Official Statement in Support of Giselle Byrd

The Boston Women's Fund and the Equality Fund at the Boston Foundation stand with Giselle Byrd.

We write to you in solidarity and anger.



Giselle Byrd, Executive Director of The Theater Offensive and the first Black trans woman appointed to the Massachusetts Commission on the Status of Women and Girls, is facing a wave of hateful, targeted attacks. These are not critiques of policy or leadership—these are attempts to erase her humanity, discredit her identity, and cast doubt on her right to lead.

These attacks aren’t happening in isolation. They are part of a coordinated and growing effort to push LGBTQ+ people—especially trans women—out of public leadership, off commissions, out of the media, and back into invisibility. And we are not having it.

Giselle is a leader grounded in community, creativity, compassion, and courage. Her presence on the Commission is not just appropriate—it’s essential. Her leadership at The Theater Offensive builds safety, belonging, and joy for queer and trans people of color in Boston and beyond. She brings a deep understanding of what justice looks like when it’s lived out loud—and that is exactly why she’s being targeted.

We will not stay silent while this happens.

We will not let bigotry go unanswered.

We will not allow fear to decide who gets to lead.

Here’s how we show up — right now:

Sign On.

This letter is our public stand with Giselle Byrd. We encourage you to join us and lend your name in supporting Giselle. Use this quick form to sign.

Support Now.

Uplift the organization Giselle leads—The Theater Offensive—and support other local organizations working to protect, strengthen, and advance trans lives in Massachusetts.

Less than 0.05%—five cents of every $100 in U.S. charitable giving—goes to trans-serving organizations in our country. We must do better.

We urge philanthropic institutions and individual donors to correct that imbalance. Support organizations led by and for trans people in Massachusetts and beyond.

In addition to TTO, you can take action by supporting local organizations like Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition (MTPC), BAGLY, and the Transgender Emergency Fund of Massachusetts, to name a few, each doing critical, on-the-ground work to support trans lives across the Commonwealth.

Engage Relentlessly.

Talk to your networks about what’s happening—and about Giselle. Name the harm. Name the leadership. Name the stakes.

Learn what structural equity for trans people in Massachusetts actually requires—from policies and healthcare to housing, safety, and cultural power. Don’t stop at affirmation. 

If you’re not sure where to start, we’re here to help. Reach out to Natanja or Scott directly—like so many of you, we are committed to moving resources, not just making statements.

This is a time to move.



If they come for one of us, they come for all of us. And we ask you to join us in meeting this moment with collective power, protection, and pride.

In Solidarity,

Natanja Craig Oquendo, CEO, The Boston Women’s Fund 

M. Scott Knox, Executive Director, The Equality Fund at the Boston Foundation

Signers:

Christine Monska, Women's Fund SouthCoast

Samantha Rivera, Art Girl Walk Club

Debra J Robbin

Katie Wheeler

Sumaya Mohamed Ibrahim, Boston Women’s Fund

Kiarah Hortance, Boston Women’s Fund

Alexandra Auguste, Boston Women’s Fund

Aisha Woodruff, Boston Women’s Fund

Fatima Harvey, Boston Women’s Fund

Aditi Dholakia, Boston Women’s Fund

Sofia Innamorato, Boston Women’s Fund

Nahir Torres, Perch and Purpose Consulting

Leigh Handschuh

Lauren Doty Brown

Alex McCray, Exponent Philanthropy

Jazzy Bloomfield, The Beautiful Bostonian

Athena Bonner

Hema Sarang-Sieminski, Jane Doe Inc.

Kathy Lebrón Rodriguez, Comadres Liberadas

Judith Obermayer

Nicole Shults

Savannah Benskin

Emily Anesta

Zackery Sequeira

Dr. Sandy Range, Grandmothers' Village Project, Inc.

