“I was really impressed by the presentation and happy to see that the information that might seem controversial or surprising to us was taken at face value by the kids.”
Dashka
Parent, elementary class presentation
About Us
Our Programs
We provide education, resources and training to help you create a more gender sensitive and supportive environment for all people, including gender variant and transgender youth.
In a simple, straightforward manner, we help students, families, schools, and organizations understand and address the concepts of gender identity. Our accessible, practical approach is based on research and experience, enabling our clients to gain a deeper understanding of gender variance.
We present an overview of how society currently defines gender, and how this restrictive definition can be detrimental to those who do not neatly fit into this rigid categorization. We can then help you identify and remove the obstacles experienced by gender variant people and their families, and work toward a world in which all of us are more free to be our authentic selves.
Our Staff
Joel Baum
Joel Baum, M.S., is the Director of Education and Training for Gender Spectrum. Working with schools, medical professionals, therapists, universities and other organizations, Joel facilitates trainings, conducts workshops, develops curriculum, consults with parents and professionals, and provides resources in service of a more compassionate understanding of the complexity of gender. Along with Stephanie Brill, he leads the monthly parent support groups at Oakland Children's Hospital. He has been featured on All Things Considered, The New York Times, Newsweek, and various other publications and media. Joel is a member of the National Safe Schools Roundtable and California Safe Schools Steering Committee.
Joel began his career as an award-winning middle school science teacher and school administrator, and more recently served as a district administrator in Oakland, California. Joel is also a professor of Educational Leadership at California State University, East Bay where he has developed two distinct administrative credential programs. He has an extensive background as a Professional Developer, School Leadership and Reform Coach, and anti-racist educator.
He lives in the Bay Area with his partner Pamela, where his most important role is as the proud and fatuous father of his two daughters.
Stephanie Brill
Stephanie Brill is the co-founder and Director of Gender Spectrum Education and Training. Stephanie is featured speaker and trainer on issues of the developmental stages of gender variance in children for medical grand rounds, city and county health departments, early childhood specialists, health care professionals, mental health care specialists, and many other social service organizations.
Stephanie is the Programming Director of the Gender
Spectrum Family Conference.
She is also the co-founder of the Children's Hospital Oakland support group
for parents of gender variant and transgender children. She regularly leads
gender diversity trainings for public and private schools across the country.
Stephanie is the co-author of The Transgender Child:
A Handbook for Families and Professionals. Her previous books, The
Queer Parent's Primer and The New Essential
Guide to Lesbian Conception, Pregnancy, and Birth were heralded as groundbreaking works. With numerous articles and publications,
Stephanie is a sought-after contributor to radio & TV shows, magazines,
journals, and books including: 20/20, The San Francisco Chronicle, All Things
Considered, This American Life, The New York Times, and more.
Stephanie lives in Orinda, California with her partner and their
four kids.
Brenda Chevis
Brenda Chevis is Gender Spectrum’s Education Director. With a background in classroom education and a natural affinity for children and adolescents, she became committed to advocating for gender variant and transgender people and their families in 1998, when her identical twin sister became a transman.
Through speaking engagements in media such as The Oprah Winfrey Show and Larry King Live, Brenda has helped to make transgender issues accessible to the mainstream on a broad scale.
Currently, Brenda’s work at Gender Spectrum includes providing education and support services to individuals and families, as well as implementing trainings and workshops in educational institutions.
Brenda has a bachelor's degree in communications from the University of Alaska, where she taught reading and tutored in English as adjunct faculty. She lives in Bellingham, Washington with her husband, sixteen-year-old daughter, and three-year-old son.
Aidan Key
Aidan Key is one of the most sought-after speakers and educators in the country on gender identity and gender variance. His work in the transgender community began in 1998 with the development of community workshops and forums. His experience includes trainings at colleges and universities, panel presentations on sexuality and gender identity, and group facilitation for transgender workshops and support groups. Since 2001, he has worked nationally on transgender and gender variance policy issues.
An activist and community organizer at heart, Aidan has received national recognition and numerous awards for his work addressing issues of employment, relationships, schools and health in the transgender community. His speaking engagements include National Public Radio, The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch, Larry King Live, and The Oprah Winfrey Show.
Aidan is a graduate of Antioch University with a degree in program development and communications. He lives in Seattle, Washington, and is the proud father of an eighteen-year-old daughter.