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Board Members
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Juli Grey-Owens
Executive Director & Board President
Pronouns: she/her/hers
Juli’s passion for the work of GENY is evident in all that she does to educate and advocate for the transgender, non-binary, and intersex communities. As the Executive Director and founder of the organization, Juli works tirelessly to pass necessary legislation, provide opportunities for community members to connect, and to educate the public by organizing and delivering “Trans 101” sessions across the state. She has provided training for health care providers, government agencies, police departments, school personnel and camp directors.
Juli describes her privilege as “five aces in a poker game” – being born male, white, able-bodied, and considered cisgender and hetero. She has used that privilege for the benefit of others as a leader in the fight for equality. For over 17 years, Juli has been a driving force for change on behalf of the transgender community and has demonstrated remarkable resilience in the fight for equality.
Juli’s family moved several times before settling in New Jersey where she attended grade school, high school and college. After engineering school and receiving her MBA from Rutgers University, Juli had a 40-year successful career in manufacturing. Here she honed her leadership and management skills. “The best way to lead is by listening” is one of her guiding principles and it has served her well.
She met her first wife when they were 14. Their eventual 25-year marriage produced their daughter Sally. Ultimately, Juli’s gender identity would contribute to the end of the marriage. After her Dad’s passing at age 69, she realized that “life is short” and she embarked on the journey to becoming her true self.
Juli has been the chair or co-chair of several advocacy organizations. She served six years on the Board of Directors of the Empire State Pride Agenda, the New York LGBT advocacy organization, prior to founding GENY. In 2017 she was recognized by City & State magazine as one of the “10 People Making a Difference for LGBT New Yorkers.” In 2019 she was again recognized by City & State magazine in their Pride Power 100 list.
Juli met her wife Barbara in 2006, and they married in 2011. They live in Huntington, NY with their three cats Sylvia, Fraidy and Bugsy. While their lives are a whirlwind of activity centered around the work of GENY, they also enjoy travel and cheering for the Mets, Islanders, Giants and Jets. Her bucket list includes visits to Mount Rushmore, the Alamo, and Yellowstone.
“Few men are willing to brave the disapproval of their fellows, the censure of their colleagues, the wrath of their society. Moral courage is a rarer commodity than bravery in battle or great intelligence. Yet it is the one essential, vital quality for those who seek to change a world which yields most painfully to change.”
― Robert F Kennedy
Charlie Arrowood
GENY Board Member
Pronouns: they/them/theirs
Charlie was born and raised in Woodmere, NY. After obtaining their undergraduate degree from Tulane University in New Orleans, LA, Charlie followed in their dad’s footsteps and attended New York Law School. Unable to find a job prior to their name change, Charlie inquired with GENY Executive Director Juli Grey-Owens about how they could get involved in transgender advocacy. She suggested connecting with a startup nonprofit called Transcend Legal, at the time looking to expand on Long Island. Although they weren’t sure they wanted to practice law, Charlie jumped at the opportunity to get involved with this important work and began a career advocating for the transgender community.
Over the past several years, Charlie has been instrumental in obtaining substantive wins around name changes in several counties across the state, document changes for transgender parents at the state level, and removal of publication requirements in New Jersey – with advocacy in New York and other states ongoing!
Currently, Charlie is in private practice (Arrowood Law) and they also serve as Name Change Project Counsel at the Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund (TLDEF), where they manage the Name Change Project’s advocacy efforts, develop materials, and assist the Program Manager with training and education and developing pro bono law firm partnerships. Charlie is the Chair of the LGBTQ Committee of the Nassau County Bar Association and a member of the National Trans Bar Association. They are the recipient of the LGBT Bar Association of New York’s 2021 Community Excellence Award and were named one of the National LGBT Bar Association’s 2021 Top 40 Lawyers Under 40.
Charlie is happily married and the parent of two young children who keep them incredibly busy.
“It’s your thing, do what you wanna do.”
― The Isley Brothers
Kymlee Dorsey
GENY Board Member
Pronouns: she/her/hers
Kymlee Dorsey is a lifelong resident of Albany who approaches her advocacy on behalf of the transgender community from a unique perspective. She was born intersex, raised by a loving and affirming family. The importance of self-worth was formed at the early age of nine, when her grandfather told her “Baby it’s not about what they call you but what will you answer to”. The question of being male or female was less important to Kym than having people respect and accept her. This has fueled her work on behalf of the transgender community. As a child, Kym “wanted to be God but since there’s only one”, she says, she “strives to be God-like”. It stands to reason that Kym was drawn to roles that allowed her to help others. She was a junior counselor for the 4-H Cornel Cooperative whose programs are designed to improve the quality of life for NY State residents.