Andrea Clardy

rayven heath, DJ RAYVINO

Shaina Fils-Aime

Glenn P. Parker, Parker Family Foundation

​​Kate Weldon LeBlanc, AllPaths Family Building

Zac Rich, Greenlight Fund Boston

Amarely Gutiérrez Oliver, REACH Beyond Domestic Violence

Rachel Jellinek, Reflection Films & Boston Women’s Fund Board

Cristal Delgado

Karen Ansara, Ansara Family Fund at the Boston Foundation

Jo Goldman

Ava Buchanan, The Boston Foundation

Zaida Ismatul Oliva, Chica Project

D.J. Baker, The Queer Neighborhood Council

Jordan Numme, The Boston Foundation

Juliana Brandao, The Boston Foundation

Helen De La Cruz

Juliana Field

Heather Ford

Priscilla B. Bellairs

Jennifer Sax, Good Shepherd Community Care

Emie Michaud

Laurie A. Friedman

Jessica Lee

Jane Lyons

Elizabeth Shearer, Boys & Girls Clubs of Boston

Jackie Jenkins-Scott, JJS Advising

audrina warren

Kristine Acevedo

Ted McEnroe, The Boston Foundation

Ellen Wang

Tatiana Johnson-Boria, Johnson-Boria Creative, LLC

Ricky DeSisto, BAGLY

Faith Parker

Jean Mineo, Bellforge Arts Center

Emaad Madani, The Boston Foundation

John Tyler, The Philanthropic Initiative

Keith MacDonald, Consulting for Good

James Giessler, North Shore Alliance of LGBTQ+ Youth (NAGLY)

Philippe Saad, LGBTQ Senior Housing

Sean Garren DeKrey

Keith A. Mahoney, The Boston Foundation

Grace Sterling Stowell, BAGLY (Boston Alliance of LGBTQ+ Youth)

Miriam Ortiz, Eastern Bank Foundation

Laura Katz

Sue Dorfman

Leigh Tucker, Nonprofit Executives

Kaitlyn Bean

DEREK WANZO, Outnow

Rich Baker

Laura Reyes

Samuel Hausman

Corey Yarbrough, 826 Boston

Mimi Huckins

Gary Bailey, DHL,MSW, ACSW, LGBTQ Youth Commission

Eliza Klureza

Kacie King, DotOut

Scott E. Squillace, Esq, Squillace & Associates, P.C.

Jack Imbergamo, The Queer Neighborhood Council

Dr. Kathy Kaufmann, OUT MetroWest

Tate Duffy, Greater Boston PFLAG

Lucy Costa

John F. Moran, MA House of Representatives

Peter DiMuro, The Dance Complex & Peter DiMuro/Public Displays of Motion

Janet Lawn

Joyce Kauffman, Boston Women’s Fund Board

Deb Zucker, PFLAG Greater Boston

Thomas Bentley, The Boston Foundation

Allison Morse, Good Shepherd Community Care

Jada Copeland-Hayes, Boston Opportunity Agenda

Stella Davis, The Boston Foundation

Luba Falk Feigenberg

Morgan Powell

Allison Fontaine

Diane M. Felicio, Ph.D.. Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art

Timothy Patrick McCarthy, Harvard University

Breanna Plaxton, Good Shepherd Community Care

Rebecca Winter

Jenessa Kornacki, Greater Boston PFLAG

Leigh Gaspar, The Boston Foundation

Danubia Camargos Silva

Sierra Riley, City of Cambridge

Jeanne Marie Penvenne, Tufts University, College of Arts and Science

Sabrina Hayden, MGH

Kai Terrell Evans

Thabiti Brown

Caroline McKinnon, NoPause

Donna Clarke, Good Shepherd Community Care

Mary Flanagan

Mark VanDerzee, Company One Theatre

David W Janey

Magdalena Gómez

Mardia Pierre

Bella Fletcher

Brenda Echeverry

Isabelle Thibault

Jessica Estelle Huggins, Embrace Boston

Jessica Zander, You Can Do It Gardening

Emilia Diamant

Berry Andres

P Carl

Julia Howard, The Boston Foundation

Jasmin Rivas , Jaz-Yoga/Health and Wellness

Hon. Jay Blitzman (Ret.)

Carmen Fonseca, Boston Public Schools

Emily Radwin

Tess Hays, The Boston Foundation

Lynette D'Amico

Dan French

Elisa Pasche

Alexis Gomes, The Boston Foundation

Placidina Fico

Shanaé Burch, Ed.D, Community Conversations: Sister to Sister, Inc.

