Our History

Ms. Earline Budd is a native Washingtonian who has worked in local LGBTQ advocacy for over 35 years. 

She played an essential role in challenging systemic abuses against transgender sex workers by police and in prisons, and has helped countless people through illness, homelessness, family rejection, poverty, and violence. As Earline herself has noted, she has lost over 400 members of DC’s LGBTQ community close to her and her work.

She began her notable career in 1987, when she was kicked out of the Kalorama Road Skating Rink under the business’s ban on “crossdressing.” She successfully filed a complaint to the DC Office of Human Rights, claiming the skating rink clearly discriminated against her as a transgender person. OHR agreed, distributing the maximum penalty.

She went on to support local organizations during the height of the AIDS crisis, fought crossdressing bans across the District, and provided life-saving direct services and harm reduction work.

She has been at the forefront of the response to violence, putting pressure on the Police Department and the Mayor’s Office to respond with due diligence.

In 2012, Earline was appointed by Mayor Vincent Gray to the DC Commission on Human Rights and became the first transgender person to be confirmed to an appointment by District Council. She served on the commission until 2016.

Earline's public service also includes:

• Mayor's Advisory Committee on HIV/AIDS, appointed in 2003 by Mayor Anthony Williams
• Advisory Committee to the Office of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Affairs, appointed by Mayor Williams in 2006
• Mayor's Advisory Committee on HIV/AIDS, appointed in 2013 by Mayor Gray 
• Metropolitan Washington Regional Ryan White Planning Council, appointed in 2014 by Mayor Gray

Today, she continues to serve as a leader for the our community as a Non-Medical Case Manager at HIPS, a direct services organization now located in Northeast DC.

Ms. Toni Collins is a native Washingtonian and a co-founder Transgender Health Empowerment (THE), the city’s first transgender healthcare service agency, with Earline Budd, Dee Curry, Jean Robinson-Bey, and Rhonda Stewart.

THE was a much-need project that received significant community support, including the help of Us Helping Us, the Community Planning Group, the Ryan White Planning Council, and the first out gay District Councilmember, David Catania.

Their projects included documenting the needs of the “invisible population”, building a response to those needs, providing sensitivity and diversity training, and organizing the annual Transgender Day of Remembrance program.

In 2001, Toni was appointed by Mayor Anthony Williams to the DC Emergency Medical Services Advisory Committee, becoming the first out trans person appointed to a District board of commission.

Toni's public service includes:

• Metropolitan Washington Regional Human Immunodeficiency Virus Health Services Planning Council, appointed in 2003 by Mayor Williams
• Advisory Committee to the Office of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Affairs, appointed by Mayor Williams in 2006 and where she served as Vice Chair
• Metropolitan Washington Regional Health Services Planning Council, appointed in 2006 by Mayor Williams

In 2020, Toni was featured in the National Black Justice Coalition's The Power of Us, a visual public awareness campaign showcasing the diversity of Black Americans by featuring LGBT individuals along with their families and allies.

Jeri Hughes, a beloved spouse, mother, veteran, business leader, and tireless advocate for justice, is originally from Cleveland, Ohio, and moved to the District of Columbia in 2005. She passed away on March 18, 2025, at 73 years old.

She was a fearless and deeply compassionate advocate for the LGBTQ+ community—particularly the transgender community—fighting for visibility, dignity, and equal rights.

In 2009, Jeri joined the DC Department of Employment Services as a Workforce Development Specialist. Through her work, she helped hundreds find meaningful employment, offering professional support but also mentorship, kindness, and unwavering belief in their potential.

Jeri played an important role in ensuring that DC government continuously worked to protect trans people. She pressed for the hiring of more trans people to District government jobs, pushed the Department of Corrections officials continue to follow a 2009 policy of allowing transgender inmates to choose whether to be placed in the men’s or the women’s housing units at the DC jail, and testified frequent to District Council.

She served the United States Navy from 1969 to 1973, earning numerous commendations, including the National Defense Service Medal, Vietnam Service Medal with Bronze Star, and the Navy Expeditionary Medal.

Jeri is survived by her spouse, children, grandchildren, extended family, and her dedicated trans Family, including Earline Budd, Tania Duran, and Denise Leclair.

Jeri’s public service includes:

• DOC Transgender Housing Committee
• DOC Transgender Advisory Committee

Ms. Monika Nemeth is originally from New Jersey, moving to the District of Columbia in 1983 as a student.

She has a long history of engaging in political advocacy, serving multiple terms as chair of the Gertrude Stein Club, now known as Capital Stonewall Democrats, and as an executive producer for Capital Pride and Capital Trans Pride.

In 2018, Monika was elected to serve as the Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner for district 3F06, becoming the first out trans person elected in the District of Columbia. She served in this role until 2023.

Monika's public service includes:

• Advisory Committee to the Office of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Affairs, appointed by Mayor Muriel Bowser in 2018

While serving as an ANC Commissioner, Monika was a founding member of the ANC Rainbow Caucus. She also ran to represent Ward 3 on District Council in 2022, hoping to become the first out LGBTQ woman elected to the Council and the first out transgender person elected to Council.

Ms. SaVanna Wanzer has been a Subject Matter Expert, Trans advocate, HIV educator, and transgender specialist for more than 30 years.

As the founder of TransPride in 2007, she later started May Is:  All About Trans in 2018, a series of events celebrating, featuring, and loving transgender people. Designed to educate and build bridges across all communities, she has grown her vision to include organizations and individuals from across the country. 

Throughout her many years of service, she became the first transgender woman to serve on the Board of Directors at Whitman-Walker Health and at Capital Pride Alliance. She has also been recognized with numerous award, such as the 2020 National Trans Visibility March Torch Award, the 2017 DC’s Black Pride Unsung Hero Award, the 2015 Whitman-Walker Legal’s Robert Fenner Urquhart Memorial Award, and the 2008 Capital Pride’s Hero Award.

SaVanna's public service includes:

• Advisory Committee to the Office of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Affairs, appointed in 2012 by Mayor Vincent Gray

Retired from the federal government, she remains very active in her community and at Westminster Presbyterian Church in DC.