As a young adult, Kym was employed as a male model, and eventually her flair for fashion and performance artistry led to become a female impersonator. She auditioned for the first season of RuPaul’s Drag Race and became friends with RuPaul, who initially identified her as a transgender woman rather than a female impersonator. Kym says her re-birth happened at around 40 years old when she fully transitioned after her mother told her to “be who you are meant to be.” In her heart, she has always been the same person.
Her time in Los Angeles, where she worked as a free-lance hair and make-up artist, was her inspiration for a program called S.T.Y.L.E. (Self Turnaround of Your Living Environment). She was shocked and saddened by the way the transgender community was being treated. Kym recognized the lack of empowerment in the community, so she created S.T.Y.L.E. to provide transgender community members with the confidence to be their own advocates. She recognized that she had it easy growing up in such a loving environment and has maintained an approach to her work which focuses on education, empowerment and self-care.
Kym is enthusiastic about the work of GENY and the fact that it provides a collective narrative for the Transgender, Queer and Non-binary communities. She participates in local education forums speaking about what it means to be transgender and the distinct issues the trans community faces. She was the first trans woman honored by the City of Albany during Black History Month for her leadership in Albany and around the State. She also runs a support group for trans women of color and dreams of a day when she can open a shelter. For now, she is focused on developing Pop-Up Centers around the state where transgender community members can receive support.
“It’s not about what they call you. It’s about what you answer to.”
― Kym’s grandfather
Shateer “Tee” Douglas
GENY Board Member
Pronouns: he/him/his
As the youngest of six, Tee is part of a large and thriving family in Upstate New York where he was raised in a very lively household in Niagara Falls. As a child, he wanted to be an actor but realized he’d be unlikely to get any of the roles to which he aspired. In his teens, Tee volunteered at a summer camp and then worked there as a camp counselor for several years. In working with his campers – 4, 5 and 6 year old boys – Tee did not enforce gender stereotypes and exposed them to all types of activities including baking brownies, which of course, they loved!
In his twenties, Tee had some success as a Rap Artist which leveraged his abilities as a poet and a performer. At a crossroads in his gender transition, Tee stepped away from his music career rather than continue to pursue his dream at the expense of his identity. A fellow GENY board member, Ari Moore, was instrumental in Tee’s transition, welcoming him into the community, sharing insight on her experience and lending support at just the right time in his life. Additional support was given by Tee’s family and especially by his late mother, whom he describes as “my best friend”, and he quotes as saying “You can be anything you want to be & I’m gonna love you no matter what”.
Tee was featured in a traveling art exhibit by photographer, B. Proud, called Transcending Love: Portraits and Stories of Transgender and Gender Non-conforming Couples which has found a permanent home at the Philadelphia Art Museum. In addition, he was recently added to the Buffalo/Niagara LGBTQ History Project, a collective network of peers documenting LGBTQ history in the Buffalo-Niagara Region.
Tee is currently a Community Health Specialist at The Pride Center of WNY in Buffalo, NY. Previously, he was a sales manager at LA Fitness and before that, a Certified Nurse’s Assistant. In addition to being a fitness enthusiast, Tee is a lover of all types of music but gravitates toward afro-beats and R&B. But most of all, he loves to hear his many nieces and nephews call him “Uncle” and while he misses his beloved Mom very much, he is grateful for her gift of such a large, diverse, and welcoming family.
“I prefer to be true to myself even at the hazard of incurring ridicule of others, rather to be false and to incur my own abhorrence.”
―Frederick Douglass
Ari Moore
GENY Board Member
Pronouns: she/her/hers
Ari Moore is a lifelong resident of Buffalo, NY with a diverse career in art, law enforcement, education, and advocacy. In addition to her work on the Board of GENY, Ari is one of the founding members of Spectrum Transgender Group of Western NY as well as the African Queens Association (AQA), a support group for transgender people of color. Ari is a relentless advocate for transgender and gender non-binary New Yorkers and has been instrumental in the fight for transgender rights.
Ari attended the University of Buffalo as well as pursued a BS degree in Art Education at Damien College, then known as Rosary Hill College. As an art major, she secured employment at the Albright Knox Art Gallery, where she was an art instructor for 12 years. An accomplished artist, she was one of the first to show at Buffalo’s Juneteenth Festival. In addition, Ari owned and operated the Inner City Artist Studio. Still active, Ari was recently commissioned to produce an LGBTQ mural on the wall of a local restaurant in Buffalo.
