The event raises money for health programs that Fenway Health offers to the community.  About 1200 lesbian, bi, and transgender women with their supporters and allies will be there to celebrate women’s health and raise money to implement it through Fenway Health.  It’s a fun time and for a great cause.  Mayor Menino and Governor Patrick are generally there as well so you can bet it’ll be swarming with lots of bling and fun. This year Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin will receive the Dr. Susan M. Love Award

So, while I can’t be there I’m raising a big, steaming mug of coffee to say Best of Luck to you June, Deb and Molly for this year’s event!!

The process is straightforward. You set up an account (for free with small charges for premium services), fill out a profile for yourself (or not, it’s optional) and upload your files.  From there you simply give someone the link on Slideshare to your uploaded presentation and your good to go!  Here are some examples:

1. A presentation on Transgender Care from The University of California:
   1. http://www.slideshare.net/FNian/primary-care-for-transgender-patients-presentation
2. How to Make Cupcakes
   1. http://www.slideshare.net/meghan1943/how-to-make-cupcakes
3. Totally Cute Overload Presentation
   1. http://www.slideshare.net/effat57/cute-and-funny

What you essentially have is a low cost broadcast platform and for the Frugal Tech that’s an awesome tool for all kinds of educational and fun things.  You could use it to

• Broadcast work presentations to other teams in your building or in other locations.
• Use it to put up technical or other information then send the link via email to someone then talk them through the presentation (important if your presentation is big or attachments are blocked)
• Use it to store your presentation to bring up at a symposium or other talk you do – you don’t have to bring the presentation with you then

Another nifty point is that Slideshare then lets you take the material and connect it to the world via Twitter, Wordpress, Facebook, Buzz, or Blogger.    You can also embed the presentation in a blog post or other web site to just show it from your site vs. having someone follow the link back to your presentation at Slideshare.  Finally you could do a voice over on your presentation and then, when someone sees your presentation there is a voiceover that essentially turns it into a webinar!   Now that is cool!

So go get frugal with your tech by getting your own account at Slideshare and share your presentations with the world!

Room to read, from their web site:

Over 300 million children around the world do not have access to education and most likely will never learn to read or write. Room to Read believes that all children, regardless of gender or background, have a right to education. By empowering children through this lifelong gift, we see a world in which people are able to realize their full potential.

Room to Read had its humble origins in Nepal in 2000, where we began bringing donated books to rural communities. Today, we are a global organization dedicated to promoting and enabling education through four core programs.

The importance of reading, according to the University of Michigan, for children is that:

• It improves their chances for success in school itself and in working
• It’s a fun and imaginative activity for children (so it exercises their brains)
• It’s an important way to use language and to communicate

Those are all great goals to help kids anywhere certainly; but helping them in some of the most impoverished places on the planet can be important to start seeing the changes that make for a better world.  Sadly, 2/3 of the 770 million illiterate people in the world are girls and women and Room to Read is an important part in changing that terrible statistic.  You can learn more about this terrific program at their web site Room to Read

That’s a great thing since Mona Rae Mason from the Transgender Project has noted that the percentage of homeless kids who are transgender is very high (see her post, “The Coming Out Party is Over“).  Places like Waltham House are safe places that help protect and nurture some of the kids.

But they often need money to do their job so Waltham House is sponsoring a Casino Night Fund Raiser on April 27th starting at 6PM at Club Cafe in Boston.  Sounds like a good cause doesn’t it?    You can learn more about this fund raiser so you can attend and have fun at this link, “Waltham House Casino Night“

Want to be part of a resource guide for transgender and other gender-variant people?

Trans Bodies, Trans Selves features a line-up of wonderful transgender and genderqueer authors, and they’re looking for your help to make the book amazing.

Take the survey and your thoughts could appear in the book!

Go to http://www.transbodies.com/Survey.html for surveys designed for:
-Transgender/genderqueer people
-Parents of gender-variant children
-Partners of transgender/genderqueer people

Please forward widely.

YOUR VOICE is greatly appreciated!

Laura Erickson-Schroth, MD, MA
Editor, Trans Bodies, Trans Selves
transbodies@gmail.com
www.transbodies.com

Jenny Boylan and Jamison Greene are on the project so it should be worth all our time to give them a little piece of our mind.

