Editorial Advisory Board
Aaron Devor, the founder and first holder of the world’s only Chair in Transgender Studies, has been studying trans topics since the early 1980s. Devor is also the Founder and Academic Director of the world’s largest Transgender Archives, and Founder of the international community/academic Moving Trans History Forward conferences. He is the author of numerous well-cited scholarly articles and four books, Transgender: A Reference Handbook (with Ardel Haefele-Thomas) (2019), FTM: Female-To-Male Transsexuals in Society (2016, 1997), Lamba-literary-award-finalist The Transgender Archives: Foundations for the Future (2014), and Gender Blending: Confronting the Limits of Duality (1989). He has delivered lectures around the world, including more than 30 major keynote and plenary addresses. Devor is an elected member of the International Academy of Sex Research, and a Fellow of the Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality. He is also an author of versions 6, 7, and the forthcoming version 8, of the World Professional Association for Transgender Health’s (WPATH) Standards of Care, and has been guiding the translation of the Standards of Care into world languages. Aaron Devor is an out trans man, a national-teaching-award-winning professor of Sociology, and a former Dean of Graduate Studies (2002-2012), at the University of Victoria, Canada.
Jude Patton is an elder, out/open/proud, trans man, currently living in Yuba City, California with his wonderful life partner. In his private practice as a consultant, Jude serves as a health navigator for clients with chronic physical and/or mental illnesses and offers end of life doula services to LGBTQ+ community members. In his earlier career as a veterinary medical technician for more than 20 years, he enjoyed working with domestic and wild animals in a variety of settings. From 1980 until the present, he has worked in psychology, psychiatry, and medicine, serving clients in California, Oregon, and Washington State as a physician assistant, sex therapist and sex educator, licensed marriage and family therapist, and licensed mental health counselor. He currently is employed as a Psychiatric Physician Assistant for a Community Mental Health Center in Sacramento, California, serving homeless, chronically mentally ill clients, who are often also drug and alcohol dependent. He considers himself an avid supporter of intersectional social justice causes.
Fran Cudlipp has over twenty–five years’ experience as an acquisitions editor for several professional publishers, which involved advising on contractual issues, content and copy-editing aspects, book and cover design, and marketing.
Corey Keith, BSW, MED, trained as a social worker and wellness coach. Corey co-founded and facilitated the first ever LGBT agency in central Alberta. Corey completed a Bachelors of Social Work degree focused on Indigenous content and anti-oppressive practice and a Diploma in experiential wellness counseling and coaching. Corey’s Masters of Education degree focused on Queer Genogram modeling. Corey passionately believes that issues relating to sexuality and gender affect everyone either indirectly or directly. Many of us have been taught to be ashamed of who we are and the sexuality that we hold in our lives. Today, Corey assists others to release shames and fear, in order to truly love ourselves and live authentic lives.
Bodhi & Carol Thompson Gardner are a queer couple that work together in creating awareness, education, and fostering social justice by uniting human hearts! Bodhi has been an advocate for marginalized populations as a professional Mental Health and Addictions Counsellor for 30 years. Educating, advocating, facilitating, encouraging, and working with families, children, and youth, while playing a vital role in suicide prevention. They have been a leading voice for the LGBTQ+ community, providing educational presentations, facilitating groups, and encouraging open and honest dialogue. Bodhi’s first book called Transgender Heart: Life Stories from the Inside Out is a collection of short stories that trace the heart-journey of a small farm kid, youth, and adult, from rural Saskatchewan, across the binary landscapes of life. Carol is a queer writer and author. Her first children’s picture book called Lilly Loves Beards highlights the importance of diversity, acceptance, and family love. Carol’s passion is in serving her own LGBTQ+ community by bringing to life the stories that celebrate diversity and inclusion. Originally from rural Alberta, her focus as a young adult was to find safe space to be her authentic self. She soon found this safety in the heart of Vancouver’s west end. Since this embrace, she has dedicated herself to creating safe space for others by entering into the world of wellness. She has had a private practice in this industry for over 25 years working with individuals and groups.
Gayle Roberts was born in England at the start of World War II. She immigrated to Canada with her parents in 1951 and attended high school and the University of Victoria. She has an MSc degree in physics and a B.C. Teaching Diploma. Gayle Roberts is a retired high school teacher and Science Department Head who transitioned from male to female on the job over twenty years ago. She has been active in a number of advocacy groups for transsexual people, including the Zenith Foundation, the Trans Alliance Society, and as Chair of Vancouver Coastal Health’s Transgender Health Program’s Advisory Group. She is the past chair of the Canadian Professional Association for Transgender Health’s Advocacy Committee, which suggested to CPATH’s Board that “Gender variance and gender non-conforming behaviour in children and adults do not constitute a psychological disorder.” Gayle is a coauthor of the guidebook Supporting Transgender and Transsexual Students in K-12 Schools published by the Canadian Teachers’ Federation. She is also a member of the Queer Imaging and Riting Kollective for Elders (Quirk-e). Currently, her goal is to publish (before the end of this year) an anthology of her trans related short stories and essays titled From Shame to Freedom: A Gender-Variant Woman’s Journey of Discovery.
Hi I’m Paul Garner. I live and work in the UK. As a huge book fan and constant reader, I’m delighted to be working with Margot and the Editorial Advisory Board at TGP. I love fiction (Stephen King is a favourite) as well as historical biographies. My role will be to advise on Sales and Marketing, as well as making things happen in the UK market.
Prior to turning to writing full time, Peter Jennings spent his career in corporate communications running agencies handling marketing, advertising, branding, public relations and production of multimedia content, including websites and social media elements. Peter has been a guest lecturer on marketing at Centennial College in Toronto and at the Government of Ontario’s Self Employment Assistance Program, and provides pro bono marketing expertise to various not-for-profit groups. He also mentors members of his community who seek writing and communications advice. Peter is the author of 6 books (and is currently researching/writing more). In his leisure time, Peter enjoys regular visits with his son, two daughters-in-law, and three granddaughters. Also part of the festivities are his rescue dogs Molly and Macy who rule the roost. When he’s not writing, he delights in Fairview, his modern lakeside residence overlooking Georgian Bay at Mundy’s Harbour, Midland, Ontario, where activities include listening to cool jazz and symphony, films, spirited conversations with good friends, travel, cooking and blogging about life’s adventures (anauthorslife.blog).
Kamran Bashir has been involved in research on marginalized communities in India. He is particularly interested in the questions of identity in cultural contexts. While trained as a historian of religious cultures, he applies his research skills to a wide array of topics in the humanities and social sciences. He earned his doctoral degree in history from the University of Victoria. He has a master’s degree in cultural studies from the Institution for the Study of Muslim Civilizations, London (England). He has taught at the University of Victoria and Camosun College. Before coming to academia, he worked in the field of international marketing for a global corporation. Currently he is working on a monograph on South Asian history of religious cultures (under contract with Routledge, London). He has collaborated and published with Margot on the issues of identity, change, and indigeneity.
Charley Burton is a native of Charlottesville VA. He transitioned later in life at the age of 50. He is the National Program Director for Black Transmen Inc. Black Transmen Inc. is the first national organization solely for Black Transmen. Charley stays busy as a founder of Diversity in Recovery. A recovery group that is for the LGBTQ/BIPOC community and their allies. It’s a safe space for the community to work on their recovery. He is a board member of PFLAG, Cville Pride, and Board Chair of the University of VA Trans Advisory Board. Charley recently was awarded OutStanding Virginian by Equality VA and Community Root award by Richmond VA Black Pride RVA. In his spare time, Charley is an avid reader and loves creating baked goods in his kitchen.