Claire is a graduate of the Brooks Institute of Photography where they earned a Bachelor's Degree in Video and Film production with a focus on writing and Directing for feature film and serial television. Top of their graduating class in 2008 they were the sole recipient of the Brook’s Outstanding Achievement Award for that year. They went on working nearly every job in commercial production from PA to Producer, Set Dresser to Video Playback, Casting Director to Director, and so much more. Their heavy hitting projects/clients have included Apple, Cover Girl, Verizon, Capital One, Spider-Man 2, Ellen, Jackass The Movie, Justin Beiber to name a few.

Exploring their growing interest in casting, Claire spent five years from 2013-2018 as the Producer and Assistant Casting Director at JLA Casting and Research, a boutique casting house specializing in real people casting for commercials and documentaries, which brought them to companies like Ford Motors, Best Buy, and the NFL. Claire is now applying their abundant knowledge of the industry to select projects in the independent film world that focus on bringing Queer and LGBTQ content to life. In the past few years and through the height of the pandemic Claire produced several LGBTQ shorts and Directed a music video for LA based queer artist Joh Chase. Most recently Claire took the opportunity to explore the other side of the lens in their acting debut, portraying Kody, a 30’s trans man coming out to his 8th grade S.A.G.E class at his teachers wake in The Slumber Party.

JJ Hawkins is a transgender producer and actor based in Los Angeles. And as his diploma from Brigham Young University will tell you, he also happens to have been raised a devout Mormon girl. Notable producing credits include 'The Golden Boys', a narrative short film spinoff of 'The Golden Girls' with all trans men, produced alongside one of the original producers of 'The Golden Girls', Marsha Posner-Williams. Notable acting credits include the first transgender character in 'Charmed' on the CW, the first non-binary character on national television in 'The Red Line' on CBS, and features in many other CBS shows, such as 'NCIS', 'All Rise', and 'Criminal Minds'. JJ was a cast member of the Sony 2022 Diverse Actor’s Showcase as well as a current member of the JHRTS Foundation. Some of JJ’s accolades, awards, and interviews can be found across platforms such as Variety, Deadline, The New York Times, and IMDb.

Hi I’m Rae a 19 year-old trans man from Northern California, currently living in Colorado. I am an outdoor enthusiast, photographer, musician, and activist. I love rock climbing, skiing, and hiking.

I got into film photography in high school and have been pursuing it ever since. I came out at a young age and have been learning to advocate for myself and other queer people throughout my teenage years. I wrote, proposed, and lobbied for gender-inclusive bathrooms in California and have led queer inclusive spaces at climbing gyms and my highschool.

I make it a point to be a visible queer person in every space I hold, as to educate and provide representation for those around me. I am so excited to be a part of this journey and help Cal along this run for trans rights.

Alex del Rosario is a trans nonbinary Filipino immigrant, serving as the National Organizer with the National Center for Transgender Equality. As the National Organizer, Alex works alongside trans advocates and activists from around the country to protect and advance trans rights. From youth to sports to projects like the community-led 2022 U.S. Trans Survey, they cover a wide range of trans issues.

Alex is equally passionate about the outdoors. Their two loves are: the North Cascades where they discovered their love for the outdoors, and Southern Utah where time in the desert as a guide helped them step into their transness. While they enjoy all things outdoors, his main passions are backpacking, fly fishing, and sunset-watching. Alex is currently working on creating a community for fisherqueers (LGBTQIA+ folks who like to fish—link to come!) and is also a volunteer with The Venture Out Project. They hope to one day adopt an Australian Cattle Dog to join them on their adventures.

Julie "Jules" Hotz is an LA based Filmmaker, Photographer, Artist, and long distance hiker. Working in both the commercial and documentary worlds specializing in outdoor, environmental, and human interest work, they have helped create work for REI, The North Face, Outdoor Research, Red Bull, Outdoor Magazine, MTV, Ford, Guayaki, etc., as a Photographer, Director of Photography, and/or Co-Director. Julie is also in IATSE Local 600 as a Camera Operator and has operated on TV shows, commercials, feature films, and documentaries, for networks such as HBO and PBS, Fortune 500 companies, and indie productions.

As a long distance hiker and cyclist, Julie has thru-hiked the Pacific Crest Trail, Pacific Northwest Trail, assembled and thru-hiked a 700 mile route from Durango, CO to Santa Fe, NM, and has cycled solo from Los Angeles to Glacier National Park. Their love of the outdoors, their personal tie to the LGBTQ+ community, and their experience in the fields of film and photo makes them especially suited for working on a project about sports, endurance, community, and trans rights/human rights.

Luca is a writer, a web designer and a long distance hiker. They are into words, art, design, healing, walking extremely far for no particular reason, and going at embodiment like it’s the only thing that matters.

Their graphic novel about eating disorder recovery is called Ink In Water and it’s put out by New Harbinger Publications- you can buy it wherever books are sold! They have a second book on the way, this one is words only and it’s about how friendship saved their life for whole years at a time, while the novel coronavirus known as COVID-19 raged on all around us.

My name is Izzy and I am so excited to be a part of this adventure! I am a backpacker, gardener, and adventurer from Minneapolis, Minnesota. I love being queer and living life outside of the box. I went to the U of MN in Minneapolis where I studied Horticulture. I am passionate about local food production and building communities around growing, preparing, and eating food.

I was extremely lucky to grow up backpacking in northern Minnesota and the western US and have always felt a strong draw to adventure. In summer 2022 I attempted my first thru hike and completed the CDT! I had a blast getting to know the thru hiker lifestyle and community. I am energized by community support networks and having fun :)

Selena Seay-Reynolds is an audio engineer, teacher, sonic researcher and artist living and listening in Los Angeles. She became convinced at a young age that audio is our most connective sense and believes that it is our greatest ally in the fights against ignorance and hatred. She specializes in high-profile field recordings and has recorded Gwyneth Paltrow, Paris Hilton, Michael Feinstein, and Cal Dobbs! Her favorite clients include this project as well as NPR’s NextGenRadio, Audiation.fm, PRX, and This American Life. She’s deeply passionate about closing gender and identity gaps in audio engineering and bringing her own feminine energy to this space through her own collective—Psychic Audio. In her spare time, she enjoys being wacky and wild, brainstorming global solutions and comedy sketches, wearing sparkles, playing music, learning about cymatics, nature, telepathy, and meeting magical people.

Her creative work focuses on mapmaking, green spaces, inclusive outdoorscapes, and long-distance foot travel. Her experiences in thru-hiking and trail running inform her art, especially in contributions to communities that have not been thoroughly represented or funded in the outdoors. She is especially interested in creative service to her community of Athens, progressive causes, and the environment.