Gail Carroll

Paul Bamberger

Hannah Burke

Sarah Padden

Sandra Kendall, The Boston Foundation

Toni Elka

Mel Pace, OUT MetroWest

Andrew Choe

Anna Krieger, Massachusetts Advocates for Children

Alyse Driskill, Alyse Hair

Tyler Prendergast, Company One Theatre

Ashley Berendt, ABB Collaborative Consulting

Rev. Irene Monroe, GBH “All Rev’d Up”

Diane Gorman, Greater Boston PFLAG

The Reverend Brandon Thomas Crowley, PhD, Historic Myrtle Baptist Church

Karen Leibold

Megan Govin, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum

Alyssa Nitchun, Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art

Ariana Contreras, Women's Money Matters

Kylie Orourke, District Attorneys Office

Alicia Reese

Rose Athena Collins

Andre Green, SkillWorks at the Boston Foundation

Ben Precourt

Julie Smith-Bartoloni, The Boston Foundation

Melanie Butcher

Folake Oguntebi, Resilient

Valerie Grabiel

Sandy Jaffe

Dana Lyford

Tram-Anh Nguyen

Katie Barnett

Craig Bailey, Perspective Photo

Kelly R. Wilson

Jake Stepansky, QT Library

Jesse Solomon, Boston Plan for Excellence

Massachusetts LGBTQ Bar Association Board of Directors

Jodi Rosenbaum, More Than Words

Carolyn Zern

Shawn Mahoney

Abigail Norman

Maura Gallagher

Zoe Weinrobe

Ife Franklin, Ifé Franklin's Indigo Project

Matthew Costello

Karthik Subramanian, Company One

Bobby Boyd, The Record Co.

Corey Yarbrough, 826 Boston

Stephanie Shanen

Ryan Coughlin, DotOut

Nicola Hassapis

Rachel Wright

James Stiles, Emergent Learning Community Project

Suzanne Jones Walmsley

Chris Macdonald-Dennis

Scott Evans, Eliot School of Fine & Applied Arts

Lanessa Davis

Sandy Thompson

Alison Croney Moses

Margaret McSweeny, Our Sisters' School

Jennifer Eddy

Ashleigh Gordon, Castle of our Skins

Naila Bolus, The Boston Foundation

Tanya N Nixon-Silberg, Little Uprisings

Soni Gupta, Boston Foundation

Ayesha Cammaerts, The Boston Opportunity Agenda

Sherry Kinnucane, The Boston Foundation

Lee Pelton, The Boston Foundation

Alex Chin, The Boston Foundation

Carlos Muñoz-Cadilla, The Boston Foundation

Letta Neely, Apprentice Learning

Ellice Patterson, Abilities Dance

Leora Abelson, Nehar Shalom Community Synagogue

Melanie O'Malley, Progressive Massachusetts

Phyllis Y Smith

Lisa Patrick

Marissa Roque, Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Julia Gray Peters, Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Erin Dunn, Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

Julia Lucas, Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

Erica Scott-Adjei, Bristol County Commission on the Status of Women

Michelle Wiener

Nikki Floonid, MissionSAFE

Francis Miranda, SpeakOUT Boston

Trevor Boylston

JJ Nelson, SpeakOUT

Virginia Roth

Shelly Chigier, BESS Family Foundation

Tina Cincotti, Funding Change

Cindy Joyce, Pillar Search & HR Consulting

Ciara Gogan, Uplift Inclusion

Albert Whitaker

Dawn Beckman

Mark Koeck

Mark Haley, DotOUT

Erin Peters

Paul Glass, LGBTQ+ Elders of Color

Rachel Roth

Quanice Floyd

Lisa Thurau

Jennifer Rose-Wood

Gene Thompson-Grove

Robyn Eastwood

Lydia Watts

Joseph Henry

David Aronstein, OutstandingLife

Imari Paris Jeffries, Embrace

Eve Bridburg, Grubstreet

Gary Dunning, Celebrity Series of Boston

David Leonard, Boston Public Library

Nicole Agois, Open Door Arts

Maurice Emmanuel Parent, Front Porch Arts Collective

Kathleen Traphagen

Andrés Holder, Boston Children's Chorus

Julie Evans

Kelly Gifford, Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston

Keith Patterson, Out Now

Richeline Cadet, MASSCreative

Harold du Four-Anderson

Bradley Vernatter, Boston Lyric Opera

Ellen Merritt

Ellen Sullivan

Vigny F.

