Message from TLC Legal Director Ilona Turner:
The past few years have been nothing short of revolutionary for the legal rights of transgender, gender nonconforming, and nonbinary people. As legal director at Transgender Law Center over the past six years, I’ve had the unbelievable privilege to be a part of too many of those victories to count. This is literally my dream job, and I know how lucky that makes me. At the same time, this work isn’t easy. After 16 years working in the LGBT movement, I’ve realized I need to take a break, to recharge, and to explore new challenges. I’ve decided that over the next few months I will be transitioning out of my role at TLC.
From our groundbreaking 2012 win in Macy on employment rights to our federal appeals court victory on behalf of trans student Ash Whitaker last month, Transgender Law Center has long been at the cutting edge of transgender law. I know that Transgender Law Center will continue to break legal ground under the leadership of my amazing colleague and TLC’s new legal director, Flor Bermudez. She has over 17 years of experience as a lawyer and a leader, including as an executive director, and has been essentially co-leading the legal team with me for the last few years. Together with the rest of our brilliant legal team, staff, and executive director Kris Hayashi, Flor will continue to build on TLC’s impressive record in court and work tirelessly to ensure our advocacy is always grounded in the needs of the trans community.
I feel deep gratitude to the TLC community – from the staff, to the volunteers, to our clients who have trusted us to partner in their fight for dignity and the respect of the law. It has been the greatest honor of my life to be part of TLC’s groundbreaking work, and, as I prepare to leave, I could not be prouder of the work we’ve accomplished or the organization we’ve built.