did we get here, and where do we go now? Get a jolt of hope, history, and how-to with judges, lawyers, advocates, and activists who shaped law and politics for the TGI community. The listening party will connect you with podcast guests, producers, and other listeners, providing an insider’s perspective on both the legal system and with the legendary changemakers fighting for the TGI community — and the queer community as a whole.

Queering Precedent is presented by OUTWORDS as part of our two-year initiative Dare to Be Powerful: How LGBTQ+ Elders Transformed California Politics Forever, with generous funding from the California State Library.

This event will be moderated by Alexis Sanchez. Panelists include podcasts guests Anne and Suegee Tamar-Mattis and Marcus Arana, as well as podcast co-producer Luca Evans, and co-host kai alviar horton.

Alexis Sanchez (moderator) Born and raised in Los Angeles, Alexis Sanchez has worked in LGBTQIA+ advocacy for the last decade. Her background is in Public Health Policy with a focus on Substance Use Disorders in the LGBTQ+ community where she has been a thought leader in how systems of oppression contribute to shorter lifespans for people with multiple marginalized identities. Alexis is the Vice President of Programs at a National LGBTQ+ organization. In 2020 she was named Woman of the Year for CA-30 by the 116th Congress.

Holy Old Man Bull, aka Marcus Arana (panelist and podcast guest ) is a retired Gender Identity Discrimination Investigator and Policy Analyst for the City and County of San Francisco, where he worked on health insurance coverage for transgender employees and their dependents. Previous jobs include field worker, carnie, cook, Radio DJ, and carpenter. Holy Old Man Bull is a bisexual transgender Two Spirit elder who spends his retirement with public speaking, consulting, puttering in his veggie garden, and spending quality time with his beloved spouse Nancy, and yellow Lab, Frankie. Born in the Territory of Alaska and raised in California, Marcus lives in Sonoma County. He is Amah Mutsun Ohlone, Blackfeet, Mexica, Irish, and Scottish.

Luca Evans (they/them) (panelist and podcast co-producer) is an award-winning audio producer, journalist, filmmaker, and sound designer. Luca has worked on podcasts for the likes of The Guardian, the BBC and Audible, directed short documentary films for the BBC, and created Ignite, an award-winning independent podcast centering youth voices around the climate crisis. They are also an educator, teaching podcast classes to kids aged 7-17.

kai alviar horton (panelist and podcast co-host) kai alviar horton (he/they) is a Trans, queer, gender expansive, neurospicy, child of immigrant parents, Filipinx/Andean/Latinx activist, poet, healer, and brujx born as a settler on the unceded homelands of the Chumash and Tongva people. kai has the honor and privilege of being the new Executive Director here at Trans Lifeline. kai brings a wealth of experience in non-profit leadership. They have been a leader in trans advocacy and racial equity work for many years and apply this lens to the way they approach leadership within organizations. kai is passionate about world building with his beloved community, imagining a world where queer and trans folx of color are resourced, celebrated, and honored.

Anne Tamar-Mattis (panelist and podcast guest ) grew up in Southern Illinois, and came out in 1988 at the age of 19. She has been an activist in the LGBTQI community ever since. She directed the national LYRIC Youth Talkline in the 90’s, and was the founding Program Director at the SF LGBT Community Center. After graduating from Berkeley Law in 2006, she founded interACT: Advocates for Intersex Youth, the first organization in the world solely focused on legal advocacy for intersex youth. She is currently the Chief Administrative Officer at Liminal Medicine, a psychedelic medicine clinic she runs with her spouse of 28 years, Suegee.

Suegee Tamar- Mattis, D.O. (panelist and podcast guest ) is the Medical Director at Liminal Medicine, a psychedelic medicine clinic in Sebastopol, CA. A long-time activist for intersex and trans rights, Suegee founded the first transgender medical clinic in Sonoma County, served as a consultant for Human Rights Watch in their intersex rights work, and has served as a medical advisor to InterACT and other intersex groups. With Anne, Suegee is the parent of two children.

We hope to see you there!