TransKansas Conference
September 6-8, 2013
Lawrence, Kansas

TransKansas will be the first ever transgender conference in Kansas. The conference will be September 6-8, 2013. On Friday, 9/6, registration will begin at 3:00 pm at the Bert Nash Community Mental Health Center - 200 Maine - Lawrence, Kansas. There will be a Friday night welcome meeting. (time - tbd).

There will be three or four tracks running simultaneously on Saturday, with two morning sessions and two afternoon session on each track.

Lunch on Saturday will be on your own.

At 6:00 pm, we will have the Keynote/Banquet featuring Nathan Phelps as our keynote speaker. This will be in the Regency Ball Room at the Holiday Inn - 200 McDonald Drive - Lawrence.

On Sunday, we will have a wrap up meeting, back at Bert Nash.

Banquet/Keynote Speaker Only - $25 (Student $20*)
Conference Only - $25 (Student $20*)
Banquet/Keynote Speaker and Conference - $45 (Student $35*)
* must have valid student id

More information will be added as we confirm presentations and set the schedule.

http://www.transkansas.com

In Memory of Paula Elizabeth Keiser (1943 - 2013)

Paula Elizabeth Keiser, 69, Topeka, passed away May 13, 2013, after a brief illness. She was born July 19, 1943 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, the eldest child of William M. Keiser, Sr. and Mary (Magee) Keiser. She graduated from Edison (NJ) High School in 1961. Paula served in the U.S. Air Force from 1961–1965.
She married Nancy Orton in 1968. They later divorced. Nancy died in 2010. Paula met her current life partner, Mary Haller, in 1996.

Paula worked for broadcast stations in Michigan and New Jersey. She spent 25 years at NJ Public TV in engineering and web design, retiring in January, 2007. In May, 2007, she and Mary moved to Topeka, where Paula designed and maintained websites for various nonprofit organizations.

Paula was transgender and transitioned in 1987. She became active in organizations dealing with issues affecting transgender persons, including TYFA (Trans Youth Family Allies), and was President of K-STEP (Kansas Statewide Transgender Education Project). She did K-STEP presentations to educate college students and other Kansans about transgender issues.

Paula enjoyed amateur radio, barbershop music, and old-time radio. Her sense of humor was contagious, and she could give a song or one-liner when people least expected it.

Paula was a member of Lowman United Methodist Church, serving on the Board of Trustees and the Publicity/Technology Team. She maintained Lowman’s website and designed power points for Sunday and Wednesday services. She will be greatly missed by her Lowman family.

Paula is survived by her devoted partner, Mary, their cockers Gidget and Quincy and cat Culprit; son Paul and fiancée Danielle (MI); daughter, Valerie (CA); sister, Jeanne Edmondson (TN); grandchildren Liam and Courtney; and numerous other relatives and friends. She was preceded in death by a sister, Marianne Thompson.

Paula was cremated. A memorial service was held at 11:00 am Saturday, May 18, at Lowman UMC, 4000 Drury Lane, Topeka, KS. Inurnment will occur later. Memorial contributions may be made to Lowman United Methodist Church or to TYFA (www.imatyfa.org).

April 12, 2013 - Topeka Capital-Journal – Topeka resident receives Pioneer Woman Award: Stephanie Mott recognized for work to eliminate LGBT discrimination
Stephanie Mott, executive director and founder of the Kansas Statewide Transgender Education Project and state chair for Kansas Equality Coalition, received this year's Pioneer Woman Award from the Emily Taylor Center for Women and Gender Equity at its annual Women's Recognition Banquet. The award recognizes Kansas women who have made historic contributions of local and statewide significance. More.... 

April 11, 2013 - Press Release – Kansas Statewide Transgender Education Project
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: :  Stephanie Mott, executive director of the Kansas Statewide Transgender Education Project received the 2013 Pioneer Woman Award on Tuesday evening in an awards banquet in the Kansas University Union Ballroom.
Mott was honored April 9th by the Emily Taylor Center for Women & Gender Equity annual Women’s Recognition Banquet. The Pioneer Woman winners are exemplary Kansas women who have made historic contributions of local or statewide significance. Mott was recognized for her advocacy and activism throughout Kansas in support of equal rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Kansans. More.... 

January 18, 2013 - Victory For Transgender Privacy: TSA Abandons ‘Nude’ Body Scanners:  In what is an important victory for the transgender community, the U.S. Transportation Security Administration has announced it will remove all body scanners that show nearly nude images from airports. More.... 

