[email protected]
Karen Shiffman Lateiner
Author, Youth and LGBTQ+ Advocate
Author and advocate for youth with more than twenty years of experience as a mental health clinician and child development specialist providing service, coordinating programs for children and their families, and advocating for children, especially those with special needs.
In 1996, my twenty-two year old son came out as transgender, giving our family a unique challenge to learn everything we could at a time when little information was available. Not long after transitioning, Jenni, our new daughter, happy and successful, was killed in an automobile accident. Throughout these life altering experiences of gender change and profound loss, I learned to cherish life even more than I ever had before and was motivated to share my story as well as that of my child. In doing so, I have gained the opportunity to open conversations about gender diversity and the societal implications for gender non-conforming individuals, becoming, along the way, a gender diversity educator and advocate for sexual minority youth, who are at increased risk for bullying, discrimination, homelessness, drug and alcohol abuse, and suicide. Over time, I will share on these pages more about what I learn about gender diversity and life in general.
From the time before my child came out as transgender, participation in writing workshops played an important role in my life. Upon retirement, my husband and I traveled by motorhome for two years, eventually deciding to move from our home in Montclair, NJ to Phoenix, AZ, near our younger daughter. Combining my desire to continue writing with my new found love of the Sonoran Desert, I started a Hike and Write Group at a local mountain preserve to encourage other writers to tell their stories. In my spare time, when not doing book talks or giving presentations on gender diversity, I enjoy gardening, baking sourdough bread, and spending time with family and friends.
The publication of my book June, 2018 marked the culmination of years of reflection, honing my skills as a writer, and finally deciding to put my story out there in the hope that it might change, or even save a life.
Timeless Dance: A Story of Change and Loss, is part memoir, part biography of a remarkable person, and part primer on gender diversity.
Related Speakers View all
Munroe Bergdorf
Transgender Model, Activist, Broadcaster & British V...
|
|
Angelica Ross
Founder of TransTech Social Enterprises & Actress in...
|
|
Geena Rocero
Transgender Model & Advocate; Founder of Gender Proud
|
|
Janet Mock
Author, Feminist, Transgender Rights Activist, TV H...
|
|
Laverne Cox
Award-Winning Transgender Actress, Producer & Equal ...
|
|
Amandla Stenberg
Actor, Singer & Activist Known for "The Hate U Give,...
|
|
Cecilia Chung
Civil Rights Leader, LGBTQ Equality & Social Justice...
|
|
Haley Carolyn Taylor Schlitz
Youth Advocate, Lawyer, Author & Advocate For Educat...
|
|
Amber Hikes
Chief Equity & Inclusion Officer, ACLU
|
|
Lily Zheng
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Strategist and Consult...
|
|
Brooklyn Owen
Activist, Fighter & Candidate for Florida State Senate
|
|
Kylar Broadus
Attorney, Author & LGBTQ Rights Activist; Motivation...
|
|
Hunter Schafer
Transgender Actress, Model & Activist Known for HBO'...
|
|
Indya Moore
Actor, Model & Founder of Beetlefruit Media, Known f...
|
|
Michelle MiJung Kim
Author of "The Wake Up" & CEO of Awaken
|
|
Raquel Willis
Transgender & Gender-Nonconforming Activist; Executi...
|
|
Blair Imani
Executive Director of "Equality for HER", Activist &...
|
|
Arlan Hamilton
Founder of Backstage Capital, Venture Capitalist, Te...
|
|
Kumu Hina
Hawaiian Transgender Teacher & Community Leader
|
|
Charlene Carruthers
Writer, Filmmaker & Black Studies Scholar; Founder o...
|