Featured Panelist: Julia Serano

Julia Serano is an Oakland, California-based writer, performer, and activist. She is best known for her 2007 book Whipping Girl: A Transsexual Woman on Sexism and the Scapegoating of Femininity, which garnered rave reviews—The Advocate placed it on their list of “Best Non-Fiction Transgender Books,” and readers of Ms. Magazine ranked it #16 on their list of the “100 Best Non-Fiction Books of All Time.” Her second full-length book, Excluded: Making Feminist and Queer Movements More Inclusive, came out in 2013 to rave reviews. Julia’s other writings have appeared in over a dozen anthologies and in magazines and websites such as The Advocate, The Daily Beast, Bitch, AlterNet.org, Out, and Ms. Magazine blog. Julia has gained notoriety in feminist, queer and transgender circles for her unique insights into gender, and her writings have been used as teaching materials in queer and gender studies courses across North America.

Featured Panelist: Zander Keig

Zander Keig, an award winning speaker, writer and educator, is employed by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, as a homeless outreach social worker and is currently volunteering his outreach, organizing and coordinating talents to the following projects & programs: NASW National Committee on LGBT Issues (2013-2016); NASW-CA Diversity Committee (2013-2015); Department of Veterans Affairs Transgender Education Workgroup; and the Transgender Advisory Group for the California LGBT Reducing Disparities Project.

Zander holds a B.A. in speech with a concentration in interpersonal communication (Metropolitan State College of Denver, 1999), a M.S. in conflict analysis and resolution with an emphasis in college student personnel administration (Nova Southeastern University, 2002), a M.T.S. in Theology with a focus on world religions (Pacific School of Religion, 2004), and a M.S.W. in social work with a focus on clinical social work (San Diego State University, 2012).

Zander resides in Berkeley, California with his beautiful wife, Margaret. They will be celebrating their 12th anniversary in 2014!

Featured Panalist: Emily Cohen

Emily has worked with homeless individuals and families for the past 10 years in direct services and as a public policy advocate. Prior to joining the PHC team, she was the Associate Director of Policy at One Family, Inc in Boston and has served at the Children’s Program Coordinator at Hamilton Family Center. Emily oversees the Every Day Connect program and develops new initiatives to meet our participants’ resource needs. She holds a BA from the University of San Francisco and an MA from Tufts University.

Featured Panelist: Brian Bassinger

Since founding the AIDS Housing Alliance/SF in 2004, Brian Basinger has become a leading voice for the needs of the LGBTQ and HIV communities facing poverty and homelessness. Under his leadership, AHA/SF has directly prevented eviction or rapidly rehoused over 2700 households,  with emergency financial assistance to prevent eviction or secure new housing, affordable housing applications, direct housing placements, tenants rights counseling and landlord mediation

His public policy advocacy has led to positive impacts for thousands more San Franciscans. Achievements include: instigating the first ever LGBTQ Connect,  passing the No Fast Pass to Eviction legislation to protect people with HIV/AIDS, seniors and other disabled households from speculative real estate evictions, working closely with the San Francisco Board of Supervisors to pass legislation granting domestic partners the legal right to live together in rental housing and led the efforts to secure funding to make the first LGBT senior housing in San Francisco 100% affordable.  He was invited by the White House to help lead efforts to include housing as a major focus of the first ever National AIDS Strategy, and just returned from the first ever national strategy session in Washington DC to include poverty issues in the national LGBTQ movement.

He recently passed legislation with Supervisor David Campos to expand sexual orientation and gender identity protections in housing nationally and is currently championing the effort to pass Prop G – the anti-speculation tax this November. While organizing the annual Harvey Milk & George Moscone Candlelight Vigil and March On City Hall last Fall, he conceived of this measure while viewing old interviews of Harvey Milk discussing his original proposal for an anti-speculator tax 36 years ago.