| CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS 2026 RI Trans Health Conference: Community Track |
SATURDAY, May 30, 2026 · PROVIDENCE, RI · OPEN REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS
| SUMMARY AND BACKGROUND |
The 9th annual RI Trans Health Conference will be held in person on Saturday, May 30, 2026, at Rhode Island College in Providence, RI.
The 2026 conference includes 2 tracks: Provider and Community. The community track is intentionally designed by and for trans, nonbinary, and gender diverse people, at no cost to attendees.
The objectives of the community track are to:
- Identify legal, behavioral health, medical, and community needs of transgender, nonbinary, gender diverse, and intersex people, available resources, and ways to fill in the gaps.
- Explore intersections of gender with other identities and lived experiences, such as race, ethnicity, class, disability, and more.
- Create deliberate space for and with BIPOC and QTPOC to learn, connect, and grow community.
- Build affirming space for all community members at any stage in their journey to connect, learn, and embrace joy.
- Provide informative space for allies to learn and grow alongside members of our community while building intentional allyship and advocacy skills that support the wellness of our community.
| REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS |
We are seeking a broad range of 60-minute sessions from individuals and groups that meet the community track objectives. Sessions should center the lived experience of trans, nonbinary, gender diverse, and/or intersex people.
We value the lived experience of presenters who are trans, nonbinary, gender diverse, and intersex with any educational level. We especially welcome proposals from individuals who are Black, Indigenous, and People of Color, are from the LGBTQIA+ community, have disabilities, and have other historically, currently, or multiply marginalized backgrounds. Proposals from allies are also welcome. Check out our ideas for session topics listed below.
We encourage creative and interactive sessions, such as small group breakout sessions, workshops, panels, group discussions, presentations, group activities, facilitated social spaces, etc.
The conference values the expertise of our presenters and intends to offer compensation to speakers as we have in previous years. The ability to compensate speakers depends on conference revenue and cannot be guaranteed. The planning committee will provide details of speaker compensation as early as possible.
| SUBMISSION DETAILS |
The deadline to submit a proposal is midnight on Saturday, February 21, 2026. Late proposals will be accepted on a rolling basis until all session blocks are filled. Selections will be announced by Monday, March 23, 2026.
To help plan your proposal, you may view a PDF of the Proposal Submission Form by following this link. Proposals are submitted via Google Forms. Please contact us if you cannot submit your proposal using Google Forms.
If you have questions, an idea, or want to discuss the possible direction of a proposal, please contact Ryan Fontaine and Evan Jones at ryanfo@thundermisthealth.org and ejones@sojournerri.org — we’ll be happy to speak with you!
With pride,
Ryan Fontaine (she/her), Community Track Co-Leader
Evan Jones (he/they), Community Track Co-Leader
Syd LaBonte, LICSW (they/them), Conference Coordinator
| IDEAS FOR SESSION TOPICS |
| Trans, Nonbinary, Gender Diverse, and Intersex Health | ||
| How to Access Care | Navigating Health Insurance | Hormone Therapy 101 |
| Gender Affirming Surgeries | Navigating Health Systems as an Intersex Person | Pediatric & Adolescent Gender Affirming Care |
| Fertility & Family Planning | Sexual Health, Navigating Consent, Kink | Body Image & Eating Disorders |
| Exploring Identity, Dimensions of Everyday Life, and Intersectionality | ||
| Financial Planning & Housing | Transness & Race | Aging While Trans |
| Being Trans At Work | Trans Joy & Trans Histories | Transness & Neurodiversity |
| Survivorship | Religion, Faith & Spirituality | Exploring Binary and Nonbinary Gender, Coming Out, Non-Medical Affirmation |
| Harm Reduction, Recovery & Substance Use | Art, Music, Writing & Creative Space | Resources For Community Members with Criminal Records |
| Power & Privilege | Transitioning as a Parent | Relationships, Intimacy & Sex |
| Engaging in Advocacy, Organizing, and Community Building | ||
| Know Your Rights | Addressing Disinformation | State & Local Policy Advocacy |
| Supporting Community Members in the Criminal Justice System | Supporting Trans Immigrants, Refugees, & Asylum Seekers | Partnering with Allied Social Movements |
| Direct Action & Civil Disobedience | Community Care & Mutual Aid | Abolition & Restorative Justice |
| Homelessness & Housing Insecurity | Ending non-consensual surgeries on intersex infants | Anti-Fat Bias, Fatphobia, & Weight Discrimination |
| Anti-Racism | Disability Justice | Sex Workers’ Rights |
| Strategies for Community Building | ||
| Intentional Allyship for Cisgender People | ||
| “Trans 101” | Advocacy as an Ally and Why it Matters | Supporting Trans Youth & Their Families |
| Allyship for Parents of Gender Diverse People | Relationships Between Trans & Cis People | Resources for Allies, Service Providers & Families |
Queer RI 