Every March 31, International Transgender Day of Visibility gives the trans community a day built around celebration.
It started in 2009, when Rachel Crandall-Crocker, a Michigan psychotherapist and co-founder of , noticed that the only widely recognized day dedicated to trans people was the Transgender Day of Remembrance, which honors those who've been killed. There was no day for trans people living and thriving. So she made one. "I wanted a day that we could celebrate being alive!" she told in 2023.
Each year, thousands of trans and nonbinary people and their allies fill social feeds with photos, reflections, and messages of affirmation. That matters. So does what happens the other 364 days, especially now, with trans people's health care, IDs, and military service all being fought over in court. Visibility is a daily practice, and you can start by knowing who's doing the work.
Devin-Norelle
Devin-Norelle is a model, writer, and advocate who hosts the PBS series , which tells LGBTQ+ stories of triumph. Ze has written for GQ, Teen Vogue, Allure, them and Out, and zis digs into Black trans masc representation on screen. Ze was also Chromat's first masculine-of-center runway model, which tells you something about how long ze's been making room where there wasn't any.
Raquel Willis
Raquel Willis is a writer, organizer, and co-founder of the , the collective behind the Brooklyn Liberation marches and the 2024 Gender Liberation March in Washington, D.C. She cut her teeth as a national organizer at , now the largest national trans-led organization in the U.S., became the first trans woman to lead Out magazine as executive editor, and in 2023 published her memoir, The Risk It Takes to Bloom.
TIME named her a . "For us, gender liberation is about bodily autonomy, self-determination, the pursuit of fulfillment, and collectivism," she told the magazine.
Sydney Freeland
Sydney Freeland is a Navajo filmmaker whose career has gone from indie darling to big-budget director. Her web series Her Story earned a 2016 Emmy nomination, and since then she's directed episodes of Reservation Dogs and Rutherford Falls, directed and executive produced Marvel's Echo, and co-wrote and directed the Netflix basketball drama .
Her point about range still lands. "I'm obsessed with sci-fi and comic books. Yes, I am a transgender Navajo woman who loves Star Wars and Marvel movies," she wrote in a . She argued that trans and Native creators bring perspective that can "imbue other people's stories" with more depth, and that nobody should be boxed into telling only their own story. Then she went and directed a Marvel series.
Brenna Jordan
Brenna Jordan first went viral as a teenager in 2014 for dancing behind a Las Vegas news reporter, and she's spent the years since building a following as a YouTuber, model, and actor. She came out as genderfluid and trans in 2016 and has shared her transition openly with her followers, including starting medical transition in 2024. You can follow along on , where she shares her life as openly now as she did back then.
Lambda Legal
Lambda Legal, a national civil rights organization for LGBTQ+ people and everyone living with HIV, has been in court on trans rights for decades. Right now that includes , filed with the Human Rights Campaign Foundation in February 2025 to challenge the Trump administration's ban on transgender military service.
It also runs practical resources you can actually use: a , a , and a for anyone facing discrimination. Bookmark them for yourself or for the friend who might need them.
Laverne Cox
Laverne Cox is an actress, producer, and advocate who keeps stacking firsts. She was the first openly trans person nominated for a Primetime Emmy in an acting category (for Orange Is the New Black) and the first to appear on the cover of Time. She executive produced the Netflix documentary Disclosure, co-created and starred in the 2025 Prime Video sitcom , and published her memoir, , in 2026.
Back in 2018, she stated that who we vote for matters "just in terms of our survival." Eight years on, that reads less like a warning and more like a plain description. (If you're not sure how to bring this stuff up with coworkers, here's our take on .)
Sarah McBride
Sarah McBride made history in January 2025 as the , representing Delaware in the U.S. House. Before that, she served in the Delaware State Senate and was national press secretary for the , and she wrote the memoir Tomorrow Will Be Different: Love, Loss, and the Fight for Trans Equality.
On Trans Day of Visibility 2025, she wrote in The Advocate that trans visibility has the power to "push past the caricatures to invite more people in," and that "we are organic changemakers when we live lives of joy, humor, brilliance, and kindness" in front of people who are still learning.
ALOK
Alok Vaid-Menon, who performs as , is a gender non-conforming poet, comedian, and performance artist who uses they/them pronouns. Since the poetry collection Femme in Public, they've published Beyond the Gender Binary and Your Wound/My Garden, toured a comedy special called BIOLOGY!, played the Edinburgh Fringe and the Netflix Is a Joke Festival, and starred in Alok, a short documentary executive produced by Jodie Foster that premiered at Sundance in 2024.
ALOK has long pushed for trans people to be supported behind the camera and on the page, not only in front of it. If you want to act on that, buy the books, see the shows, and hire trans writers, photographers and directors.
Janet Mock
Janet Mock is a writer, director, and producer, and the author of the bestselling memoirs Redefining Realness and Surpassing Certainty. On FX's Pose, she became the first trans woman of color hired as a writer on a TV series and went on to write, direct, and produce. She later signed a Netflix overall deal, the first for an openly trans woman of color at a major content company, and worked on Hollywood.
She also started #GirlsLikeUs back in 2012 to lift up trans women. Mock sat down with Girlboss founder Sophia Amoruso to , and it's still worth a read. Her has her books and speaking info.
Modern Military Association of America
OutServe-SLDN, which fought the first trans military ban in 2017 and 2018, to form the . MMAA calls itself the nation's largest voice for the LGBTQ+ military community, and it worked alongside Lambda Legal against the first ban.
That fight is back. In May 2025, the Supreme Court while legal challenges continue. MMAA supports LGBTQ+ service members, veterans, and military families, runs virtual community groups, and takes discrimination reports from people who need help.
Keep It Going After March 31
Following these people and groups is a solid start. Reading their books, watching their work, donating, and showing up at the ballot box all count for more. So does what you do at work: if you have any say in policies, our guide to covers the basics, like names, pronouns, and restrooms.
For more on careers, money and building a life on your terms, .
