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Annual Report a Year of Accomplishment 2015 Annual Report A year of accomplishment interACTadvocates.org Annual Report 2015 Annual Report 2015 2 015 Staff Table of Executive Director Legal Director Director of Development Staff Attorney contents Kimberly Zieselman, JD Anne Tamar-Mattis, JD Rebecca Baughman Kerns Alesdair Ittelson, JD Youth Coordinator Communications Manager Legal Fellow Emily Quinn Q. Ragsdale Sylvan Fraser, JD 03Staff and 102 015 Board of Directors Milestones 2 015 04 12 Board of Directors Message from interACT by Executive Director the Numbers President Secretary Treasurer 06 14 Sean Saifa Wall Julie Greenberg, JD Emily Doskow, JD Youth Our Donors 08 16 Alice Alvarez Arlene Baratz, MD Lynnell Stephani Long Mani Bruce Mitchell Law & Policy Thank Yous Karen Walsh Reid Williams Eric Lohman, Ph.D. 2 3 Annual Report 2015 Annual Report 2015 TV’s first intersex central character come to life. On last year by raising awareness through the popular Intersex Awareness Day, Legal Director Anne Tamar- “What it’s like to be intersex” video produced in col- Mattis, Communications Manager Q Ragsdale, and laboration with Buzzfeed! Our brave and talented I presented the first ever intersex rights workshop young advocates never cease to amaze me and are for federal Health and Human Services staff, co- truly essential voices working towards our mission to Message from the sponsored by Council for Global Equality. Speaking protect the rights of intersex children everywhere. about intersex civil and human rights abuses to an Executive Director engaged and welcoming group of more than fifty In fact, in recognition of our young advocates and federal agency staffers was a great milestone for me our youth focused mission, at the end of 2015 we personally and for interACT. Just a few weeks later rebranded and renamed the organization “interACT: I returned to our nation’s capitol as the guest and advocates for intersex youth.” We adopted the name 2015 marked my first full year serving as interACT’s This year also brought new energy to both our staff nominator of former interACT youth member and that our volunteer youth advocates had chosen Executive Director, and what a year it was! and board. We welcomed Emily Quinn onto staff as staffer Pidgeon Pagonis, who was recognized for when they launched the project a few years ago. I The winter brought a shift in focus for our legal team, our new interACT Youth Coordinator, and Rebecca their work as an intersex artist and activist. can’t think of a better way to honor and highlight the turning our full attention in the M.C. litigation to Baughman Kerns in the role of Director of Develop- importance of intersex youth voices in making deci- the state court and away from federal district court. ment. Additionally, Q Ragsdale joined the team as Also last fall, I was invited to participate in an Expert sions about their own bodies and lives. Because the law was not clearly established in South Communications Manager and our legal staff tripled Meeting held by the Office of the High Commis- Carolina at the time of M.C.’s surgery in 2006, the near the end of the year with the additions of Staff sioner for Human Rights in Geneva during the 32nd interACT is fortunate to have a strong committed federal district court found defendants had “qualified Attorney Al Ittelson and Legal Fellow Sylvan Fraser. session of the Human Rights Council. Being there as group of supporters and donors, who are essential immunity” from suit, even if they had violated M.C.’s The interACT Board of Directors was also busy final- the North American intersex representative was both to moving forward with our work. You are all helping constitutional rights. The court declined to rule on izing a new strategic plan in the spring and bringing exciting, humbling and emotionally draining. The us get closer each year to achieving legal and human whether M.C.’s surgery was a violation of his constitu- on two new wonderful members, intersex advocate difficult work we do as intersex people and activists rights for children born with intersex traits. Thank tional rights, leaving that issue undecided. While dis- Lynnell Stephani Long and parent Eric Lohman. was never more apparent to me than during those you. appointing, the ruling did not affect the companion three days. The magnitude and urgency of the task medical malpractice case, M.C. vs. Medical University For me personally, I think 2015 is going to be hard before us—to protect intersex children from harm Warmly, of South Carolina, which is still proceeding in state to beat with work taking me from Hollywood, to — was never more clear. It is what keeps me going court. 