A Conversation with Fair Michigan’s Director of Transgender Advocacy, Julisa Abad

Warning: This episode contains discussions on murder, assault, and violence. Listener discretion is advised. Julisa Abad the Latina transgender woman from Florida who relocated to Michigan to work in transgender advocacy.  As the Director of transgender advocacy, she is a community leader on the issues that face the transgender community including housing, education, victims assistance, healthcare, and violence reduction. She is fluent in three languages including Spanish and Portuguese. Her critical work has provided emergency housing, furnishings, and healthcare to the transgender community, as well as assisting the justice project aid crime victims and find an interview crime witnesses. She has been instrumental in assisting with name change clinics for transgender persons so that their names match their gender. Abril Valdes Siewert has dedicated her career to social justice. Ms. Siewert specializes in immigration law at Valdes Law, PLLC.  She has worked with small and large firms, as well as non-profit organizations such as Lakeshore Legal Aid; and as the Immigrant Rights Attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Michigan. During her time at the ACLU, she co-authored the Michigan Crimmigration resource guide which was distributed throughout the state. Ms. Siewert is licensed in the states of Michigan and California. She received her J.D., from the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law and her B.A. in English, from California State University Los Angeles.  She is the secretary and co-chair of the Diversity Equity & Inclusion committee for the Women Lawyers Association of Michigan, and corresponding secretary for the State Bar of Michigan’s Immigration Law Section. Read more about the Fair Michigan Justice Project here: https://www.fairmichigan.org/fair-michigan-justice-project/   Read more about Ashia Davis here: https://www.hrc.org/news/honoring-ashia-davis-34-year-old-black-trans-woman-killed-in-detroit Ways to get involved: https://www.glaad.com Learn more about WLAM on our ⁠⁠website⁠⁠ and on our social media platforms ⁠Facebook⁠, ⁠Instagram⁠, ⁠LinkedIn⁠, ⁠YouTube⁠, and ⁠Twitter⁠.     WLAM supporters can sponsor the Working Towards Nine Podcast. Sponsorship includes a 30-second promo, either audio created by the sponsor or ad copy read by the producer and the sponsor’s name cited in the show notes. Check out our website ⁠⁠here⁠⁠ to learn more and purchase a sponsorship.     WLAM wants the WTN Podcast to be accessible to all who listen. If you would like a free transcript of an episode, please email ⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠.