Diversity Rules Magazine

4 Diversity Rules Magazine May 2015 Kim Pearson was a featured guest inter- viewee in 2009. Di- versity Rules Maga- zine is very happy to bring her back to see what she's been up to since she last ap- peared on the cover of Diversity Rules Magazine! Kim is the Training Director/Co-Founder of TransYouth Fam- ily Allies (TYFA) and National Board Presi- dent of PFLAG-TNET. She first directed her energy into GLBT support, advocacy and education as the founder and president of her local PFLAG Chapter when the youngest of her three children came out as lesbian in 2005. Eighteen months later she found herself facilitating that same child's transition to living life as a young man. Fueled by her passion for ensuring respect and equal rights for children like hers she co-founded TYFA, the first and only national organization that supports, educates and advocates exclusively for gender variant and transgender children. In its short history TYFA has provided support to over 100 families, and train- ing to hundreds of GLBT organizations, service professionals and government officials all over the United States. TYFA and their families have been featured on several local/national radio pro- grams, national/regional television and numerous print articles. JRK: Can you give Diversity Rules readers an idea of who Kim Pearson is -- where you are from and all that good basic information? KP: My husband, of 26 years, and I live in a small community that I often refer to as being in the "mid- dle of nowhere" Arizona. We have three grown chil- dren and four beautiful grandchildren. Our youngest son is transgender. Professionally, I am the co-founder, past executive di- rector and current training director for TransY- outh Families (TYFA). TYFA is the first national non-profit (established in 2007) exclusively to serve the needs of transgender and gender ex- pansive youth and their families. JRK: Transgender is a term we are hearing a lot more of lately with the recent "coming out" of Bruce Jenner as well as other notewor- thy news stories over the past month dealing with transgender youth. ere is still a mis- understanding of what the term encompasses. Can you provide some insight into what you think it means given your work with trans- gender people. KP: My work is exclusively with transgender youth and their families. When we use term transgender we are referring to children who do not identify with their assigned birth gender. Most of our work is with children who have a strong cross gender identification at a fairly early stage of life, somewhere between the ages of 4 and 8 although we do get a fair number of families who come to us when their kids are older. JRK: You are he Training Director and Co-Found- er of TransYouth Family Allies. Can you provide some information on TYFA, its services and what your job entails as its Training Director? KP: When we established TYFA we made a conscious decision to target services toward the grossly under- served community of transgender youth ages 3-18. At the time there was no such organization. We were 3 moms with transgender children who felt compelled to fill the information void for families like ours. We had no prior experience with non-profit work but, we had a strong passion for making the lives of these kids and families better. Based on our experience with our own kids and conversations we had with other parents in the same situation we knew there was a need for information about the very existence of trans youth as well as how to work with and educate their schools and all manner of professionals they came in contact with. Our training programs became known as "Understanding through Education." A Conversation With Kim Pearson A Story of a Mother's Love and Understanding An Interview By Jim Koury, Editor/Publisher

• Cover