2015 was spent aggressively pushing forward Washington, D.C. and even the United Nations. Last and what keeps interACT’s amazing board and staff on those claims. February I spent a day on the set of MTV’s Faking It moving forward each day. and watched interACT’s work in helping to shape Our interACT Youth program made a huge impact Kimberly Zieselman 4 5 Annual Report 2015 Annual Report 2015 But our awareness raising through media isn’t MTV’s teen dramedy, Faking It, also gave us just changing the hearts and minds of the too many moments to count where you could public - it’s also impacting policymakers who hear the voices of our young members speak- interACT Youth are key allies in helping us protect the rights of ing through Bailey De Young, the actress who intersex kids. Exec- skillfully played Raising Intersex Awarness utive Director Kim- Lauren Cooper— berly Zieselman was One of our most effective tools in the fight to the world’s first pleasantly surprised protect intersex children has central intersex when in Geneva for become our youth program. character on TV. an expert meeting This has had an on intersex issues, immeasurable the Office of the High Commissioner for -Hu impact on in the experiences of our youth. man Rights kicked off the two-day working When they say they are intersex, their peers group with a showing of our popular video! now have a starting point to understand them. interACT Youth members have become a key ACT Youth members, which has now received Including voice for the movement. One of our most several million views around the globe! Huff- authentic intersex youth I just saw your voices is essential to the genuine Coming effective tools in the fight to protect intersex ington Post called it one of the most accessible from a mom , I am organization mentioned portrayal of young intersex characters in the on the MTV show Faking It and I so proud of what you and MTV children is our youth program. This year, we explanations of intersex they have ever seen. would love to join. I never knew there media. After all, we aren’t that rare, but until have done…I can not express what extended the age range for interACT Youth were organizations out there for people recently we’ve been invisible. this means to so many people in this like me and I honestly wanted to cry with world that have been living a lie. It gives me hope that one day [my daughter] will be in a membership up to 29, adding opportunities One parent reported to interACT that her joy when I found out. This is so exciting – Alice Alvarez, interACT Youth member for me. world of acceptance. I am already seeing this for more intersex young people to get involved child’s physiology class was using the BuzzFeed & interACT Board member as she has told some friends already and they – Courtney, have loved her just the same. when they are ready. As a result, our youth video to introduce the concept of intersex and young intersex viewer – Mom of 12-year-old intersex increased in number, becoming an even more to discuss unnecessary surgery and its effects daughter formidable force as they spoke passionately to on patients. One interACT Youth member told the medical community, policymakers, and the her college dorm mates about being intersex, public at large. preparing herself for a long night of questions about her body. The response she received, One of our more visible successes came when though, wasn’t question after question, but BuzzFeed and interACT released “What It’s Like actually an acknowledgement: “Like in that to be Intersex,” a video featuring our inter- BuzzFeed video, right?” 6 7 Annual Report 2015 Annual Report 2015 interACT Law & Policy interACT Law & Policy Expands Reach in the Courts The road to justice is long and can take time. That gives the medical community in the US, us, though, more than one path to justice for M.C., and for and to highlight the effective and other children born with intersex traits. Early in 2015, the growing voices of our young inter- Fourth Circuit overturned the district court’s ruling in M.C. vs. Aaronson, meaning that the federal case would not go sex advocates. to trial. This was, by no means, the end of the fight. This ruling does not affect the companion case of M.C. vs. Medi- Taking our seat at the table for this cal University of South Carolina, which is still proceeding in groundbreaking global discussion state court. We are continuing to push forward aggressively of intersex human rights, working on those claims. collaboratively with intersex activ- ists from almost every continent. When we first shared this news in January 2015, many of our friends at interACT were concerned. So many of us are hoping that this case will open the eyes of the medical community to the harm done to intersex Intersex has finally arrived.
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