Tarik Carroll
Tarik Carroll is a fashion, music, and
commercial photographer from Brooklyn
who uses his work to embrace body
diversity and break down barriers imposed by toxic
masculinity. Tarik is the founder of the EveryMAN
Project, which aims to confront the status quo
with an ongoing fashion photo series about the
relationships men have with body image. The project
highlights cis and trans men of all backgrounds and
allows subjects to steer their own narratives and
take a stand against feelings of shame due to their
body, sexuality, or race.
Having worked with international recording artists
such as Azealia Banks, Cupcakke The Rapper &
Diana Gordon, Tarik was recently featured in a GQ
France editorial about plus-size men of color.
On the EveryMan Project website, Tarik writes
about growing up with feelings of isolation and selfconsciousness
due to his appearance — especially
when in public — but once he
started working in fashion,
he came to the realization
that “perfection and beauty
are purely subjective
concepts.”
“Listening to male
models with bodies that
rival Greek gods tell me
that they too suffer from
body image issues was equally
eye-opening and jarring,”
he writes. “Hearing damaging
childhood stories of isolation, fear
and obsessive self scrutiny made me
realize that as men, we had more in common than
I previously believed.”
Tarik has a B.F.A. in graphic design from the New
York Institute of Technology.
The
EveryMAN
Project
Thomas “TJ” Chernick
Thomas “TJ” Chernick is the director
of the National LGBT Chamber of
Commerce, New York (nglccNY),
where he has worked since June of 2014.
TJ oversees the NGLCC’s New York-based
efforts and helps lead the chamber’s national
mission to drive economic advancement in the
community at the local level. In New York, TJ
handles the local chapter’s memberships and
advocates for NGLCC-certified businesses —
thanks in part to NGLCC’s successful campaign
to push for the certification of queer-owned
businesses in the city.
TJ rose to become the organization’s director
after previously serving as the NGLCC’s
director of membership and engagement.
Outside of NGLCC, TJ has experience
coordinating international gender-based
projects in Iraq with the International
Human Rights Law Institute. He once
worked as a program officer for the
International Fulbright Scholar
Program.
An avid writer and traveler,
TJ is interested in issues
pertaining to sexual minorities
in the context of international
human rights — and he has
lived in Morocco and Iceland,
where he performed research.
He enjoys playing cello in his
spare time.
TJ has a master’s degree in journalism
from DePaul University and a bachelor’s
degree in international relations from St.
Edward’s University in Austin, Texas.
nglccNY
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