Month: September 2020

Introducing Anesu!

The ITF is thrilled to announce the appointment of Anesu Nyatanga as Program Associate. Anesu studied Social & Cultural Analysis at New York University’s college of arts and science, and he believes in using an intersectional framework to support marginalized individuals in a variety of capacities.

This past year he worked with the New York City’s Mayor’s Office of Operations and Civic Engagement Commission. Here he coordinated interpretation services for limited-English proficient voters during NYC elections. While at NYU, he served as the Vice-Chair for the Student Senators Council and as a Senator-at-Large for Black and Trans students. He was the inaugural Gender & Sexuality Chair of the Governance Council for Marginalized and Minority Students, which serves to unify and provide a channel of access to institutional bodies between all student organizations and committees in the Global Network. Additionally, he was one of the thought leaders for Shades, a student group for LGBTQ people of color.

On his days off, Anesu loves to weight lift, go to the movies, and argue about pop culture icons with his friends.

You can reach Anesu at [email protected].

We are delighted to welcome Anesu to our team!

The ITF Welcomes Viviane!

The ITF is delighted to announce the appointment of Viviane Vergueiro Simakawa as our newest Program Officer. Viviane is a transfeminist activist, researcher and economist based in Brazil. She has 7 years professional experience organizing and participating in initiatives related to SOGIESC issues, specifically within Latin American contexts. She is also a passionate researcher and is currently studying gender identity and expression as a Ph.D. candidate in Women, Gender and Feminist Studies at the Federal University of Bahia (UFBA).

Viviane’s involvement with activism and research on trans issues, particularly trans depathologization and initiatives at the local level in Brazil, has significantly influenced her work which is focused on resourcing and supporting trans people in various spheres and contexts. Viviane was previously a member of the ITF’s Steering Committee. She also holds a Master’s degree in Cultural Studies and a BA in Economics.

Viviane will join our current Program Officer, Mukasa, to directly support our grantee partners and work with broader trans movements on capacity-building initiatives. Viviane is fluent in English, Spanish and Portuguese.

We are thrilled to welcome Viviane to our team! She can be reached at [email protected]