Community Engagement Committee

Noah lives and works in Toronto and the traditional territories of the Mississaugas of the Credit, Anishnabeg, Chippewa, Haudenosaunne, and Wendat peoples. He is a researcher, advocate, and student at the University of Toronto’s Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, where he is completing a PhD in Adult Education and Community Development. Noah’s PhD work expands on a recently published book (Trans and Autistic: Stories from Life at the Intersection) and explores the development of transgender/autistic community groups. Noah works with the City of Toronto’s shelter system providing support to homeless seniors and mothers and families. He also volunteers extensively and is currently working with the Transgender Professional Association for Transgender Health.

I was born and raised in the beautiful rural region of Nelson, BC and presently work as a civil engineer (UBC ’15). After a few years of working in industry, I have realized that I would like to help people rather than build things and plan to apply to medical school to pivot in that direction. I am passionate about trans care and want to do what I can to make a difference. My long-term goal is to become a family doctor or urologist with a focus on trans care. In my spare time I can be found skiing, running, hiking, paddle boarding, and generally getting physical outdoors in the paradise of the Kootenays. I also love to read and cook and have a cat named Potato who enjoys all the snuggles he can get.

Gaines Blasdel (he/him) undertakes research on gender affirming surgery informed by his experience as a peer-advocate. Gaines is a co-founder of The Tool Shed, a monthly peer support group for those seeking or recovering from phalloplasty and metoidioplasty procedures in New York City. He previously worked as a Medical Case Manager with adolescents at Callen-Lorde Community Health Center, and continues to volunteer in community leadership roles for gender affirming surgery advocacy and education. His available and forthcoming writing can be found here: https://www.healthytrans.com/publications . Gaines can be followed on Twitter, Reddit, Facebook and Instagram as @trans_Gaines.

Logan Berrian BSHS, RN, CCM is a registered nurse case manager with an academic background in public health and health education. As a clinical director, he has extensive experience devising strategies and plans for  the business according to company standards for excellent service and growth, budgeting and resourcing, planning and overseeing all patient care and administrative operations and programs.

He has served the transgender community via work with the San Franciso Dept of Public Health as a member of the cultural humility & provider training team, and has lectured in various academic settings such as Samuel Merrit University and City College of San Francisco, teaching nurse trainees about working with trans/nonbinary/gender nonconforming patient populations, educators about working with trans /nonbinary/ gender nonconforming student populations, and at Medical and surgical conferences discussing phalloplasty.

He is very excited to help bring this research to the community and the world.