Celebrating trans leaders
March 31 is International Transgender Day of Visibility, an opportunity to celebrate and recognise the contributions of transgender people worldwide. Read on to learn more about some of the achievements of our trans community – from UQ and across the globe.
Georgie Stone
Trans woman Georgie Stone received at Order of Australia at just 19 for her work as an LGBTIAQ+ activist. Georgie’s landmark Family Court case helped change the law around access to the first stage of medical treatment for transgender adolescents and improved medical outcomes for trans youth throughout Australia. She was Neighbours’ first trans actor in a trans role, bringing diversity to the homes of millions of Australians.
Tarriaki Duncan
Tarriaki Duncan is a proud Aboriginal Sistergirl with family ties to the Western Bidjara and Southern Kamilaroi tribes. She’s co-chair of UQ’s Ally Network and is also the Sistergirl Representative on the Brisbane Gar'ban'dje'lum Network Committee, which is an independent social network for the Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex, Sistergirl and Brotherboy Community. Tarriaki has dedicated both her personal and professional life to the progression of underrepresented groups.
Amy McCarthy
Sydney student and trans woman Amy McCarthy transformed her university’s approach to supporting transitioning staff and students. Her advocacy work led to in an invitation to talk to the UN about the right to privacy. She’s also an active member of the Army Reserves and has assisted with the 2020 bushfire response.
Dr Jo Inkpin
Australia’s first openly transgender Anglican priest, Dr Jo Inkpin has two first class degrees from Oxford University and a PhD from Durham. She is a Lecturer in Church History and Senior Tutor at St Francis College, Milton. She took part in the Australian documentary Faithfully Me, a film about trans people and faith and runs a blog and resource to assist other people who identify as transgender and Christian.
Dr Pauline Pounds
Associate Professor Pauline Pounds researches and teaches in robotics at UQ. A celebrated academic, she was a 2013 Discovery Early Career Researcher Award fellow. She has more than 2600 citations and holds several patents, and is the co-founder of Olaeris, a $90M drone start-up based in Raleigh, NC. Dr Pounds started her transition at the end of 2015 and came out publicly mid-2018. She’s an active member of UQ Ally and the founder of OTF, an online community for transgender, non-binary and gender-diverse people and their supporters. She is also a committee member for Westhaven, a private, anonymous philanthropic fund that assists transgender people in affording surgeries and general medical needs, and provides short to medium term accommodation. To date, that fund has raised and disseminated over $200,000 to men and women in need.
Alan L Hart
Trans man Alan L Hart was an American physician, radiologist, tuberculosis researcher, writer and novelist. His work using x-rays to detect tuberculosis helped build screening programs, leaving a legacy that saved thousands of lives. He also enjoyed a successful second career as a writer, publishing short stories and four novels
Kenny Ethan Jones
American activist and model Kenny Ethan Jones made history as the first trans man to front a media campaign about menstruation. As a person of colour, he also lobbies for intersection diversity in fashion, media and advertising. He founded Full Transparency, a project which aims to create a trans-inclusive healthcare system while normalising the existence of trans people.
Dr Dino Willox
Dr Dino Willox is a non-binary queer identified person and co-chair, with Tarriaki Duncan, of UQ’s Ally Network. Dino is the Director of Student Employability at UQ, and also provides mentoring to LGBTIQ+ students and young professionals through community organisations The Pinnacle Foundation and Out for Australia. Dino’s pronouns are they / them.