A new trans-led national volunteer has been established that attempts to alter the narrative surrounding the transgender community.
Gender Research Advisory Council and Education, or GRACE, stands for gender studies advisory committee and knowledge, which is a noble goal, especially given the numerous anti-LGBT laws that have been proposed and passed in various states across the country.
“Our model is to work hand in hand with the local organizations at the state level and to empower and enable them with our research and the facts behind the issues,” said GRACE President and founder Alaina Kupec.
In addition to providing insight into GRACE’s commitment to equality, dignity, and respect for transgender people, Kupec and the GRACE board members held an event last month in San Francisco to connect with organizations in the Bay Area.
In a phone interview with the Bay Area Reporter, Kupec stated, “For us, it’s about making sure we’re getting the word out about who we are, how we can help, and what we can do that’s unique and really try to make a difference by enabling other organizations in ways that help them accomplish their goals.”
Jamison Green, Ph.D., was the speaker at the San Francisco event. He is a trans man and GRACE board member. He was also the former WPATH president.
One of the distinguishing qualities of GRACE as an organization is that it has a specific mission that does not conflict with other nonprofits in the LGBTQ or transgender-specific space. “We want to help other organizations combat the spread of false information about transgender people,” Green stated in an email to the B.A.R. “We have no intention of removing any other organization from these spaces.”
Green noted that because of its significance, he and other GRACE board members have established careers and positions outside of the organization.
“We are all well-versed professionals who lead busy lives and respond to needs that we believe are not being adequately addressed. Ideally, if we are successful, GRACE will no longer have to exist, and we can go back to our regular lives,” he said.
Kupec also addressed the B.A.R. that the intention of GRACE is not to replace any other organization. “We’re here to discuss how we can use our thorough research, the resources we have, and the approach we’re taking to improve the work being done by organizations,” she said.
Kupec, who shared that she identifies “first as a lesbian, then as a woman, and then as somebody who’s transgender, in that order,” was on the board of the Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund for eight years, with seven of those serving as the chair or co-chair. She spent three years working for Pfizer, meeting with state and congressional leaders on policy issues. She serves as Gilead Sciences Inc., a research-based biopharmaceutical company’s senior director of global value and access.
The formation of GRACE in the fall of 2023 was inspired by her professional background, interactions with policymakers, and personal experience as a transgender person.
“There was nothing in the trans-led space that was specifically focusing on the policy narrative that powerful groups were using to define us,” she explained. This was an opportunity to “try really trying to change the public narrative of who we are as a community.”
For Kupec and GRACE, changing the narrative requires better educating trans advocacy organizations with tools to foster dialogue with the political middle and moderate conservative right, which are the sources of some anti-trans rhetoric and legislation.
“Each side is very passionate about this topic, and it’s leading to a stalemate. The transgender people who reside in deeply affected states are the ones who have suffered the most harm. And so our goal is to work on the movable middle, in the middle right, which is where these policies come from,” she said.
With the aim of preserving credibility with and the respect of lawmakers from both sides of the aisle, GRACE will advance this change and address issues through a movement-assisted, communications- and public affairs-driven lens.
“We’re a nonpartisan nonprofit. We simply want to provide resources and information without getting sidetracked by political rhetoric,” she said.
Kupec points out that GRACE stands out from social movement organizations with extensive infrastructure and a sizable workforce. These organizations, post-marriage equality, have had to “alter their mission and focus to sustain themselves,” she noted.
“Our main objectives are to make the transgender community more human and stop pro-transgender policies. When our work is done, it is easy to wind down the organization,” she explained.
Kupec explained that GRACE’s budget for the current fiscal year is $500,000, with the company purposefully modifying its consulting business model to lower overhead costs.
She stated, “Our goal when we started GRACE was to not create an organization that becomes focused on self-sustaining, but rather to put our focus on the needs of the community and appropriately resourcing based on the need.”
Since its inception, GRACE has collaborated with a number of LGBTQ+ and grassroots organizations on the ground to actively thwart discriminatory policies. They worked in Ohio, for instance, alongside transgender parents, ally groups, Equality Ohio, and the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio, to defeat the anti-transgender health care House Bill 68. In the end, Republican Governor Mike DeWine vetoed the bill in late December 2023 as a result of the effort. (Ohio’s state Senate later voted to override the veto in January.)
In an email to the B.A.R., Jennifer Williams, the executive director of GRACE, noted the fruitful partnership with these organizations.
“We provided communications and public affairs assistance to groups located there,” according to Williams, “We participated in numerous calls hosted by Equality Ohio and the Ohio ACLU.” In the Buckeye State, GRACE continues to support the fight for transgender equality, freedom, and liberty.
“We are very proud that we were able to assist,” she continued, “We did an excellent job of creating and maintaining the coalition of groups from all over the state.”
Requests for comment from Equality Ohio and the Ohio ACLU did not receive responses.
Williams and Kupec both emphasized that GRACE contributes its experiences, perspectives, and resources in a variety of ways, as opposed to taking over local leadership initiatives.
It offers support for search engine optimization and social media, as well as ways to ensure that groups’ voices are heard effectively during debates, as well as educational research on relevant topics.
“We’ve discussed how they can use information to bolster their case with lawmakers rather than simply shouting at the other side, which is frequently due to the intense passion and the negative effects on our communities,” Kupec said. “In the policy world, that commotion can sometimes hurt you if you can’t build a dialogue.”
This spring, GRACE will also be launching some communication initiatives to humanize the trans community and decipher what it means to be transgender.
“I think that the reason these anti-trans arguments land so easily with many people out there, especially the middle, is because there is no counternarrative,” Kupec said. “Because so few of us are transgender, these hateful comments are becoming a reality without the ability for people to see them in their truest light. And so we’re really focused on trying to change that narrative.”
In addition to writing op-eds on transgender equality and liberty for media outlets in the upcoming months, GRACE initiatives and outreach include a fundraiser and advocacy work in Ohio and other states in April.
To learn more about GRACE, go to grace-now.org.
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