To mark 20 years of Come Out With Pride celebrations in Orlando, COWP organizers have chosen a heady trio of grand marshals for this year’s signature parade: HGTV’s David Bromstad, intersex advocate Juleigh Mayfield and trans activist Ashley Figueroa. Figueroa, a transgender Latina Orlandoan, is very worthy of note. For over eight years now, she has been a blur of nonstop work and community-building in the City Beautiful.
Soon after her own gender transition, Figueroa left her job in banking and began working tirelessly on behalf of the transgender and LGBTQ+ community locally — at different times with Equality Florida, the Contigo Fund, Orlando Trans Collective, the City of Orlando and the organization she co-founded, the Gender Advancement Project. She’s been lauded by the likes of Equality Florida, Watermark and Honor 41, but for Figueroa it’s not about the awards — rather, she values helping people live their truths joyously without any fear of reprisal. We spoke to Figueroa the day after Milton did a near-miss of Orlando.
We got comparatively lucky with Hurricane Milton, so that gives us a reason to celebrate. Just in time — you’re going to be one of the grand marshals in the Pride Parade!
I’m very excited and looking forward to that experience. I have participated most of my adult life; everybody is celebrating everyone’s pride, and they can be themselves and showcase it. In the times we’re living where trans rights are being threatened and all the anti-trans laws are passed, I think it’s so important to have spaces like this where we can come out and show up and remind everyone that we’re here.
Pride organizers have over the last few years been making space for trans folks.
This kind of initiative with Come Out With Pride is really important because it’s taking a stance that “they matter, they’re here, and we’re going to give them that space.”
In the state of Florida, the trans community is almost like where the gay community was in New York [decades] ago. I hadn’t felt as hostile of a living situation in society, when it came to my trans identity, until all the anti-trans laws two years ago started passing.
Would you talk about your own personal road to activism and advocacy?
I worked in banking with Fairwinds Credit Union, and I was there for 10 years, I believe. And during that time I started my transition. That’s where my journey started to become my perfect self. I had this thought that I was going to have to leave Orlando and go somewhere else where no one knew me, and start a new life. Through the help of counseling, I realized that I don’t have to do that. I don’t have to leave where I am. I don’t have to, you know, change that aspect of my life just to be my authentic self. I can be my authentic self anywhere.
Eventually, I got tired of sales and wanted to take time off. So I left banking and decided that I wanted to stay at home and be a stepmom. I did that for a little bit, and once I got tired of spending so much time at home, I decided to go back to work. In that process of me accepting myself 100% and then leaving banking, I went to a group that was called T Network. It was trans professional individuals and their allies. And through that space, I got to meet other trans individuals, and I also got to learn more about their stories and understand more of the needs of the community.
I started doing community work in healthcare, and I was spearheading a transgender program where we helped individuals change their names, legal names, and in accessing hormone replacement therapy. And that’s how my activism started in the community.
What work went into getting the Gender Advancement Project off the ground?
When I left the healthcare clinic that I was working with their transgender program, I noticed there was nothing that was really led by and for the transgender community. Who better to lead than those that are of experience and understand everything 100% from experience? I decided to establish the Advancement Project along with Nikole Parker, she’s also a co-founder. We did that right during COVID. … We started doing legal name changes for individuals. If an individual comes to us, we’re going to assist them in that process of filling out their paperwork. If they have any questions, we’ll let them know how to go about doing so. And then, if the individual needs financial support, we will help pay for their filing fee, their background check and their new driver’s license or ID.
You work with several other organizations simultaneously. How do you keep yourself energized and find time and space to breathe?
The way that I balance is honestly understanding that I’m a human being, and there’s only so much that I can do in one day, and understanding there’s times when I need to step back and take a break. Because if you don’t, you get burnt. If you don’t have yourself together, there’s no way that you’re gonna be able to help other people.
The state government in Florida is, at its core right now, transphobic, homophobic, intolerant. So it’s inspiring to see the defiance of transgender folks staying here and claiming their space.
Being visible and living your authentic self creates a change, because individuals are able to see that you’re a human being and you deserve basic human rights, at the very minimum.
Allies can help us by speaking up, by understanding. Educate and speak up and take a stance; if you stay quiet, then there’s really nothing that’s going to change. Take the time to get to know a transgender individual. Connect on a personal level to understand that we are totally normal. And show love and support to the transgender individuals in your life.
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This article appears in Oct 16-22, 2024.