The most current hot and public issue in the transgender community though on discrimination is the Capone’s of Peabody MA vs. SISTERS discrimination affair. To bring our readers up to speed, SISTERS, a Boston area Social and Support Group visited Capone’s on several occasions until one day, they attempted to visit to have a few drinks and dance and then there were told they could not come in and that they were not welcome. If it had been a private club that would have been that. But it was an open to the public venue and so, such behavior by Capone’s, really sounded like discrimination. SISTERS pushed the issue to the Peabody licensing board, in a professional and non-confrontational manner, and now the issue is in mediation. This whole thing might seem like a small issue but it’s not. It’s discrimination. Do all persons have to like all other persons regardless of race, gender, sex, or nationality. No, this isn’t about thought police. But people do have to treat each other with respect. And that’s what this issue is about.

Kudos to Ashley Bottoms and the SISTERS FAMILY for pushing this issue the right way and the professional way to bring about positive change.

You can catch up on all the back story at:

1. The Salem News
2. Boston.com
3. Peabody Lynnfield Weekly News
4. Urban Alternatives
5. Matt Kailey at Examiner.com

Update
2-26-2010: MTPC has issued a statement regarding the incident.  The last paragraph of their statement is imporant to note,

“MTPC calls upon the transgender community to rally behind the pending H1728/S1687 Transgender Civil Rights act that would finally establish clear legal guidelines and remedies for situations such as the one at Capone’s. There is no good reason why any good citizens of our Commonwealth should be treated in a demeaning fashion, and the law should reflect our state’s broad consensus in this.”

Amen to that!

They [The U.S. Census] currently have many job opportunities.  Some are full-time, some are part-time.  Enumerators, who follow-up on households that have not sent in their Census make $15-$22 per hour, depending on location for up to a couple of months.  Other positions are available as well… apply for one of these positions either on-line or by contacting the local Census office in your area.  You can work right in your own neighborhood and have no commute.  You have to be a U.S. citizen, take a 30 minute test (there is a practice test) and pass a background check….The federal government does not discriminate or either sexual orientation or gender identity.  They have LGBT outreach programs in place as well as a trans coordinator.

Sounds like a workin’ girls dream to me!   Here’s you link to job heaven: The U.S. Census Jobs Board

The reason we’ve been following this is because her death was so unnecessary.  Well we’ve got more follow up.   Christine’s Church, MMC L.A., held a memorial service for her in January 2010.  The interview done by Autumn Sandeen of MMC L.A.’s Reverend Dr. Neal Thomas sheds a little more light on Christine and how she felt about herself after she transitioned.   You can check the story out at Pam’s House Blend; MMC L.A. Memorial Service For Christine Daniels

Grace is the Executive Director for BAGLY, the Boston Alliance of Gay, Lesbian, Bi-Sexual and Transgender Youth.  BAGLY provides “weekly and monthly social activities and special events for people ages 22 and under. These activities provide an opportunity for youth to socialize, have fun and develop a sense of personal and community identity.”

So congratulations Grace and thank you for your work leading BAGLY to help so many GLBT youth in Greater Boston!

1. Start with a Blog:  Basically, start to get your presence on the internet; your “spot” so to speak.  Here at Beck’s Cafe we’ve found that focusing on an area of your specialty or that you might be passionate about helps that blog be more alive and compelling to visitors; like a cute specialty shop in Cambridge you might visit regularly because it has just what you want.
2. Collect Emai Addresses:  Janet notes that only 1% of everyone who visits your fledgling business will purchase anything.  So telling people, in a respectful and hopefully engaging manner, what’s going on with your new baby business is important.  In my experience with internet marketing, this has to be opt-in, in other words, let visitors decide if they want in or not to your mail list.
3. Give before you receive:  Janet reminds us that when someone provides you their email address they are generally trusting  you not to spam them.  So give your new followers something of value.  In other words, enhance their life somehow.  On the internet, reputation is the coin of the realm
4. Ask your subscribers what they want: Do a simple survey in other words.  Tools like Survey Monkey are free or low cost and do a good job.
5. Dazzle them with your knowledge:  Janet tells us that now that you know who your readers are (from their email addresses) and what they need (from the survey) start to directly answer those needs and add value to your visitors
6. Keep In Touch:  You don’t want to spam your readers, but  you do want to let them know what’s cooking at your site.   Just as Kohl’s or Target keeps you in the know with their weekly circulars about their stores, so too you can let others know what’s happening with yours.
7. The 80/20 Rule:  For every 20% of the time you pitch your wares or knowledge on-line, 80% of the time give value for no charge.  Enhance people’s lives regularly.  We all only go around once after all!
8. Encourage a 2-way relationship:  You may not realize it, but, even as you read this, you and I are engaging in a 2-way relationship.  Your thinking this article is really rubbish whilst you sip your coffee or you the germ of a new idea for a new business is taking shape.  In either case, it’s two way.   And that’s what you want in your business.  Note a faceless entity but a two way street of conversation.

