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Ryan Sallans        

International Transgender Speaker, Consultant & Author

Ryan Sallans, MA is an inspirational transgender speaker and author who specializes in inclusion, diversity, and healthcare. Over the past 20 years, Sallans has worked in the fields of eating disorder recovery, sexual orientation, and gender identity development. His work focuses on building inclusive environments and providing trauma-informed care for students, patients, employees and clients. His growing body of texts and teachings assist corporations, healthcare institutions, federal agencies, universities, and communities.

Sallans’s teachings are based on personal narrative storytelling that interweaves his past academics with present research and science. His work is designed to help audiences and individuals break down the barriers that gender presents us all.

After his appearance in the documentary Gender Rebel featured on MTV’s LOGO network in 2006, Sallans began traveling to universities where he shared the story of his transition from female to male and his recovery from an eating disorder.

Sallans has been interviewed twice on Larry King Live, Ricki: The New Ricki Lake Show, Trisha, NPR’s On Point with Tom Ashbrook, Cheddar TV and was honored to make a cameo in the web series, Brothers. He has also been interviewed by numerous newspapers and magazines including The Advocate, USNews, BuzzFeed, The Chicago Bureau, International Business Times, Baltimore Gay Life, and The Huffington Post.

From 2008 to 2020, Sallans served as the Lead Author and Subject Matter Expert for an extensive range of e-learning courses used around the nation to train healthcare professionals and staff seeking continuing education around serving the LGBTQ community. These courses are now part of the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Healthcare Equality Index (HEI).

His academic publications include several personal narratives for peer-reviewed journals including the Journal of Ethics (2023), Journal of Ethics (2020), Journal of Ethics (2016), Journal of Ethics in Mental Health (2015), and Contemporary Sexuality (2012).

Sallans’s first book "Second Son: Transitioning Toward My Destiny, Love and Life" details the life and transition of someone who would medically be categorized as a transgender man. "Second Son" has been noted as required reading in Mary Karr’s 2015 New York Times Bestselling book "The Art of Memoir."

His second book, "Transforming Manhood: A trans man’s quest to build bridges and knock down walls" explores life and identity post-transition in modern-day America where he is seen as a white man. His third book, "Finding Me: Finding We," will explore life beyond a transitional journey, by entering into Sallans’s soul-searching journey to finding self.

Sallans graduated with Sigma Tau Delta honors from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln where he received a Bachelor of Arts in cultural anthropology and English, a Master of Arts in English (specializing in creative writing), and a Master of Arts in Educational Psychology (specializing in human health behavior).

Speech Topics


Serving Transgender Clients

This training is tailored to an organization's setting, for example a mental healthcare facility, non-profit organization or medical setting. The training covers social, legal, and medical barriers which uniquely impact transgender clients. Current standards of care, diagnostic codes, social and medical interventions, and ethical approaches are also discussed.

Assessment of Barriers to Care: Working with LGBTQ Clients

Although there are parallels of treating heterosexual and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) clients, there is an increasing amount of data supporting the fact that LGBT clients face higher levels of health disparities and psychological distress. They may also face significant challenges associated with access to healthcare services, including prevention and screenings due to the lack of cultural competence within healthcare settings. This training is designed to enhance attendees’ understanding of current health trends impacting clients who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning (LGBTQ). Identify current barriers withint healthcare settings, and discuss ways to improve clinician-client communication and interactions.

Transgender Employees and the Workplace: Creating Inclusive Environments

A 2014 report by LGBT marketing and research company, Out Now, found that 53% of transgender employees are not out at work. Through individual reporting, it is being found that for many transgender individuals, the workplace is often the last environment to come out due to fear of how the employee will be treated and also if they will be able to keep their job. Creating inclusive environments that support all employees, including those who have already transitioned, or are beginning the transition process, is rewarding, valued and necessary for compliance with diversity and inclusion policies at the company, state, or federal level. Many companies may have questions surrounding how they can support their employee who is transgender, while also supporting the needs and concerns of their other employees. Having conducted diversity and inclusion training sessions around the nation, Ryan has found one of the best ways to provide support, is through programming that includes open and caring conversations.

FTM: Scouting the Unknown

FTM: Scouting the Unknown assists audiences with understanding what being transgender means, and the hurdles faced by transgender people through terminology and storytelling. In this two-hour presentation (suggested length, can be shortened), Ryan first covers basic terminology and language surrounding biological sex, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation. He then moves into the identities that fall underneath the transgender umbrella. After an introduction to language and concepts, he then enters into his own transition from female to male story. His story begins with his childhood and the struggles he had with his body before moving into his adult life where he explores college, romantic relationships, family and his physical and emotional journey related to his transition.

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