When it seemed like the walls were closing in on transgender and gender expansive Floridians as the state legislature met in 2023, Andy Citino, Tristan Byrnes and Andre Clarke got to work.
Rather than allowing the fear to silence them, they stepped into their power as leaders within our community and founded TransNetwork. They took up space, they harnessed their voices and they united people highlighting the truths within our beautiful community to challenge the fallacies being spread about us. If that isn’t remarkable, I don’t know what is.
TransNetwork quickly became a staple of support, stability and service within the local LGBTQ+ community. Andy, Tristan and Andre united local leaders and LGBTQ+ people to offer educational sessions about the real-life impacts of the new laws and provided a much needed resource for so many who didn’t know where to turn.
They also knew how much we all needed one another and continued to provide spaces for people to connect and be affirmed as we navigated this new landscape. This impact and the work of TransNetwork has grown substantially throughout 2024 in ways so many of us could never have imagined.
As a local non-binary trans masculine person, I have been truly empowered by the staunch commitment TransNetwork has shown to comprehensively supporting and advocating for the needs of trans and gender expansive (TGX) people in the Tampa Bay area. Their conversation series has allowed TGX people and allies to unite in powerful dialogue with opportunities to learn through story and lived experience.
Their social and philanthropic events have brought people together for a common purpose of moving this work forward. Their support spaces have allowed people to share openly during a time when so many are seeking to feel understood. Their participation in local educational events has solidified their voices as trusted local experts who lead with empathic understanding and equitable expectations. And their presence in things like the annual TransMarch, kicking off the St Pete Pride Parade, gives visibility to show that TGX people are here, are loved, are powerful and are worthy of living full lives where they thrive in their truest authenticity.
It is clear why each member of the TransNetwork board is a remarkable person. They saw a need and not only did they meet it, they filled a void with smiles and support, action and advocacy, and ongoing opportunities for the transgender and gender expansive members of the Tampa Bay community to exist openly with pride and powerful possibility.
There is something palpable about the energy at TransNetwork events. When you get to experience the bravery and pride that accents the authenticity in the spaces TransNetwork has created, you will be forever changed by the empowerment these remarkable people have organically created.
Thank you for doing this work. We are all better off because of you.
View the full list of Watermark’s Remarkable People of 2024 here.