Janet has more to share and so we’d encourage you to click on over to her article at MarketLikeAChick.com by clicking to her article, “8 Steps to Build an Internet Business That Will Last“

With a tag line like that, The Awesome Foundation sounds pretty awesome all right.  Basically, the Awesome foundation provides small seed capital and space for small start ups to do their thing.  The small grant, $1000, gets you going, the location, gives  you space to do it in.

Pretty neat stuff.

Got an awesome idea?  Why not pitch it at The Awesome Foundation and see how it flies!

You get more details at MTPC’s announcement here:
http://www.masstpc.org/legislation/lobbyday10.shtml

The importance of todays lobbying effort is that our transgender equality bill is stuck in the MA judiciary commitee and needs a little push. If you can’t attend today (as I cannot) an email or call to your representative would help too.

The December 2008 issue of the Harvard Business Review features a case study, “When Steve Becomes Stephanie” in which they cover the issue of an employee in gender transition.  The intro is free but the actual study is $6.50 and downloadable from HBR.

Dr. Jillian Weiss, who was the keynote speaker at First Event Transgender Conference, has a nice review of the case study and some additional thoughts as well.  You can see her take at The Bilerico Project: “December Harvard Business Review Features “When Steve Becomes Stephanie”

At Beck’s Cafe we covered an earlier note about gender transition at Harvard Business Review, you can click to that write up here at Beck’s Cafe at the article, “Harvard Business Review and Transgender Workplace Issues“

Leading women: The women who rise to the top of your organization in the coming years may have a few things in common.

She has a list of characteristics that women (and really men too) will need in place in our own lives to be effective at leading at work; how many of these characteristics ring true?

• Authenticity: Martha defines this as a woman, “Being self-aware and doing something about it. This trait allows a woman to understand at a very base level her strengths, weaknesses, desires, and fears.”  And then taking this trait and leveraging it into her life at work.
• Fearlessness: Martha feels this trait is the opposite of being fearful.  She further notes that those who act out of fear act in an unbalanced way that compromises our ability to be effective.  Fearless women focus on what they want to achieve and very often achieve it.
• Focus: Here Martha tosses aside the notion that as women, we have an unlimited ability to multi-task and be equally effective across all our tasks.   Martha says that such practices must stop and that only focus will result in achieving the results we want in our lives.
• Energy:  Finally Martha points out the to do anything women need to take care of themselves, “working longer hours, compromising sleep, and depleting our wellness. We must know and attend to what brings us energy in the physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual sense.”

Four very interesting characteristics women will need for the coming years.  If you’ve got any coffee left in your mug, mouse on over to the full article at Sales and Marketing Magazine by clicking to  “Leading Women“

A&A, in Newton MA, is offering Express Facials now, for a limited time, for $30 for 30 minutes!   I asked what the catch was and here’s the details on what they’ll do for your face:

• Cleanse
• Tone
• Moisturize
• Exfoliate
• Teach you how to take care of your skin

For $30 that’s a great deal.   If you make an appointment, please tell them Becki sent you.   Beck’s Cafe doesn’t make any money from this and you won’t get a better deal than the $30, but it’ll be nice for her to know that some of us do really listen to her suggestions to take care of our skin!

You might get bummed as the days progress this week. So here are some tips others have found that can help make life a little less gray.