September 8, 2012 - Where We'll Be:  K-STEP has several presentations scheduled for the near future.  Many are open to the public.  To see a list, please click here. 

July 21, 2012 - New to our "Resources" list: the official procedure for changing the gender marker on your Kansas driver's license.

May 18, 2012 - Emporia, KS: The Emporia Gazette - Using the Bible to discriminate: Ample behavioral research shows that homosexuality [and, by inference, transgenderism ...Ed] is an inherent trait. Some Christians ignore scientific evidence, citing Leviticus in the Old Testament and the writings of Paul (e.g., Romans 1:26-27, 1 Corinthians 6:9-11) in the New Testament that homosexuality is a sin.
Two points should be noted here: (1) a reader must put Bible passages in the context of their time and culture, and (2) a Christian must place this issue within the framework of Jesus’ teachings.  [more...] 

May 14, 2012 - Salina, KS - By a 3 - 2 vote, The Salina City Commission elected to change the anti-discrimination ordinance to include sexual orientation and gender identity. The ordinance will prohibit discrimination against gay, lesbian, or transgender residents in the areas of employment, housing and public accommodations. 
[more... from KSAL; from The Hutchinson News]

April 9, 2012 (PR) - K-STEP Director to Present on Gender Affirmation Surgery: Kansas Statewide Transgender Education Project (K-STEP) executive director, Stephanie Mott, will be holding a two-part workshop on her upcoming Gender Affirmation Surgery. Part one of the workshop is scheduled for Sunday, May 6th at the Topeka/Shawnee County Public Library, Marvin Auditorium B from 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm.   [view entire press release]  

March 8, 2012 (Salina.com) - Ordinance change can't go to vote -- without petition: Salina city commissioners learned Monday that, despite a request from opponents, it's not within their power to call for a public vote on a proposal to add sexual orientation and gender identity to the city's anti-discrimination ordinance. "It is not something allowed by state law"   [more...]  

February 27, 2012 (Salina.com) - Mott tells of being a man, then a woman.  At a public information meeting held yesterday at the Salina Public Library Stephanie Mott spoke to members of the public about her experience as a transgendered woman in Kansas.  A proposal to add sexual orientation and gender identity to protected classes under the city’s equal opportunity and affirmative action ordinance is under consideration by the Salina City Commission.
"These are not special rights, these are equal rights," Mott said before the meeting. "People say this is about special rights, but it is not because everybody else already has them. Giving something that everybody else has is not a special right, it is an equal right."    [more...]

January 6, 2012 (Salina.com) - The [Salina] City commission could take up rights ordinance within next few months.  A proposal to add sexual orientation and gender identity to protected classes under the city’s equal opportunity and affirmative action ordinance could come before the Salina City Commission as soon as 90 days.
The proposal was brought before the city commission Monday by Janice Norlin, a Salina attorney, during the meeting’s citizen forum. The change would make it illegal to discriminate against people because they are homosexual, transgendered or bisexual.   [more...]
Watch a related video from the Kansas State Network (KSN).

January 2, 2012 - 13 Myths and Misconceptions About Trans Women: Blogger Natalie Reed presents a two-part series in which she enumerates the common "myths and misconceptions" about transgender women, and then explains the truth in terms any non-transgender can understand. This is an excellently written article. Please take a few minutes to read PART 1 and PART 2. Then, if you have any further questions, please contact us.

November 17, 2011 - Topeka [KS] Capital-Journal - USD 501 [School] Board adds sexual orientation, gender identity to anti-discrimination policy: Topeka Unified School District 501 board of education members Thursday night voted 6-1 to include sexual orientation and gender expression in the district’s anti-discrimination policies regarding students and staff.  [more...]

October 8, 2011 - Press Release: K-STEP Elects New Board Members: Kansas Statewide Transgender Education Project announced the election of new board members and officers. The election took place at the K-STEP annual meeting on October 1st, 2011 in Salina.  [more...]

September 29, 2011 - ESU Bulletin - Emporia library hosts transgender education "Transgender education was the topic of discussion last Saturday at the Emporia Public Library. Students and local residents gathered to hear Stephanie Mott speak on the stereotypes and struggles associated with being transgendered ."  [more...]

September 27, 2011 - The University Daily Kansan - Lawrence adds gender identity protection: "Lawrence became the first city in Kansas to amend, in full, its human relations code to include protection against discrimination for gender identity after the city commission voted 4-1 to pass the measure."  
"Citizens will now have protection against discrimination based on their gender or on how other people perceive their gender."  [more...]

