Bio

T.J. Jourian is a social justice educator, learner, activist, and speaker, having spoken and provided trainings at hundreds of college campuses, conferences, and community-based organizations all over the country.  He is currently on the Training Team of the Brown Boi Project, a community of masculine of center womyn, men, two-spirit people, transmen, and our allies committed to changing the way that communities of color talk about gender. T.J. self-identifies as a pansexual queer Middle-Eastern Armenian trans*man, and his passion lies with supporting, learning from, and participating in social justice work that is intersectional, empowering, and dynamic – much like what he aspires to deliver through his own work.  He is proud to be part of the 2014 Trans* 100. 

In 2005, T.J. was featured in the Sundance docu-series TransGeneration, depicting the lives of four trans* college students during a single academic year at four different institutions.  The series went on to win the 2006 GLAAD Media Award for Best Documentary. Currently, a PhD Candidate in Higher Education at Loyola University Chicago, he is finishing his dissertation on trans*masculine college students' conceptualizations of masculinity.

T.J. received his MA in Student Affairs Administration at Michigan State University, and has 6+ years of professional experience in residential life, LGBTQ affairs, student activities & events, women’s center, multicultural affairs, orientation, and more. T.J. is a co-founder and now Editor in Chief the Journal of Critical Scholarship on Higher Education and Student Affairs (JCSHESA) and a founding member of the T*Circle Collective.
Face picture with shades
Photo credit: Kristian Dambrino

Book T.J. for your event today

Whether you are looking for a keynote speaker, trainer, or someone to consult with, T.J. might just be who you are looking for.  His work spans across race, gender, sexuality, intersectionality, activism, leadership and organizational change, presenting to a variety of audiences across the country, including high school and college students and educators, community organizers and members, academics, legal professionals, and more.  From large scale audiences to small classroom settings, from 101-level trainings to advanced dialogues, T.J. manages to have broad appeal while simultaneously challenging everyone to show up for justice.
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Photo credit: Q-Roc Ragsdale & BBP
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Photo credit: Q-Roc Ragsdale & BBP
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Photo credit: Q-Roc Ragsdale & BBP

The Brown Boi Project's 2014 Summer of Brown Boi (California)

Select Past Engagements

2015 Multi-day trainer, guest speaker, and keynote speaker for several constituents at West Virginia University
2015 O.N.E. Leadership Conference Keynote - Denison University
2013 (Houston, TX) & 2014 (Denver, CO) Creating Change Racial Justice Institute Training Team
Conversation on Trans* Activism & Redefining Leadership with Janet Mock, Agnes Scott College
2014 Great Lakes Colleges Association Students of Color Leadership Conference Keynote
National Lawyers Guild 2014 Law for the People Convention, Anti-Racism Training
2014 Summer of Brown Boi Unconferences & Racial Justice Institutes, Oakland, Fresno, Los Angeles, CA
2014 ALLIES Spring Speaker, Gettysburg College
2014 Equality Leadership Colloquium on LGBT Issues in Higher Education Speaker, Eastern Michigan University
2013 LGBT History Month Speaker, Governors State University
2013 LGBTQA History Month Speaker, University of Wisconsin Madison
2013 LGBTA Month Opening Keynote, DePaul University
2012 Georgia GSA Summit Keynote, Agnes Scott College
2012 Northeast LGBT Conference Keynote, The Sage Colleges
2012 MOSAIC Conference Keynote, Carnegie Mellon University
2009 Transgender Day of Remembrance, Burlington, VT
2008 Midwest BLGTA Colleges Conference Keynote, University of Illinois Urbana Champaign
2006 ACPA Convention Standing Committee for LGBT Awareness Guest Speaker
2003 Michigan Pride Rally Speaker
Numerous TransGeneration screenings, in-class presentations, Skype Q&As, student affairs trainings, and much much more.

Example Presentations and Trainings Facilitated

·        From Accessing to Shaping: Rethinking Trans* ‘Inclusion’ on College Campuses
·        Being Brown About It: An Intersectional Trans*formation
·        Surface Level: Culture as an Iceberg and Constructions of Masculinities and Femininities
·        Deconstructing the Gender Mosaic: The GenderQueer and Non-Binary Pieces of the Puzzle
·        Assessing and Improving Transgender Student Inclusion
·        Trans* Students and Housing
·        Genderism, Transgender Students and the Binary System in Higher Education
·        Still POC: The Impact of White Centrism in the LGBTQ Community on the Experience of Queer People of Color
·        Understanding and Serving LGBTQI Patients
© 2015-19 T.J. Jourian. All Rights Reserved.
About that asterisk: This website uses the asterisk (*) as a linguistic disruption of sorts that shifts the meaning of words to intentionally reference from a trans perspective (e.g., trans*form). In most cases, it is not used after the word "trans" as is becoming common in many spaces (see this article for an explanation of the etymology and meaning of trans*), except when directly cited or is part of an already published piece.  This is to honor the ongoing discussions and tensions amongst trans communities regarding the use/misuse of the asterisk. See, the following three articles to learn about some of these discussions and tensions: by Julia Serano, by the Trans Student Educational Resources, and by Practical Androgyny.