(1) Look: Did you get a photo of yourself at FE10? Not a glam photo per se, just any photo while you were presenting as you. Look at yourself. It’s not narcissistic it’s like looking at a mirror. Sometimes, when our inside and outsides don’t match and your feeling dysphoric, looking at a photo of yourself can be a nice reminder that who you are inside is who you are outside. This can be a real help for you to get your feet on the ground.

(2) Chat: Friends. You need ‘em and you need to talk with them. Rekindling the memories can be extremely helpful to laugh and get life back on the lighter side when you feel blue as you get further away from your fun and meaningful time at First Event. So chat with your friends DO NOT go back into a shell or into your closet. This is not healthy for you. Virtually, you can chat at TCNE’s Yahoo Group or another good place is at Pink Essence on their terrific chat line.  The Transgendered Planet is another good one.  These are very safe spaces. Talk on the phone with someone you exchanged phone numbers with.  Process your feelings! You need it.

(3) Plan: Your next time out. That’s right. You need to get out and see people. There are many transgender conferences both small and large throughout the U.S.  TCNE’s “TG Conference List” is updated monthly for you to find a conference close to you. And there is likely a support group near you in your own city or town or within an hour or two so you can go out and feel safe and not exposed.  Tiffany Club, the sponsors of First Event, would welcome you if you can make it to their offices in Waltham, MA.  But if they are too far away, IFGE is a great resource to find such places and TCNE has a list as well.

(4) Give: Give back; that’s right, even if it was your first time out you can give back to move forward causes that effect others. And in doing so you give yourself a big emotional boost, banish those blues and help others. What a triple play! There are many transgender rights actions happening all around us, from the national ENDA bill to Massachusetts Transgender Civil Rights Bill (H.1728/S1687). There are many womens issues you could involve yourself in as well, from helping those who are the victims of domestic violence, to womens health issues, to women in shelters (many times with their children). Finally, are there any other trans-persons near you who are homeless or out of a job or who knows what? Reach out to them in some way to help them out. We may not always agree with each other, but we do need to support each other.

This isn’t fantasy, it’s your life..so live it, have fun and if you get the blues, remember to LOOK – CHAT – PLAN – GIVE!

And, for those of you interested in this topic, at 11Am I’ll be speaking, along with Gunner Scott, Michelle Madison and Paula Howard on Transgender Rights on a panel called, “The Unlikely Activist”.

Also, if you are not going to the Fashion Show, come join me, Arjay, Michelle, Nancy, Paula, Jamie, and a host of others for an informal community dinner in the Marriott’s Restaurant!  We’d love to have you at our table.

Many sincere thanks to Staci Lana at Femulate for nominating us!

There are a few rules of course that come with our award, first, yours truly, Chief Barrista, has to:

1. Thank the person who nominated me: Thank you so much Staci!
2. Copy the award and place it on my blog: See column to your right
3. Link to the nominator’s site: Femulate is in our blog roll (please do visit her scrumptuous reading)
4. List seven interesting things about myself: Always a chore but here they are:
   1. For many years I taught Sunday school for ages 5 to 8
   2. My first “portable” computer was the original Compaq Computer
   3. I’m a musical omnivore but at the top of my list are Blues, Jazz, Classical and House Music
   4. I truly love shopping at Kohl’s and on Newbury Street
   5. Sushi is one of my passions
   6. My favorite part of the Bible is the Letter to the Phillipians though living it is more of a challenge than reading it
   7. I once traveled around the United States for two months
5. Nominate seven bloggers that you find beautiful. Here are my nominees for the Beautiful Blogger Award (in alphabetical order):
   1. Amy at AmyNews.com
   2. Jamie at I Am Transgendered!
   3. Kellie at Kellie’s Web Log
   4. Mona at Thoughts on Transgender
   5. Sonia at Sonia Keys
   6. Zoe at A.E. Brain
   7. Nancy at NancyWichmann

And so with that we’ll take our new found awardism forward to more blogging, writing and mocha-coffee drinking

So, now to perk some fresh post including an award Beck’s Cafe was honored with to start 2010!   We were mentioned in Spirit Magazine back in 2007 as one of Boston’s Blogs To Read but this recent award is very special.  Look for our next post to learn why