September 13, 2011 - The Morning Sun - PATRICK'S PEOPLE: Stephanie Mott uses education to fight inequality: PITTSBURG [KS] — Stephanie Mott, Topeka, probably won’t tune in to “Dancing With the Stars” to watch Chaz Bono compete, but that’s not because she’s disgusted or horrified by Bono, the former daughter of Cher and Sonny Bono, who now identifies himself as a transsexual man.
Instead, Mott said, she is simply too busy with her day job, her duties as executive director of the Kansas Statewide Transgender Education Project, her work as state vice chair for the Kansas Equality Coalition, her studies toward a bachelor of science in social work at Washburn University, her volunteer work with the Topeka/Shawnee County Homeless Taskforce and her involvement with her church.  [more...]

September 12, 2011 (PR) - Transgender Training at Hays Library -Kansas Statewide Transgender Education Project (K-STEP) will be hosting a transgender education forum from 9:30-11:30 am on September 17th at the Hays Public Library, 1205 Main St in Hays. The event is free and open to the public  [Read Press Release]

September 6, 2011 - Lawrence Journal-World - City Commission to formally hear debate on gender identity ordinance. After taking a back seat at City Hall for more than a year, commissioners are set to debate the issue of making it illegal to discriminate against people based on their gender identity.  [more...]

August 26, 2011 - K-STEP Recognizes One-Year Anniversary - Kansas Statewide Transgender Education Project (K-STEP) incorporated as an all volunteer, non-profit organization on August 26, 2010. Its mission is to end discrimination against transgender individuals and their families through education. K-STEP Executive Director, Stephanie Mott shared, “In our first year, we have been able to reach so many people, helping them to have a better understanding of what it’s like to be transgender, and the issues we often face.”   [Read Press Release]

August 14, 2011 - Transgender Training at Johnson County Library in Lawrence on Tuesday, September 6, 2011.  Kansas Statewide Transgender Education Project (K-STEP) will be hosting a transgender education forum from 2-4 pm on Sunday, August 21st at Johnson County Central Resource Library, 9875 W 87th Street in Overland Park. The event is free and open to the public.  [details...]

August 8, 2011 - K-STEP Executive Director Stephanie Mott will participate in a Bias Incident / Hate Crime Forum Community Meeting. The forum, Sponsored by the Lawrence Chapter of the Kansas Equality Coalition, will take place in Lawrence on Tuesday, September 6, 2011.  The forum's goal is to strengthen and/or develop a local hate crime response network and to bring clarity on what local and federal resources can be accessed. The forum is open to the public.  [view details]

August 1, 2011 (cjonline.com) - K-STEP begins transgender education series
The Kansas Statewide Transgender Education Project will begin its Kansas Library Transgender Education Series Aug. 21 at the Johnson County Central Resources Library, 9875 W. 87th St. in Overland Park, according to Stephanie Mott, K-STEP executive director.  Other trainings are scheduled for Sept. 11 in Pittsburg, Sept. 17 in Hays and Sept. 24 in Emporia. Each training session will be from 2 to 4 p.m. at the local library. [more...] [view Press Release]

July 29, 2011 - "I was fired from my job today for being transgender."
It happened in Florida, but it can happen here in Kansas.  Kansas has no protection for people suffering the effects of unreasonable discrimination simply because of who they are.  If you find this outrageous treatment of the transgender population to be unfair and unAmerican, please consider having K-STEP address your group.  [more...]

June 28, 2011: Stephanie Mott, Executive Director of the Kansas Statewide Transgender Education Project (K-STEP), joins Community Bridge host Christopher Renner for a discussion of transgenderism and to show support for transgender Kansans and their families. Mott kicks off a state-wide tour on Friday morning at 7:30 am at the Bluestem Bistro to raise awareness of K-STEP and transgenderism in the state.

June 28, 2011: K-STEP Executive Director Stephanie Mott was honored as one of the nominees at the 2011 Volunteer Awards Luncheon at the Ramada Hotel and Convention Center today.  The luncheon is organized by United Way of Greater Topeka. 

Mott's nomination was sponsored by the Metropolitan Community Church of Topeka.   "Her work for transgender education has been impactful.  She and 15 volunteers founded K-STEP and organized more than 50 transgender educational workshops.  Stephanie has volunteered as a columnist for Liberty Press.  She also volunteers with the Shawnee County Department of Corrections, Safe Streets Coalition, and the YWCA [Center] for Safety and Empowerment.  Stephanie now serves as Kansas Equality Coalition's State Vice-Chair."