Coach Blossom C. Brown (Moderator) is an Activist, Astrologer, Life-Coach Tarot reader, content creator, and writer. Originally from the Birthplace of the Blues in the Mississippi Delta, she became the first Black transwoman to graduate from Mississippi University for Women with a bachelor of science degree. Her story got world-wide attention in Season 1 of Caitlyn Jenner’s docuseries I am Cait and for her appearance on the Ellen Show in Season 13. In 2019 she disrupted the CNN LGBTQ town hall calling for the inclusion of Black transwomen . She currently stars in her documentary One Life to Blossom and will be making her second appearance on Jubilee’s Middleground. 

riKu Matsuda (Panelist, he/him) is a queer mixed Japanese American trans man living on occupied Kizh land. He works as the LGBTQ Information and Assistance Liaison for the Aging & Disabilities Department of LA County. riKu’s roots are in community organizing and intersectional movement building and he is passionate about flowers, insects and dreams. 

Drian Juarez (Panelist, Elle/They/She) is a global consultant on Transgender issues and has served as a University of Colima Fellow, Folx Health’s Vice President of Learning, Development, and Employee Experience, Trans Can Work’s Vice President of Programming, and was the first Program Manager of Grindr’s Grinder for Equality (G4E) program where she promoted health, justice, and equality for the global LGBTQI community with a focus on the global south. She was the founder and former Program Manager of the LA LGBT Center’s Transgender Economic Empowerment Project (TEEP). Building a solid foundation for TEEP, Juarez established cross-organizational/cross-functional teams to assist in the mission of developing substantive employment and business opportunities for the Los Angeles Transgender community. Under her direction, TEEP worked with thousands of Transgender and gender nonconforming people by assisting with basic housing and helping Transgender and gender nonconforming people move from the street economy to assisting with more complex job skills like resume writing and job searches for Transgender people who transitioned after establishing professional careers.

Jaden is a survivor organizer, poet, educator, and cannabis enthusiast cultivating healing-centered spaces committed to collective liberation. Jaden is the Co-Director of Mirror Memoirs, an oral history and abolitionist organizing project intervening in rape culture by uplifting the healing, liberation, and leadership of 2-Spirit, queer, trans/non-binary, intersex, Black, Indigenous, and people of color (QTIBIPOC) who are survivors of child sexual abuse. His work within grassroots and nonprofit organizations has included designing and leading programs for trans folks to access health services, training government agencies to better serve transgender people, participatory action research, and policy advocacy at the city, county, and state level. As a consultant, Jaden supports organizations, collectives, and professional groups to increase their knowledge and capacity to support and uplift communities that continue to be marginalized by white supremacy. Jaden was an inaugural member of the Los Angeles Transgender Advisory Council, a 2017 California HIV/AIDS Policy Research Fellow, 2021 Women’s Foundation California Solis Policy Institute Fellow, and a 2021 John W. Mack Fellow. He currently sits on the Board of Level Ground, an award-winning artist collective and production incubator. Jaden self-published his first poetry chapbook, Intentional Musings on Staying Alive When I Want To Die (2019), an honest depiction of navigating mental health and systemic oppression. You can learn more about Jaden through his Linktree, https://linktr.ee/thedappermrjaden, and his LinkedIn, https://bit.ly/JadenLinkedIn 

Jazzmun Nichcala Crayton’s (she/they) career combines show business and advocacy for over 25 years. She has appeared in numerous television and movie roles, most noticeably  on Roseanne, the Wayan Brothers Show, the CSI series franchise; the box office hit “The 40 Year Old Virgin”; and a starring role in the first black romcom “Punks” that was the darling of Sundance in 2000. Jazzmun serves the community through her role as Associate Director at the organization Access Prevention Advocacy Intervention and Treatment (APAIT), where she develops and oversees programs that serve the communities that are underserved and marginalized. As an extension of her capacity as an HIV Counselor and Associate Director, she serves as the Coordinator of the Midnight Stroll, which brings awareness and needed self-care supplies for street-based sex workers in order to enable and empower them to move from street based sex work into comprehensive community resources such as HIV testing and treatment, housing services, substance use counseling, legal and victim advocacy, and medical services.

Gabriel Vidal, GFUNKTRECE (Panelist, he/Gabe) is a record collector, local DJ and community organizer. Born and raised in San Fernando Valley, Gabriel, from a young age has been inspired by his parent’s journey as political refugees from El Salvador. His parents desire to fight for peace and their introduction of SGI Nichiren Buddhism laid a foundation of humanism and social justice in Gabriel’s life. Through his own personal struggles in high school being suspended due to organizing for LGBTQ, immigrant and student rights, Gabriel developed a passion for youth organizing.  For the last ten years, he has been a member of numerous community based organizing efforts throughout Los Angeles County, including initiatives through Gender Justice LA, the Labor/Community Strategy Center, the Brown Boi Project, and Innercity Struggle. Music, records and DJing has been a healing outlet for Gabe, which has manifested thru his experiences with family, community grassroots organizing and underground music communities in LA. Currently, Gabriel is the Associate Director of Youth Organizing with Genders & Sexualities Alliance Network of CA, and continues DJing in local venues and community events in the Los Angeles area.