Gina Duncan was born Greg Pingston and lived as a man for 50 years. “Greg” transitioned to Gina in 2006. Greg was a standout football player in high school and earned a football scholarship to attend East Carolina University (ECU). Greg was the captain of an undefeated state championship football team, an all-state middle linebacker, and was class president and homecoming king in high school. Greg was also Vice President of the Student Government Association at ECU. Greg, now Gina, was a father of two, a husband, a brother, and a son. Gina Duncan has been in the mortgage banking business in Orlando since 1980. She has served on the Home Builders Association of Mid-Florida and Mortgage Bankers Association Boards of Directors. Gina was President of the Mortgage Bankers Association of Central Florida in 2005. She was with Wells Fargo Home Mortgage from 1997 to 2011, and served as the Area Manager of Central Florida, and Regional Manager for East Florida, overseeing 26 branches, over 250 employees, and a multi-million dollar budget. While at Wells Fargo, Gina was Chair of the East Region of Wells Fargo’s employee resource group, PRIDE, for LGBT employees, overseeing 46 PRIDE chapters from Maine to Texas.
Gina served on the Human Rights Campaign Steering Committee as Co-Chair of the Diversity Committee. She chaired the Transgender Day of Remembrance and Transgender Career and Wellness Fair events. Gina also served as President of the Metropolitan Business Association (MBA), the LGBT Chamber of Commerce in Orlando. She was the President of MBA’s Come Out With Pride event, which annually draws over 100,000 people to the Orlando area. Gina was invited to attend the first-ever Human Rights Campaign’s National Women’s Diversity Leadership Conference, and also served on the HRC National Business Council. Gina serves on the Board of Directors and Steering Committee of Equality Florida and on the Orlando Anti-Discrimination Alliance, which has been instrumental in passing the Orange County Human Rights Ordinance as well as a Domestic Partnership Registry in both the City of Orlando and Orange County. Gina recently ran for County Commissioner, garnering 40% of the vote in an unsuccessful bid for county office.
In 2012, Gina opened Duncan Global, Inc., embarking on a career in corporate transgender diversity and inclusion training and consulting. Gina has trained major corporations across the United States and was a guest speaker at the 2012 Global Summit on Human Rights in Milan, Italy, sponsored by the Harvey Milk Foundation. Gina is now recognized as a national and international speaker on transgender inclusion in the workplace.
Monika: Today, I have the absolute pleasure of speaking with Gina Leigh Duncan, an accomplished businesswoman, fierce transgender advocate, and all-around powerhouse. She has worn many hats: President of Orlando’s Gay Chamber of Commerce, former candidate for Commissioner of Orange County, Florida, senior manager at Wells Fargo, and currently a Board Member at Equality Florida. Gina, welcome!
Gina: Hello, Monika, so nice to talk to you.
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| Pride Counts: Gina Duncan (YouTube). |
Monika: You are a force in politics. Do you believe transgender women can truly shake things up and make a real impact in the political world?
Gina: I do. While I think it is critically important that we know the issues, have solutions, and can be great communicators to motivate our constituents, we also carry an inherent extra hurdle: gaining acceptance of being transgender along with gaining someone’s vote. That is an extra layer of objection to overcome. We might align with a voter in every area, yet they still may not understand transgender people. I felt I just had to work that much harder and be that much sharper on the issues. Once in office, that thinking would continue with me: work harder, be sharper, never let being transgender be an issue. Let it be an asset instead. I want to use my office as a platform to educate people on what it means to be transgender.
Monika: The transgender community often gets bundled into the larger LGBTQ+ movement. As the “T” at the end of that acronym, do you feel we get enough space to push our own unique issues forward?
Gina: That’s a great question. While I think there is strength in solidarity, our issues are actually quite different from just sexual orientation. We deal with issues such as appearance, voice, identification changes, and of course, the ever-present bathroom issue. Those issues are not part of the gay and lesbian discrimination bucket.
On the other hand, I know many gay and lesbian people get frustrated that more legislation would be passed if not for the “T” piece. I respect them for standing shoulder to shoulder with us, but we should passionately bear the burden of the issues that are uniquely our own.
Monika: Harvey Milk changed the game for gay activism back in the 1960s and ’70s. Does anyone in today’s transgender community strike you as having that same kind of impact?
Gina: Harvey Milk was so amazingly brave, and he has become such an icon that it would be difficult to compare anyone in our community today. If I had to choose, I would say Jennifer Boylan comes closest. She has influenced so many people through her writing and speaking.
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| Gina and Kevin O'Niel, the documentary director. |
Monika: You transitioned while working at Wells Fargo. What were some of the biggest challenges you faced during that period?
Gina: Even though Wells Fargo did a great job supporting my transition, there were some bumps. While I was away having facial feminization surgery, recruiters from my competitors were vicious in their attempts to lure my best people away.
One of my employees told me a recruiter had asked, “Do you really want to work for that freak?” Another challenge came from employees who struggled to adjust to my new gender presentation.
My assistant went out at lunch on my first day back, got drunk, staggered into my office, and had a meltdown. I remember her saying, “I miss Greg. It’s like he died and I never had a chance to say goodbye to my boss. I loved Greg!” It was such an odd feeling, sitting there listening to this while being the same person on the inside. This person thought I had died, and I felt like I was just starting to live.
