Who are we?
Established in 2007, AGREAA is run by the following group of dedicated board members who are in the process of creating a non-profit organization dedicated to the cause of supporting trans-academia:

lore m. dickey - Professional Development, Co-chair
lore m. dickey is a full-time graduate student at the University of North Dakota. He is working on a PhD in Counseling Psychology. His research interests revolve around the FTM experience. This includes understanding the role of support groups and support group effectiveness for FTMs, examination of sexual identity development in FTMs, and the experiences of self-injurious behavior in the trans community. lore began his transition from female-to-male in 1999 at the age of 38. Prior to transition he identified as a lesbian; since transition, he now identifies as a gay man. lore grew up in Phoenix, AZ and later moved to Seattle, WA which was his home from 1977 to 2005. lore credits his personal code to the Girl Scouts of which he has been a member since 1969. On a more personal note, lore lives with his 11 year old cat, named Hugh.

Elijah Edelman - Activism Chair
Elijah is a Ph.D. student in Anthropology concentrating in Race, Gender and Social Justice at American University in Washington, D.C. His research interests include, but are not limited to: stealth identity/practice in post-transition FTMs, queerness and FTMs, and FTM utilization, engagement, and negotiation of virtual homoerotic spaces (e.g., 'manhunt', 'craigslist', etc). He is also a flaming queer, FTM, and a hardcore cyclist. He can be painfully serious and delightfully playful.

Eli Green - Founder & Board Co-Chair
In 2002, Eli founded the website Trans-Academics.org to meet the growing need for connectivity within transgender-related academia. Based on the success of the site, Eli reached out to the community in 2007 with the goal of founding a non-profit organization (AGREAA) dedicated to connecting those who have a dedicated interest in ending gender-related oppression. Eli has a strong history of social justice and direct service work, with a strong focus on serving highly marginalized communities. Currently a sexuality educator, Eli is also doctoral student at Widener University’s renown Human Sexuality Education Program. Learn more at www.EliRGreen.com.

Michele Grethel
For over a decade, Dr. Grethel served as the clinical director of the adolescent and young adult medical and mental health program at the Callen-Lorde Community Health Center in New York City. She has been at the forefront of developing clinical protocols with the mission of offering affirmative healthcare to young transgender individuals. Dr. Grethel has conducted research on transgender young adults and their experience of gender identity. She is currently working on several publications. In addition to teaching at the graduate level, she also provides clinical consultation and training to professionals working with transgender individuals and frequently presents on clinical issues related to gender and sexuality. Dr. Grethel maintains a diverse private practice, working with individuals, couples, and families, integrating traditional psychotherapy techniques with a holistic mind-body approach.

Seth T. Pardo - Board Vice-Chair
Born and raised in Miami, Florida, Seth graduated from Miami Beach Sr.High School. Seth went on to obtain a bachelor's degree with honors in psychology and a certificate in human development at Duke University in Durham, NC. While at Duke, he collaborated in research with Dr.Francis Keefe in the Pain Research Center, and with Drs. Linda K. George, and Dr. Timothy Strauman in the Department of Psychology.Seth's undergraduate thesis investigated the dynamics of closeness in sibling relationships. Following graduation, Seth served a two-year academic appointment as an Associate in Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School in Cambridge, MA and was the Research Coordinator for the Bipolar Disorder Research Program under the supervision of Dr. S. Nassir Ghaemi at the Cambridge Health Alliance. In the Fall of 2005, Seth entered Cornell University's Department of Human Development at Cornell University, Ithaca, NY under the advisorship of Dr. Ritch C. Savin Williams to study the psychosexual development of adolescents,
identity development, and resiliency of gender non-conforming individuals. His secondary research interests include the ecology of family dynamics.

Rhodes Perry - Finance, Development & Fundraising Chair
Rhodes Perry joined the Board in January 2007, serves as Treasurer, and chairs the Finance Committee. He comes to AGREAA with a varied career in public finance, budgeting, evaluation, and nonprofit program management. Rhodes currently works as a Program Examiner for the US Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and focuses on federal benefit programs and policies designed to provide assistance to low-income communities. Before working at OMB, he held the position of outreach coordinator at the Ali Forney Center (AFC) – a community-based nonprofit providing culturally competent housing services to street-oriented and homeless LGBT youth living in New York City. At AFC, Rhodes designed, executed and managed a street and service provider outreach program aimed at reducing the inordinate rates of substance abuse and sexually transmitted infections amongst these communities. He has also led a variety of nondiscrimination campaigns at the University of Notre Dame and New York University (NYU). In 2004, Rhodes was honored for this work by NYU’s President, John Sexton, with the prestigious Presidential Service Award. Currently Rhodes volunteers with the DC Trans Coalition (DCTC), a group of transgender people and allies united to improve the lives of trans and gender diverse individuals living in Washington, DC. His work helped DCTC expand and create policies designed to strengthen existing regulations protecting trans and gender diverse people from discrimination on the basis of gender identity or expression. Rhodes earned his B.A. in Economics and Gender Studies from the University of Notre Dame and graduated Magna Cum Laude. He earned his M.P.A. from New York University’s Wagner School of Public Service where he focused on Public and Nonprofit Management. Rhodes currently lives in Washington, DC and enjoys devoting his leisure time to writing graphic novels and biking all over the East Coast.

Cianán Russell
Cianán has spent his entire life in the Midwest. He grew up in the Kansas City metropolitan area, and moved to Iowa for college, where he attended the University of Iowa and earned a BS in chemistry and a certificate in sexuality studies. While there, he was very active in trans and anti-violence activism. He moved to Indiana for graduate school where he currently attends Purdue University and is a PhD candidate in chemistry, emphasis in chemical education. He has done academic projects which have focused on trans identity intersections with science and science education. Cianán is the current chair of the Indiana Transgender Rights Advocacy Alliance, a statewide organization in Indiana, and he organizes a local support group for trans*, gender variant, and questioning individuals in his town.

Eli Vitulli
Eli just finished up a BA at University of Illinois at Chicago with an independent plan of study called "Gender and Sexuality in a Global Perspective: History, Culture, and Politics". Currently, Eli is attending the MA program at Gallatin School of Individualized Study at New York University. Eli is interested in intersections of race, class, gender, and sexuality, in particular how race and class impacts trans experiences and identity formations. Eli plans to go on to get a Ph.D. and become a professor and scholar. Activism and social justice work are central to Eli?s life and work both inside and outside the academy. Beyond trans issues, Eli has worked on issues such as opposing the war on Iraq, the stripping of our civil liberties, corporate globalization, and the prison industrial complex.