Allison Taylor

Anisa Khatana

Gohar

Alexandra Smith

Jenna Glazier, The Huntington

Bec Ray Lowe, The Huntington

Stella Aguirre McGregor, Urbano Project Inc

Madeleine Steczynski, ZUMIX

Dorian Keeffe

Traces wright

JD Davis

Emily Sara

Dawn Simmons, SpeakEasy Stage

Radjaminah St-Cyr

Fran Harrington

Isabella Slonka

Leandra Smollin

Adrienne Chaparro

Jolie Frazer-Madge

Micah Pflaum

Grace Kroeger

A. Nora Long

Lyssa Palu-ay

Deidre Purcell

Sonya White Hope, Sankofa Songs! Inc.

Sandy Saenbounmy

Emma Downs

Alexandra Juckno

Joseph Juknievich, The Dance Complex; The Umbrella Arts Center

Maria Molteni

Sophie Pels

Lee Forrest

Cheryl Clark Vermeulen

Elizabeth Devane, Somerville Community Corporation

Akosua Ampofo Siever, Boston Women’s Fund

Piper Slowinski, The Rainbow Knights

Jane Hucks

Kyla Blocker

June Ameen, ChildThrive Initiative

Melissa Wu, Seeding Labs

Jake Mariño

Mira Rani Das, Nari Unnayan Foundation

Carole Charnow, Boston Children’s Museum

Alicia Nichols, Boston Center for the Arts

Yuko Okabe, Boston Center for the Arts

Jamie Lin, Asian American Playwright Collective

Cameron

Daria Johnson, Cambridge HEART

Corinne Espinoza, Cambridge HEART

Victoria Liebetrau

Amy Meyer, Boston College

Sara Ting, World Unity Inc.

Lovern Gordon, Love Life Now Foundation

Amy Agigian, Our Bodies Ourselves

rev. seigen johnson, Whitman College

Rachel Rizzo

Sam Evans, Wellesley Theatre Project, Apollinaire Theatre Company

Sumru Erkut

Maggie Wong

Abe Rybeck

The Rev. Susan H. Lee, Ph.D.

Sharon Durkan, Boston City Councilor, District 8

Elizabeth Nimmons

Fay Alexander

Cristiane Soares

Gustavo Assis-Brasil

Regine Vital

Kortney Adams, Central Square Theater

Paulo Arrais, Arrais Ballet

Julie Wenzlow

Marina Schachnik

Sue

Chad Smith, Boston Symphony Orchestra

Samaria Dellorso

Veah Velasco

Jessica W

Amanda Lanciault

Sue Chandler

Elaine Donnelly, TCRC

Kevin MacKenzie, Brookline Commission for DEIC

Beth Leventhal, The Network/La Red

Cindy Elias

Audrey Sindor

Vivian Pham, Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities

Nina Lee

Sandy McCleary

Rev. Mariama White-Hammond, New Roots AME Church

Sasha Goodfriend, Mass NOW

Julia Schachnik

Dan Y. Marshall, Brookline/Cambridge Community Center for the Arts, Inc.

