Today we’d like to introduce you to Sean Hayes
Hi Sean, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I’m Sean and my pronouns are he/him/his. I’m a 37 year old transgender man who co-founded Trans Northland (TN), a community-based 501c3 based in Duluth, MN that provides support, resources & connection to the transgender and gender expansive community. I’m our first ever paid staff, and am taking on the executive director role at this time.
I’m also a single dad, an 8 year military veteran, and an active member in our beautiful community. I’ve been an advocate and movement leader for almost 10 years, and I’m a peacemaker at heart. I deeply value building bridges through meaningful relationships, visioning a future where my trans community can thrive, and creating opportunities for joy and interconnection.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It hasn’t always been smooth. In my personal journey, I had to figure out how to survive on my own when my religious family did not accept my queer identity. Later, when I came out as transgender, I had to figure out how to connect with other trans folks…which is what prompted a couple of us in the community to co-found Trans Northland (it was called Trans Plus back then and we rebranded in 2022).
I’ve fought hard to develop and maintain relationships with my religious family, because in my heart, I believe it is possible to stay in relationship even when we have BIG differences in our worldviews. I have learned to walk in between worlds: within the LGBTQ+ community as well as in circles with more religious and conservative folks.
When it comes to my work with Trans Northland, I worked a full-time job doing violence prevention work at Men As Peacemakers for almost 8 years while simultaneously running this grassroots community group, 24/7.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Mission–
Providing support, resources & connection to the transgender community.
Our Vision–
Together, we are building a community that is safe, inclusive, and interconnected for folks who are transgender, non-binary, gender non-conforming, two spirit, genderqueer, gender diverse, and gender expansive. We also welcome our community allies and aspiring allies to join us in this community we are building together.
Organizational History–
Our story began with the Lake Superior Transgender Group, created by Nathalie Crowley, Shelby-Lyn James, and community members. It was this group that originally started offering a regular, monthly support group to our community. This group also helped to create and facilitate a Friends, Family & Allies group.
Trans Plus evolved from there in the spring of 2015, in the basement of the Building For Women in downtown Duluth. Initially, we focused solely on continuing to provide support groups, twice a month. We also continued to partner with the Trans+ Friends, Family & Allies group, facilitated by looking-time community advocate, Kathy Hermes. As time passed and community needs became more apparent, we began to expand our reach and services.
At the end of 2021, we received community feedback that a name change would help our organization become more inclusive. Together, with community input, we decided on a new name and Trans Northland was created in Duluth, Minnesota in June of 2022. Our leadership team then began the long process of working to become a non-profit.
In 2023, Trans Northland officially received our non-profit status and we are now a 501c3 registered non-profit organization.
Today, we offer: peer support groups, resource navigation, community events & social gatherings.
In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
As the transgender and LGBTQ+ community as a whole continue to come under attack, our work at Trans Northland will continue and is more important than ever to insure that trans and gender expansive people feel safe, have the resources they need, and have an inclusive community to connect with. As we see our human rights being rolled back with this current administration, we have our work cut out for us.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.transnorthland.org/
- Instagram: @transnorthland
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/transnorthland
