{"id":64823,"date":"2025-11-20T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-11-20T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/?p=64823"},"modified":"2025-11-20T11:15:57","modified_gmt":"2025-11-20T16:15:57","slug":"meet-7-great-trans-women-founders","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/meet-7-great-trans-women-founders\/","title":{"rendered":"Honoring 7 Successful Trans Women Founders"},"content":{"rendered":"
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We’re reflecting upon outstanding trans women entrepreneurs as we also mark this year’s Transgender Day of Remembrance. (Credit: Vermont Public<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

We\u2019re living through a critical moment in the fight to preserve rights for transgender people<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Throughout the United States, trans individuals<\/a> and allies have been rallying against what the Human Rights Campaign calls an \u201cunprecedented onslaught<\/a>\u201d of bigoted legislative proposals. In 2025 alone, over 1,000 anti-transgender bills<\/a> have been introduced throughout the U.S., with federal-level politicians like Rep. Nancy Mace<\/a> of South Carolina leading the charge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hateful rhetoric against trans individuals is also ever-present. High-profile people such as once-beloved author J.K. Rowling<\/a> and swimmer turned pundit Riley Gaines<\/a> regularly post on social media in disparaging, harmful ways about transgender individuals. (Rowling also donates heavily to anti-trans causes.) Comedian Dave Chappelle continues to mock<\/a> trans people for cheap laughs.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Related<\/h4>\n <\/div>\n \n
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\n \n 4 Ways to Actually Support LGBTQ Workers\n <\/a>\n <\/h3>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n\n

Indeed, now is an especially harrowing time. But then, it\u2019s never been easy for trans people to navigate life in America \u2013 or to make a living. A 2021 McKinsey report<\/a> states that trans workers are twice as likely to be unemployed as their cisgender counterparts, and stand to make roughly 32% less in salary. Over half of the trans people surveyed expressed discomfort with being out at work, and two-thirds of trans respondents admit to concealing their identities in professional contexts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s not just about their livelihoods, though \u2013 it\u2019s about their very lives, as trans people are also far more likely than cisgender folks to die by homicide or suicide<\/a>. And this is what Transgender Day of Remembrance<\/a> is about: Remembering those who have lost their lives to this particular form of hatred. In 2025, 58 transgender people<\/a> were killed out of transphobia \u2013 that we know of.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s why we\u2019re taking some time today to honor seven trans women who are still with us, who have built intriguing businesses and nonprofits in a variety of industries \u2013 founders who, despite the world they live in, are creating, building and thriving.<\/p>\n\n\n

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1<\/div>\n \n

Angelica Ross. (Credit: Miss Ross Inc., Wikimedia Commons)<\/p>\n <\/div>\n

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Angelica Ross<\/h2>\n

TransTech Social<\/span><\/a> is a co-working space and incubator specially designed to create professional pathways for transgender and nonbinary individuals. Its founder, Ross, is perhaps better known for her empowering performance on the hit FX television series \u201cPose.\u201d But through TransTech Social, she\u2019s lifting up trans workers and founders by connecting them with technology and opportunities to build their networks, refine their resumes and more.<\/span><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n

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2<\/div>\n \n

Mara Keisling. (Credit: National Center for Transgender Equality, Wikimedia Commons)<\/p>\n <\/div>\n

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Mara Keisling<\/h2>\n

The <\/span>National Center for Transgender Equality<\/span><\/a> is a policy and media advocacy organization that has been championing transgender people\u2019s rights since 2003. Keisling, its founder, spearheaded the organization for nearly two decades, garnering awards from organizations like PFLAG, Out for Work and the Transgender Law Center for her work along the way. She first became an activist after coming out as trans in her 40s.<\/span><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n

