Paola Ramos is an author and Emmy-Award winning journalist. Ramos is a contributor for Telemundo News and MSNBC/MS NOW. She is also the co-host of iHeartMedia’s “The Moment with Jorge Ramos and Paola Ramos,” where she has interviewed newsmakers ranging from Zohran Mamdani to Governor Newsom to Bad Bunny scholars. Throughout her career, her reporting has taken her along the southern border, the Darien Jungle, to embed with Mexican cartels, the Proud Boys or with underground abortion pill networks. Ramos is also a former correspondent for Vice News. Prior to stepping into journalism, Ramos was the Deputy Director of Hispanic Media for Hillary Clinton’s 2016 Presidential Campaign, a political appointee during the Obama Administration and also served in President Obama’s 2012 re-election campaign. Ramos is the author of DEFECTORS: The Rise of the Latino Far Right and what It Means for America, and Finding Latin-X: In Search of the Voices redefining Latino Identity, published by Penguin Random House. She is Cuban, Mexican and American and lives in Brooklyn, NY.

Layshia Clarendon is a WNBA All-Star who became the first out trans and nonbinary player in WNBA history in 2020. Selected #9 overall in the 2013 WNBA draft, Layshia played Basketball professionally for 11 seasons. In 2017, they were named a WNBA All-Star, led the league in total assists, and broke the franchise record for assists in a single season. Layshia went on to capture gold with Team USA in the FIBA World Championships. They served two terms as WNBPA Vice President helped negotiate a groundbreaking CBA Agreement that will serve as a bedrock for women’s professional sports leagues moving forward. Layshia is a notable social justice advocate, speaker, and writer, and an anchor athlete for Athletes for Impact, where they run the Layshia Clarendon Foundation, which grants access to life affirming healthcare and wellness services for the trans community.

Jazz Jennings (JAZZ®) is one of the most recognized transgender activists of her generation. She gained national attention as one of the youngest publicly documented people to identify as transgender, beginning her advocacy in elementary school. As a child, JAZZ was prohibited from playing soccer in her state and her family turned to NCLR for representation in her quest to play on the girls’ team. After two years of advocacy the United States Soccer Federation created a policy to include all transgender athletes who want to play soccer. JAZZ is a Harvard University graduate, an honorary co-founder of the TransKids Purple Rainbow Foundation, spokesmodel, author, influencer and television personality.

Captain Gordon Herrero is a proud transgender Army Officer assigned to the United States Military Academy at West Point as a mathematics instructor. He is a named plaintiff in NCLR’s case, Talbott v. USA challenging the Trump administration’s ban on transgender military service and is facing involuntary separation from the armed forces. Join us in celebrating Captain Herrero and other transgender service members courageously fighting for their right to serve!