VIRTUAL PROGRAM | Real Talk Series | Transgender & Non-Binary: Workplace Culture
Join Central Exchange for this four-part series exploring the experiences of trans and non-binary individuals. We are creating a safe space for open dialogue and discussion. You will hear from trans and non-binary individuals and advocates on four topics: Cultural Competency, Workplace, Family, Youth, and Parenting, and Sports. Come ready to listen, learn, and grow. Together, we can reduce stigma and create a safer, more compassionate, and equitable world.
Workplace
How can you be a better employer? What are your roles and responsibilities as an employee? This panel is geared toward all; there will be specific conversations geared towards C-level execs, attorneys, HR professionals, and others who have a vested interest in making their workplaces more accommodating but do not know where to start.
Do you have a question for the panelists? SUBMIT HERE.
Panelists
Katherine Myers
She/her
Katherine Myers is a trial attorney and founding partner of Edelman, Liesen & Myers L.L.P. She focuses her practice on civil rights and employment litigation. Ms. Myers has represented hundreds of clients in a variety of employment-related claims, including claims of discrimination due to race, sex, national origin, pregnancy, age, sexual harassment, and disability. She has also litigated numerous claims involving employment contract disputes, wage disputes, non-competition agreements, whistleblowing, and other public policy protections, as well as wage and hour and other pay disputes. Ms. Myers has been recognized for her work by numerous sources, including being named a 2019 Woman Litigator of the Year by Missouri Lawyers Weekly, and receiving the highest Martindale Hubbell ranking of AV Preeminent. She is committed to protecting individuals from injustice and discrimination.
Delaney Heigert
They/them
Delaney Hiegert is a lifelong Kansan and third-year law student at The University of Kansas School of Law. Delaney helped to create the state’s first pro bono Gender Marker & Name Change Clinic in October 2019, which provides free legal representation and assistance to trans and gender diverse Kansans seeking gender-affirming legal ID document changes. Delaney is passionate about LGBTQ+ legal advocacy, health equity for rural LGBTQ+ populations, and expanding trans and gender diverse youths’ access to affirming resources and support systems. They plan to continue their legal advocacy for LGBTQ+ communities upon graduating in May 2021.
Uzo Nwonwu
She/her
Uzo Nwonwu is an experienced employment litigator and counselor who has been practicing law since 2007. She currently works for UMB Bank as a Vice President and Deputy General Counsel. Recently, Uzo shifted her focus to use her results-oriented guidance, her risk mitigation efforts, and her experience in the employment law arena to provide sound legal advice and strategic input on all aspects affecting the employer-employee relationship across UMB’s footprint. Uzo has been recognized as a Rising Star in employment law by Missouri & Kansas Super Lawyers – a rating service that identifies leaders in the legal field. She earned her law degree, cum laude, from UMKC School of Law, where she excelled at oral advocacy and brief writing, was an academic enrichment teaching assistant, and was the president of the Black Law Students Association.
Jenna Brofsky
She/her
Jenna Brofsky is a Senior Associate in the Kansas City office of Husch Blackwell, an industry-focused law firm in 18 cities nationwide and a Virtual Link Office. She advises employers on compliance with federal and state employment laws, including Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), and the Fair Labor Standards Act, among others. Ms. Brofsky enjoys helping her clients navigate the law and maintain a positive and productive workforce. Ms. Brofsky is also an experienced litigator in labor and employment cases in state and federal court and before administrative agencies, including OSHA and the EEOC. Ms. Brofsky has spent much of this pandemic advising clients on the dynamic COVID-19 workplace guidance from the CDC and at the state level. She is a member of the firm’s healthcare industry group. Ms. Brofsky received the 2020 Missouri Lawyers Media Up & Coming award.
Madeline Johnson
She/her
Madeline Johnson, one of Missouri’s first openly transgender attorneys, primarily focuses on representing LGBTQ clients. Her practice covers multiple areas of law that often relate to LGBTQ rights, such as employment, education, civil rights and occasionally family law. Johnson also represents clients in name and gender-marker changes, which she considers her favorite cases because she ultimately shares in their euphoria upon obtaining court documentation validating their identities. “I’m in a privileged position as an attorney, and privileged to represent persons who need access to legal representation when they’ve been discriminated against or when they’re needing documentation to support their identity and support who they are,” she said. “Those are really the two most motivating factors for me in my practice of law.” Johnson sits on the board of directors of KC LEGAL, the association for the LGBT and allied legal community in Kansas City, among other advocacy work. Before becoming an attorney, Johnson was a Germanic scholar in the 1990s, studying at the University of Augsburg, Germany, on a Fulbright Fellowship and earning a master’s in German literature. She is a U.S. Army veteran who served as a translator and intelligence analyst from 1986-1990.
Interested in learning more? Join us to continue the conversation.
April 13 | Cultural Competency
Have you ever had ever had questions you would like to ask of the transgender or non-binary community, but you do not know where to start? Join us for an opportunity to have these hard conversations. We want to extend the table and make sure there are enough chairs. Come take your seat at the table today and be more comfortable in this space.
June 8 | Family, Youth + Parenting
Fact check: Did you know youth who identify as LGBTQ are nearly three times more likely to attempt suicide or self-harm (Trevor Project)? Nine in 10 trans young people have thought about committing suicide (Youth Chances, 2014). Come join these parents, youth, and mental health professionals understand how to create understanding and safer, more accepting schools, youth groups, etc.
July 13 | Sports
In today’s climate, there are many conversations around trans and non-binary people in sports. What is fact and what is fiction? What information do I need to understand and to be a meaningful part of this conversation? All are welcome for this open conversation with experts around sports and trans people.
Date and Time
Tuesday May 11, 2021
11:30 AM - 1:00 PM CDT
This program is 90 minutes.
Location
Webinar via Zoom - access this program remotely from your computer, tablet, or smartphone + dial-in available.
Fees/Admission
$0.00 Members
$25.00 Nonmembers
No refunds.
Interested in membership? More info here.