Features

For those who are unfamiliar, can you tell us a bit about yourself and the work that you do?

My name is Nina (they/she) and I’m a New York City based strategist, and my work focuses largely on the queer, trans, and nonbinary community. I am the Director of Community Partnerships at LGBTQ+ telehealth startup FOLX Health and lead the FOLX HRT Care Fund in partnership with the National Black Trans Advocacy Coalition; advisory council member for Third Wave Fund that works to resource youth-led, intersectional, gender justice movements to advance the community power, well-being, and self-determination of young Black people, Indigenous people, and People of Color (BIPOC); and I’m the creator of Instagram resource, @themshealth. Outside of work, I’m a regular at Brooklyn’s queer boxing gym OutBox, a big reader, and a pug parent with my partner to Frankie and Dorothy.

What expertise are you bringing as a judge for The Anthem Awards?

Professionally, prior to FOLX I was at a handful of small and large agencies as a strategist which has given me an eye for approach, effectiveness, and brand role. Personally, I bring myself as a nonbinary, multiracial, NYC-based millennial and all the lived experience that comes along with that into how I look at impact-driven work.

What are you looking for in Anthem Awards entries?

For any work that is self-described as purpose- or mission-driven, my first point of reference is looking to understand the role of the company or organization behind it to try to get a sense of what’s genuine. Is this work representative of what a company or organization really believes and is committed to? Is there tangible impact on an issue or population focused on in the work? Does the purpose- or mission-driven nature of the work extend to the team around it? Those are all things I try to look for!

What does it take for a project or campaign to cause real-world change?

This is the strategist in me talking for sure, but I think “real-world change” is different depending on the audiences and tasks at hand. Sometimes it’s a campaign hyper-focused on fundraising, sometimes it’s an entirely new product, sometimes it’s connecting on a human level to make an issue matter to someone who didn’t know about it. But I think the connecting piece at the end of it for any work being done is a true, genuine understanding of who or what is being impacted, and how a project or campaign can do right by that.

What social impact campaign, grassroot effort, fundraiser or project has recently inspired you?

Right now I’m really inspired by The U.S. Trans Survey (USTS) which is gearing up for its 2022 survey. The U.S. Trans Survey is the largest survey of trans people, by trans people, in the United States, and documents the lives and experiences of trans and nonbinary people ages 16+ in the U.S. and U.S. territories. In 2015, nearly 28,000 people took the USTS, and the results have helped the public understand the lives and experiences of transgender people in the United States and the disparities that many transgender people face, thus acting as a critical tool for researchers, policymakers, and advocates. They’ve been partnering with different organizations and individuals to get word out about the upcoming survey through a pledge campaign asking people to share their experiences. I’m excited to see what has changed over the last several years from the 2015 survey and how the USTS can provide this valuable information that allows us to better understand the needs of transgender people and to find ways to improve their lives.

LEARN MORE ABOUT FOLX HEALTH

• Folx Health was an inaugural Anthem Awards winner for their work on the Trans Lifeline x FOLX HRT Care Fund.
• Hear more about their work from the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Panel at the Anthem Voices conference.
• Watch their Call To Action Acceptance speech here.

Don’t miss your chance to get your work in front of Nina- enter the 2nd Annual Anthem Awards by our Extended Entry Deadline October 21 here.