Erica Cirulli lives in Philadelphia and talks about her experience as a trans woman. She discusses how she has approached the social, legal, and medical components of transitioning.

Veteran Alison Roth discusses taking control of her life one step at a time, especially since she came out as trans in 2011. She is finding balance in her family life with her children as well as her professional life. While it’s been difficult, she is grateful for how her transition has gone and how those around her have responded.

Highland Park resident, Austin Morreale talks about his good family life growing up, and living in Atlanta when he worked in advertising. It took him several years to begin exploring his gender identity, and health diagnoses halted his first efforts in transitioning. Not long after finishing his medical treatments related to health concerns, he started the process of transitioning again. He describes his family’s reaction to his transition, as well as his experiences with health care as a transgender person.

Austin works for the non-profit NeighborCorps. This interview was conducted in 2017 when Austin had just begun working for NeighborCorps. Please see his follow-up interview, from September 11, 2020, that is focused on his work at the reentry program.

Despite a challenging childhood and young adulthood of managing family care, health issues, and navigating her own gender identity, Naomi Barry persevered and earned degrees in elementary education and special education. She discusses the challenges and triumphs of navigating her transition within the education system. Naomi’s ultimate goal is for children to learn how to be good people. 

James Geller describes his life as a trans man and recounts how his relationships with himself, his family, and his friends have evolved over time. James narrates his passion for technical theater as well as the difficulties he has faced in building a community of trans men.

Jenna Sisolak grew up trying to avoid conflict at all costs. The more that she moved away from those tendencies, the more that she began to express her authentic self. A part of this process was reactive: Jenna went from being a “star” student to a rebellious kid after her parents did not respond well to her coming out that she was gay. This process took lots of time, and included some very low points in her life, but it has also led her to being able to come out as trans.

Kimberly Legregor enlisted in the Air Force after being drafted during her first year of college. She got a job in radio while in the Air Force, and stayed in that career after she left the military, retiring as an electrician and general foreman at Anheuser Busch. Kimberly describes her earliest memories of identifying as transgender and her journey as a transgender woman today. She helps at the PRIDE Center of New Jersey. 

Sydney Schakelford moved around a lot as a child, and lived in a strict household, which often led her to seek her father’s approval. In 2010 she began to identify as genderfluid, and ultimately came out as trans in 2013. In this interview, her and her wife, who supported her through her transition, discuss working together to create a loving marriage, the concept of deprogramming from past experiences and expectations, and finding support within the Transgender community.