In the 70s, Ari attended dances held by the Mattachine Society, one of the earliest LGBT organizations in the United States, and was, in her own words “an out and happy, well adjusted, proud androgynous black person”.
Although Ari went back into the closet in the 80s to serve and protect the city of Buffalo as a police officer, she remained true to herself. Her social activism was evident during her 25-year career in law enforcement as she became a resource to her colleagues while regularly advocating for LGBTQ families experiencing domestic violence.
In 2004, Ari worked on the campaign for Buffalo’s first black mayor and through that experience she came to understand the political and legislative process. This served her well over the next 15 years as she worked tirelessly alongside other New York State activists to see GENDA passed in 2019. She is known as an important NYS transgender advocate and was called out by Senator Kennedy from the floor as the bill was being passed.
When asked, Ari says that the person she admires most is “her mother because of her love and unwavering support through my journey. It takes a village to raise our transgender children”.
“to be a witness to history”
― James Baldwin
Barbara Salva
GENY Board Member
Pronouns: she/her/hers
A Veteran, a parent, a grandparent, a pilot and a fierce advocate for the transgender community, Barbara Salva wears many hats. In addition to her commitment to GENY, Barbara also chairs the committee that organizes the Transgender Day of Remembrance memorial that is held each November on Long Island to honor and remember individuals in the community whose lives have been taken by transphobia, hate and violence.
Barbara grew up in Brooklyn and attended Catholic school before relocating to Mineola in high school. Although she was a talented artist, she decided to join the service at 17 rather than attend the School of Visual Arts in New York City. This was a practical decision based on a desire to attain transferable skills and a career. Because she loved airplanes, the Air Force was the perfect fit. She trained in Denver, Colorado, and eventually went to Vietnam during the war years as an aircraft mechanic. Her experience in the military had a significant impact on her growth as a young adult.
Upon returning from the war, Barbara attended the School of Aeronautics at Vaughn College and was licensed to work on commercial airplanes, which allowed her to secure employment with United Airlines. She would spend 40 years working at United, as a mechanic and then as a Night Supervisor. Barbara continues her passion for airplanes and belongs to a flying club. She would love to take her grandchildren flying and hopes for a day when that dream can become a reality.
When her marriage ended after 38 years, Barbara began living as the person she always knew herself to be, even as a child. Although the cost was high, she describes the process as “deciding to survive, not transition”. Advocacy work grew out of that survival. Learning new skills, becoming acclimated to a new way of life and becoming part of the community created a desire to help others and to also remember those we have lost. Her work with TDOR (Transgender Day of Remembrance) is near and dear to her heart. She also believes strongly in the need for equality and believes GENY gives the transgender community in New York state a voice, “Not a screaming voice, but a voice with direction”.
Barbara believes her biggest accomplishment has been “to be me – who I am now”. It was not easy and took focus and determination. But she approached it the way she approaches any skill she wants to learn – as a student. Barbara is always learning and is committed to constant improvement – in bowling, singing and even flying – three things she loves!
“The only thing normal…is the setting on your dryer”
― Richard Wlodarski — title of poem
Board Members Emeritus
Terri Cook
GENY Board Member
Pronouns: she/her/hers
Terri was born in New York City, spent her early childhood in New Jersey, and eventually settled in Wappingers Falls in upstate New York. Working at Lockheed Martin with her husband gave her the flexibility she needed as the family grew. She has been a project engineer for the company as well as a stay-at-home mom, a full-time advocate, an author, and a lecturer.
Terri is the proud mother of two sons, one of whom is transgender. In 2011, Terri’s younger child, Drew, came out. Unfortunately, accurate information about the gender spectrum was scarce and there were few resources available for parents. She and her husband fought for Drew in his schools, in the healthcare system, in the courts, in their community. She is not sure Drew would have survived his childhood had they not opened their hearts and minds not only to support him, but to fight for him.
This inspired Terri to become an advocate and a fierce ally of the transgender community. To tell their story, she wrote “Allies & Angels: A Memoir of Our Family’s Transition.” It was critically important to Vince and Terri that the book be available at little or no cost to those who would benefit from it. In order to realize their vision, they opted to form their own publishing company. Terri considers co-writing and publishing the book – all within a span of 18 months – one of her greatest accomplishments. But it is a small thing when she considers her son Drew and acknowledges the life, the opportunity and the happiness he now has before him.
Terri’s advocacy work has two parts. The first part is traveling around the state and sometimes nationally, telling her story and educating teachers, doctors, nurses and the general public on transgender basics – language, definitions and data. Leaving Central NY to live in the Southern Tier of the state provided Terri with insight into the differences in understanding and acceptance across the state and further fueled her passion.
