Kate Baur recently started her surgical residency in Ann Arbor, Michigan. She has a particular interest in colo-rectal surgery, in particular as anal cancer is a cancer that has a higher incidence in populations such as the LGBTQ+ population.  Since recording her podcast she has not only started her surgical residency but has got married. 

Zander Keig  is a social worker, emotional wellness and personal growth webinar facilitator, mental fitness coach, and social care clinical consultant based in Central Florida.  He is an advocate for mental wellbeing, LGBT veterans, and trans social care, and was named NASW National Social Worker of the Year in 2020 and NASW California Social Worker of the Year in 2018. 

Chas Manning describes himself as being passionate about people and data. He obtained a degree in manufacturing engineering from Boston University, and has held a series of engineering and operating roles with some twists and turns in between. He lives with his husband Will and two dogs in the Oak Park area outside Chicago and we are in fact, neighbors.

Brison Scholar Lee Downing, also known as Dr. Scholar Lee, is an inspirational speaker, spiritual life coach, transformational leader and a leadership consultant based in the Atlanta, Georgia area. As a Black Man of Trans experience, he has unique insights into the challenges of transition and cloaks his guidance in a deep spirituality.

Joanne Monck OBE is director of global education and equality, diversity and inclusion at the Believe Foundation. She’s an advocate for transgender awareness as well as domestic abuse. She was awarded an OBE for services to Transgender  Equality as a Global LGBT Advocate and Independent Advisor in the 2021 New Year Honours List.
 

Leo Caldwell is an inclusion educator and consultant at Empathy by Design, and an assistant lecturer at Ball State University School of Journalism, where he teaches visual communication courses in the Journalism Department. He also teaches podcasting and strategic social media communication in the graduate program at Drexel University.

We are delighted to bring you our second Pride Special, in which we celebrate the career journeys of LGBTQ+ professionals around the world.   In this year’s series we speak with a surgeon in training committed to raising awareness of the LBGTQ+ community, a finance industry COO who was once a teenage rebel, a recent recipient of an OBE award for services to the diversity an inclusion, a fixed income fund manager, a data junkie, a social worker and many more. 

Matthew Choyce is a Virtual Event and Video Production Specialist at I-connections. He has worked in event production since high school. He is the President and Founder of the Foundation for Gay Youth in Technology, a nonprofit which encourages, empowers and provides resources to LGBTQ+ youth and young adults across the technology industries.

An inspiring conversation that explores the world of event production, technology and the need for supports for young LGBT professionals in it.