Monika: If you had to convince an employer to implement solid transgender inclusive policies, or even cover the cost of gender reassignment surgery, what arguments would win them over?
Gina: There are three great reasons for employers to have a solid transgender inclusion platform, insurance inclusions, and policies. First, people looking for a job are now looking at the diversity and inclusion policies of potential employers. Many top-quality employees want to work for progressive companies that embrace diversity and let people come to work as their authentic selves and love their jobs.
Monika: That’s a strong first reason. What would you say is the second?
Gina: Embracing diversity becomes a competitive advantage. Companies known for being LGBT-friendly are supported by the community and are usually successful corporations. Companies like Darden, Macy’s, and Disney come to mind.
Monika: And the third?
Gina: Having a solid transgender equality platform drives the need for consistency across all states and cities. Someone getting on a plane in San Francisco should not get off the plane in North Carolina with fewer rights and benefits than when they got on. It makes the case for consistent equality policies and benefits nationwide.
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| Orange County PASSES Partner Registry (YouTube). |
Monika: What are the biggest priorities right now for transgender advocacy? Which battles are we still fighting?
Gina: We have a way to go. We are about twenty years behind the rest of the community when it comes to social acceptance, and I actually hate the word acceptance. Obviously, creating a social climate where being transgender has no more significance than being left-handed is the goal.
Monika: What does that fight look like in practice today?
Gina: Currently, we are still dealing with bathroom protocol, insurance inclusions for all aspects of physical transitioning, and, more recently, issues involving young people transitioning earlier and earlier. We have a real issue with educating people within the school systems. In general, it’s all about normalcy.
Monika: Do you see that changing?
Gina: When trans people are readily embraced by society as a whole, we will have arrived. When it is no longer an issue in terms of your effectiveness to pass, we will have really arrived. I think it is a matter of time. I speak to many college-age groups, and they have no issues with gender expression or sexual orientation. With each generation, we get closer to the goal.
Monika: The media plays a huge role in shaping public perception. How do you feel about the way transgender stories have been portrayed in film, books, and television?
Gina: I am mixed. I have personally only been associated with projects that carry a positive message about the transgender journey. I think we need more education, and that is why I formed my company.
There are too many misconceptions and misunderstandings about who we really are and what we really want out of life. Too many people see us as drag queens with a sexual fetish for dressing in women’s clothes. There is a great deal of difference between that perception and the reality of someone who truly identifies in their soul as a woman.
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Attraversiamo, Let’s Cross Over ~ A Story of Gender Transition. |
Monika: Did you have any transgender role models you looked up to during your transition?
Gina: Not many. I transitioned in 2006, and at the time I read Jenny Boylan’s book, “She’s Not There,” about ten times, and I emulated Donna Rose. We have a lot in common, including our athletic backgrounds.
Monika: Coming out is rarely easy. What was the hardest part of your journey?
Gina: The effect it had on my family. I had a wonderful wife and two great kids, and all of that was blown to pieces by my transition.
My wife and my best friend of twenty-five years are gone from my life. My son has been distant and not really engaged with me since I came out. My relationship with my daughter is strong, though, and I am so thankful for that.
Monika: Love matters so much in life. How important is it in yours, and has transitioning changed the way you experience it?
Gina: It is critical, and frankly lacking in my life right now. I enjoy the love of my extended family, but I do not have that special person to share my life with since transitioning. It is a deep wound that I would like to heal someday. Everyone, whether gay, straight, or trans, needs love in their life and someone special to share it with.
Monika: Fashion time. Do you love it? What’s your go-to style, and do you have any favorite designers or trends?
Gina: I love fashion and tend to dress in a classic look. Coming from a long corporate background, I tend to wear classic suits, dresses, and skirt combinations at work. I do love color, and I love shoes. I like to dress in bright colors after hours, and I must own eighty pairs of shoes. I love heels and sandals.
Monika: Plenty of transgender women document their journeys in memoirs. Have you ever thought about writing your own story?
Gina: I actually did write a book and published it through Amazon. It’s called “Attraversiamo, Let’s Cross Over: A Story of Gender Transition.” I have also recently been approached to do a documentary, which will be released in 2016.
Monika: What comes next for you? Where do you see yourself in the next five to seven years?
Gina: My next step is to build my transgender corporate training business and really accelerate the progress of the transgender community. I would also like to find a special person to share my life with.
I want to run my first half marathon within the next year and continue to travel. I see myself in five to seven years, spoiling my grandkids, living half the year in Tuscany with my special life partner, and drinking wonderful Italian wine.
Monika: If you had to sum it up, would you say you are a happy woman today?
Gina: Very. I love everything about being female and being my authentic self. I love my life, both the heartwarming moments and the moments of pure heartache. I strive to live each day to the fullest. I strive each day to think, laugh, and feel so deeply that my emotions are moved.
Monika: Gina, thank you for this wonderful conversation.
Gina: Thank you so much for having me.
All the photos: courtesy of Gina Leigh Duncan.
© 2013 - Monika Kowalska
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