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3<\/div>\n \n

Martine Rothblatt. (Bit7ocker, Wikimedia Commons)<\/p>\n <\/div>\n

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Martine Rothblatt<\/h2>\n

An accomplished woman with a lengthy resume \u2013 in addition to being an entrepreneur, she\u2019s also a lawyer \u2013 Rothblatt is the co-founder of Sirius Satellite Radio, as well as the founder and current CEO of biotech company <\/span>United Therapeutics<\/span><\/a>. She left the former and launched the latter after her daughter was diagnosed with pulmonary arterial hypertension; today, it\u2019s a publicly traded company worth $2.33 billion, as of 2023.<\/span><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n

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4<\/div>\n \n

Elle Moxley. (Credit: teleSUR English, Wikimedia Commons)<\/p>\n <\/div>\n

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Elle Moxley<\/h2>\n

Moxley is both a co-founder of the <\/span>Black Lives Matter Global Network<\/span><\/a>, as well as the founder of <\/span>The Marsha P. Johnson Institute<\/span><\/a>, an organization that uplifts Black trans people through a mix of advocacy and community-building. Moxley has also been outspoken about failures to properly include trans women in various social justice movements \u2013 for example, speaking out against the so-called \u201cpussyhats\u201d that were made popular by the 2017 Women\u2019s March. The raison d\u2019etre around her work is as simple as it is critical \u2013\u00a0 \u201cI wanted Black trans people to have a home\u201d wherever they go, she <\/span>told Forbes<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n

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5<\/div>\n \n

Carmen Liu. (Carmen Liu Facebook page)<\/p>\n <\/div>\n

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Carmen Liu<\/h2>\n

Underwear: It\u2019s a basic necessity. And through her <\/span>self-named fashion line<\/span><\/a>, Liu is making sure that everybody can access options that are comfortable (and cute). The UK-based business has been selling its wares since 2019 \u2013 a bid to ensure that underwear shopping for trans individuals is not a \u201cdreaded experience.\u201d Liu also sells <\/span>underwear<\/span><\/a> for trans girls and nonbinary children, to supply them with \u201cthe stepping stones to finding themselves, in a supportive, validating experience,” per the company’s website.<\/span><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n

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6<\/div>\n \n

Vivienne Ming. (Credit: Vivenne Ming)<\/p>\n <\/div>\n

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Dr. Vivienne Ming<\/h2>\n

A serial entrepreneur, Ming is the mind behind ventures such as <\/span>Socos Labs<\/span><\/a>, a think tank exploring solutions to myriad health problems, and <\/span>Dionysus Digital Health<\/span><\/a>, a stress-focused tech startup. Throughout her career, Ming has always encouraged others to follow their dreams and ideas, the way she has. As she <\/span>said to Forbes<\/span><\/a> in 2022, \u201cI always say: Don’t let anyone define you. You define yourself.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n

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7<\/div>\n \n

Michaela Mendelsohn. (Credit: TransCanWork)<\/p>\n <\/div>\n

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Michaela Mendelsohn<\/h2>\n

As the CEO of several Pollo West fast-food locations, Mendelsohn saw the importance of being an inclusive, supportive job provider. That\u2019s why she also founded <\/span>TransCanWork<\/span><\/a>, a California-based operation working to improve representation of \u2013 and comfort for \u2013 trans workers throughout the U.S. by providing support for employers and employees alike.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n\n\n

(This article, originally published March 14, 2023, has been updated for 2025.)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n

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Related<\/h4>\n <\/div>\n \n
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<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This Transgender Day of Remembrance, we’re reflecting on those we’ve lost – and celebrating these thriving trans women entrepreneurs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":62,"featured_media":81117,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"autoblue_enabled":false,"autoblue_custom_message":"","autoblue_shares":[],"autoblue_post_url":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[187],"tags":[19683,19478,20186,21183],"class_list":["post-64823","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-features","tag-entrepreneurship","tag-lgbtq","tag-social-justice","tag-transgender-rights"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nLearn About 7 Great Trans Women Founders<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"This Transgender Day of Remembrance, we're reflecting on those we've lost - and celebrating these thriving trans women entrepreneurs.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/meet-7-great-trans-women-founders\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Honoring 7 Successful Trans Women Founders\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"This Transgender Day of Remembrance, we're reflecting on those we've lost - 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