Jevon Martin
In 2015, Jevon Martin embarked
on a quest to make
a difference in the lives
of local trans youth
when he founded Princess
Janae Place, a Bronxbased
LGBTQ social
services organization
that works to stabilize
housing for trans people.
That quest has been
an impactful one: Jevon,
a trans man, has a
staff of three full-time
and two part-time employees,
including several
tasked with connecting
clients to housing options,
primarily in the Bronx. Approximately
60 percent of Princess
Janae Place’s clients are transgender
in addition to many non-binary,
gay, lesbian, and bisexual folks
who utilize the non-profit’s offerings,
which extend beyond housing
to encompass legal, medical,
mental health, and recreational
services. Almost 80 percent of clients
are Black.
Jevon’s dedication to his clients’
needs was evident when he
took on extra duties during the
turbulent emergence of the coronavirus.
Speaking to Gay City
News in late March, he was in
the midst of hustling to connect
clients in need to housing even
as his organization had to temporarily
close. In one instance,
he visited a youth getting by in
the stairwell of an apartment
building and got him placed
in a motel.
Jevon’s journey toward
leadership of Princess
Janae Place involved
years of work as a mentor,
an educator, an advocate,
and an influential
house father in the
ballroom community. He
has played an active role
in political circles, standing
up for marriage equality
and the Gender Expression
Non-Discrimination Act.
As an advocate, Jevon wears
many hats: He is a motivational
speaker, grandparent, co-producer,
peer, and model, while also
fitting in time to spearhead workshops.
He also juggles other positions,
such as his role serving on
the Advisory Council of Equality
New York. Jevon is also involved
in Theta Beta Chi, a fraternity he
said is the first in the nation for
trans men and has fostered important
kinships among Black
transgender men in New York.
Jevon’s work has garnered notable
recognition over the years.
Among his awards include a 2019
Certificate of Excellence from Governor
Andrew Cuomo, the 2016
Octavia St. Laurent Trans Activist
Award, and the Mr. Trans USA
New York title in 2020.
Jevon is inspired by a simple
motto: If not now, then when? If
not me, then who? He reminds
folks to be the change the world
needs today to make for a better
tomorrow.
Founder &
Executive
Director,
Princess
Janae Place
Aaron C. Morris
Aaron C. Morris is the
executive director of
Immigration Equality,
the nation’s premier
immigrant rights group serving
LGBTQ people as well as those
living with HIV.
Immigration Equality’s work includes
direct legal services to immigrants,
especially those from
the more than 80 countries where
it is either a crime or gravely unsafe
to be LGBTQ or HIV-positive.
Between the dangers of immigration
detention facilities and the
complexity of the nation’s asylum
process, asylum seekers are unlikely
to be successful without
representation by knowledgeable
counsel.
Immigration Equality advances a
policy agenda in coalition with other
immigrant rights advocates, focusing
on educating lawmakers and
other policy decision makers on the
specific dangers facing LGBTQ and
HIV-positive people who have come
to the US from their homeland. The
organization’s clients can often be
the most effective spokespeople in
making the case for reform.
Immigration Equality also engages
in impact litigation on behalf
of clients, seeking to challenge
discriminatory practices in a
manner that can benefit other
asylum seekers in similar situations.
Prior to becoming Immigration
Equality’s executive
director, Aaron led its
law and policy programs,
where he oversaw the
group’s legal services, impact
litigation, policy advocacy,
and lobbying efforts.
He joined Immigration Equality
as a staff attorney in 2008.
In 2015, Aaron made oral arguments
as amicus counsel before
the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals
in Godoy-Ramirez v. Holder. In
that case, he argued that the immigration
judge hearing a transgender
Mexican woman’s asylum
case fundamentally misunderstood
the dangers she faced because
the judge concluded that the
ability of same-sex couples to marry
in Mexico City meant that trans
people did not face persecution.
The Ninth Circuit ordered the
Board of Immigration Appeals
to reconsider the asylum application.
Aaron is a graduate of
American University’s
Washington College of Law
and earned his bachelor’s
degree at the University of
Oklahoma.
Before joining Immigration
Equality, he was an immigration
staff attorney in the
Office of Legal Affairs of the New
York-based United States Court of
Appeals for the Second Circuit.
Aaron is a member of the American
Immigration Lawyers Association
and the LGBT Bar Association.
In 2014, the LGBT Bar
Association named him as one of
the Best LGBT Lawyers Under 40.
In 2017, Aaron was honored
with the Peter M. Cicchinio
Award from American University’s
Washington College of Law
for Outstanding Advocacy in the
Public Interest.
Executive
Director,
Immigration
Equality
2020 Impact A 22 wards | GayCityNews.nyc