Interview with Lisa Salazar

Twelve years have passed since I first sat down with Lisa Salazar in 2013. Back then, we spoke about her remarkable journey as a Canadian transgender advocate, author, and spiritual seeker, exploring her experiences of transition, faith, and the challenges of living authentically. Since that conversation, life has unfolded in ways neither of us could have fully imagined. Lisa and I share more than just friendship, we are soul sisters. Both of us have undergone gender-affirming surgery, both of us hold strong religious beliefs, and both of us have navigated the sometimes tumultuous intersection of faith, identity, and advocacy. The passage of time has only strengthened our bond. And while the years have added their chapters to our lives, Lisa and I look as vibrant and determined as ever, our shared journeys reflected in our continued passion for living authentically and speaking our truths.

 

Lisa is the author of “Transparently: Behind the Scenes of a Good Life” (2011) and “Then This Happened: After Transparently” (2023). In the years since our first conversation, she has continued to evolve both personally and professionally. From advancing her studies in Theology and Pastoral Care to deepening her advocacy for transgender rights in increasingly challenging times, she has demonstrated remarkable resilience and grace. Her story reminds us that growth is ongoing, and that even after the “big moments” of life have passed, there is always room for discovery, reflection, and renewed purpose. In this follow-up conversation, we reconnect to explore how Lisa’s life and work have evolved, how her advocacy has deepened, and how she continues to find hope and purpose in a world that remains as challenging as it is beautiful.

Interview with Andrea Montanez

It is easy to mistake Andrea Montanez’s life for the plot of a thriller. One moment she is raiding cartel hideouts in Colombia, dodging bullets, and negotiating with kidnappers. The next, she is in Orlando, with purple glasses and a trans flag fluttering from the vents of her Nissan Sentra, rushing from one public hearing to another in a fight for the dignity of her community. From undercover narcotics officer to TSA worker to full-time activist, Andrea has carried one thread through all of her lives: an unshakable courage to face danger head-on, whether it comes from armed guerillas or bureaucrats in suits. In Florida, that danger no longer hides behind machine guns, it hides in the technical language of state regulations, in manipulated medical reports, and in “emergency rules” designed to make health care nearly impossible for transgender people. When the state’s board of medicine moved to restrict gender-affirming care, Andrea did not sit back. She borrowed a van, drove activists across the state, charmed opponents who called her community “mutants,” and pushed back in rooms designed to silence her. If Pablo Escobar could not scare her into silence, neither could the board of medicine.

Interview with Lizethe Alvarez Echeverry

Monika: Today we are going to Helsingør in Denmark to meet Lizethe Alvarez Echeverry, a remarkable woman and transgender activist born in Colombia. Lizethe participated in many initiatives targeting the improvement of transgender rights in such countries as Colombia, Spain, Germany, and Denmark. Hello Lizethe!

Lizethe: Hi Monika! Thanks for the invitation!

Monika: You have worked for over 20 years for different organizations that defend human rights in such countries as Colombia, Germany, Spain, and Denmark. Could you say more about these organizations and your work there?

Lizethe: It was a great experience for me, where I learned a lot about human rights in different periods of my life. For example, in Colombia I worked in the field of HIV/AIDS; in Germany, I worked for the rights of transpersons and in Spain, I focused more on labor insertion for immigrant transpersons. Now in Denmark I work for the visibility and human rights of transgendered couples.