The second part of Terri’s advocacy concerns legislation and policy surrounding transgender rights. She worked tirelessly on GENDA as well as on school policies and other state laws with the Human Rights Campaign and as a board member of the Empire State Pride Agenda, where she worked closely with Juli Grey-Owens.
As a founding board member of GENY, Terri’s goal of opening hearts and changing minds about the transgender community was a natural fit. She is a passionate ally who is a skilled story-teller and can leave listeners with a “just like me” feeling about members of the transgender community. Most importantly, Terri’s message of strength and compassion inspires parents to become advocates for change and to embrace their role as their child’s ally through acceptance, respect, and unconditional love.
“Try to be a rainbow in someone’s cloud.”
― Maya Angelou
Owen Gilbo
Pronouns: he/him/his
Owen Gilbo grew up in Saratoga Springs, NY and spent much of his adult life living in the Ticonderoga, NY area. He and his wife Betsy, who has been his life partner for nearly 25 years, live in the Capital Region with their dog, L’il Rookie.
Owen grappled with gender identity for most of his life beginning as early as age 4. Not willing to play with dolls or wear dresses, Owen often preferred playing “business” or “school” and was considered a tomboy. He enjoyed sports but didn’t like to play on the girls’ teams, so he turned to music instead. As an accomplished clarinet and saxophone player, Owen attended music school immediately following his High School graduation. A lack of funding resulted in leaving school and joining the Navy where Owen was a member of the rifle precision team and trained as a hospital corpsman. His four-year tour included duty placements in Florida, Illinois, Connecticut, Maryland, and Keflavík, Iceland.
Owen’s career has spanned many disciplines including medicine, education, and human services management, always involving the service of others. After the Navy, Owen attended SUNY Plattsburgh earning a degree in Philosophy and later a Master’s in the Science of Teaching. His career of advocating and supporting marginalized individuals began with his first professional position as a residential and case manager for Essex County ARC supporting adults with developmental disabilities, followed by teaching elementary school for seven years. He has held additional positions which included advocating and empowering individuals, often those marginalized by society. Owen later joined the NYS Dept of Health as a Health Program Administrator, where as a union member, he became more involved in activism in his union’s Political Action Committee and Pride Committee. Owen was recently appointed to his current role as a Diversity and Inclusion Specialist with the New York State Department of Civil Service.
Throughout his life Owen has always been aware of social issues and has strived to be a champion for those who are less fortunate. His advocacy work has been about connecting people to each other and the services they need. Owen’s contribution to the passage of GENDA and to the vision for GENY as a founding board member is right in line with his values and his life’s work of always advocating for the underdog or the marginalized.
“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”
― John 1:5
Kelly Metzger
GENY Board Member
Pronouns: she/her/hers
Originally from Warren, PA, Kelly was one of 4 children who came of age in the 1970s. She earned a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Gannon University in Erie, PA, secured employment and lived the life of a typical college graduate until a recession in 1982 resulted in unemployment. Never one to stick with the status quo, Kelly took a computer programming class and found her niche. After earning an associate degree in computer programming at Jamestown Community College, Kelly became the Director of Administrative Computing at the North Country Community College.
She fell in love with the North Country area and has lived in the Adirondacks for most of her adult life. She has painstakingly restored her 110-year-old home where she has lived for the last 36 years. In addition to her work on her home, she enjoys downhill skiing, furniture restoration, and has even learned how to re-cane antique chairs!
With a large extended family and a great community around her, Kelly has always felt gender fluid but never “girly” as a child. Without the words to describe how she was feeling and no exposure to others like her, Kelly continued to live as a male for much of her adult life. After two marriages and the loss of an important relationship, Kelly re-evaluated her life in 2011 and began to think about transition in early 2012. It was then that she realized that there was a significant lack in medical services available locally and her advocacy work began. Through her journey, Kelly has established transgender health care in the North Country when she began to educate providers as she sought treatment in 2014. During the summer and fall of 2013, Kelly came out to her sister and female cousins. In early spring 2014, she came out to her Mother, was accepted by her extended family mid-summer and was able to socially transition on the job later that year. She considers November 1, 2014 her official re-birthday.
Deep down, Kelly is an introvert at heart, which would surprise those that know her. She is passionate about the work of GENY and is committed to bringing services to the Adirondack North Country. Kelly strongly believes in the importance of preventing the harassment and bullying of transgender youth and in ensuring that all people in the community have access to appropriate medical and behavioral health care.
“Infinite diversity in infinite combination.”
― Jean Lisette Aroeste, writer on original Star Trek series