Cassie Hurd, Material Aid and Advocacy Program

Wyona Lynch-McWhite, Social Innovation Forum

Marta Lee-Perriard

Leslie Wu Foley, Boys & Girls Clubs of Boston

Adria Katz, Multicultural Arts Center

Jonathan Lewis

Christian

Kandyce Whittingham, Front Porch Arts Collective

Pascale Florestal, Front Porch Arts Collective

Anya Hess

Rhian Waterberg

Alison Yoder, Wright Collective

Mica Rose, Arts Connect International & Cultural Equity Incubator

LaTeshia Ellerson, Theatre Communications Group

Alisha Tonsic, Theatre Communications Group

Emilya Cachapero, Theatre Communications Group

Emily Tyler

Bridgette Hayes, Boston Conservatory at Berklee

Dev Luthra

Davis Robinson, Beau Jest Moving Theater

Christine Letts

Leslie Rosenberg

Holly Newman

Francie Latour, Wee The People

Jennifer Bubriski

Andrew Pope

Margaret Guyer

Kira Troilo, Art & Soul Consulting

Brian Cali

Renee Blackburn

Amy Slaughter

Paul Trunnell

Christina Lepre

Bill Barnert

Ruth Kahn

Lauri Johnson

Eliana Rachel Gevelber

Erik K Varga

Katherine Dander

Ellen Krause-Grosman

Andrea Doukas

Andrea Fleck Clardy

Ellen Church

Bill Kadish, Working Families Party

Cristhian Mancinas-Garcia

Mary Driscoll, On With Living and Learning

Anita Diamant

Dianne Austin

Eileen MacDougall, Book Stew

Alan Brody

Andrea Humez

Leslie Sears

Heather Amsden

David Leung

Elizabeth Cavicchi

Joe Parrish

Bobbie Steinbach

Betsy Newell

Jerry Wheelock

Bruce Petschek

Grace Hall

Erin Muirhead McCarty, Community Art Center, Inc.

Lloyd Filliion

Laura Foner

Ray Pasciuto, Pasciuto and Associates

Bil Gardiner, Worcester Interfaith

Robert Thorpe II

Shauwna Dias Grillo

Alyssa Vera Ramos

Jane Siegel

Emily Berg, JP Progressives

Julianne Yazbek

Wenxuan Xue

Angela  Schiller

Michael Leonard

Mardge Cohen, Boston Healthcare for the Homeless

Judith Coughlin

Martha Matlaw

Susan Bigger

Anna Drummond

Laura Honeywood

Dina G.

Pamela Shaddock

Elizabeth A. Wood

Ellen Israel, Mass-Care Campaign for Single Payer in MA

Carolyn Federoff

Julie Knopp

Maura Tighe, Boston Arts Academy

Elaine Vaan Hogue

Barbara Ruskin

Lisa Collins

Sharryn Ross

Lee Ridgway

Dani Moeller

Julia Ashton, Commonwealth Shakespeare Company

PJ Strachman, Blue Spruce Theatre

Sandra Galejs

Miriam Messinger

Rachel Wyon 

Cathleen Higgins

 Matlaw Jane

Jasper Lawson

Jennie Israel, Actors' Shakespeare Project

Krisha Marcano, The Artistry Center

Louise Johnson

Philip Tackel

James Verhammelt

Veronica Anastasio Wiseman, Sleeping Weazel

Mark Smith

Madge Kaplam

Paula Elliott, RAGO

Nancy Ryan

Chingwe Padraig Sullivan

Edward Speck, Theater in the Open

Joshua Shack, Theater in the Open

Barbara Virchick

Jerry Marty, Humanity

Thomas Mason, Humanity

Susan Collings

Desiré Graham

Mal Malme

Kenneth Wilson, Community Music Center of Boston 

Ilene Carver

Donna Laquidara-Carr

Alex Lonati

David Beardsley, SpeakEasy Stage

Natalie Karlsson

Sophia Samaha

Catherine Peterson, ArtsBoston

Branden Kornell

Shameka Gregory

Sharon Amuguni, NAACBoston & Barr Foundation’s Powering Cultural Futures Initiative

Shey Rivera Ríos, Studio Loba

Olivia Reinebach, Think Outside the Vox

Christopher Robinson, Think Outside the Vox

Sam Gould Kriveshko, Think Outside the Vox

Ken Hirschkind, SpeakEasy Stage

Douglas Spencer, SpeakEasy Stage

Joanne Carroll

Matt Bell, Bridgewater State University

Meghan Blute-Nelson, Open Door Theater of Acton

Gail Sullivan

Maria Hendricks, Think Outside the Vox

Susan Sommer

Virginia Meany, Boston Women's Fund

Sarah

Ceci Méndez-Ortiz, Radical Imagination for Racial Justice Boston Joyce Kauffman

Julie Crockford