Nancy Nangeroni is an American transgender activist, educator, and media pioneer who has played a leading role in advancing transgender rights and visibility since the early 1990s. A Boston native raised in Milton, Massachusetts, she began her journey of self-discovery and advocacy after a life-changing motorcycle accident at the age of 27. This event gave her the courage to come out to her family as a transgender woman, which marked the beginning of her lifelong dedication to the transgender community.
In the early 1990s, Nangeroni founded the Boston chapter of The Transexual Menace, one of the first direct-action transgender rights groups in the United States. She also became known for her sharp commentary on anti-transgender violence in Boston-area media and for co-editing In Your Face: The Journal of Political Activism, a collection that reflected her passion for justice and visibility.
In 1995, she launched GenderTalk Radio, a groundbreaking talk show on WMBR in Cambridge, Massachusetts, focused on transgender issues, history, and activism. Co-hosted with academic and partner Gordene MacKenzie, the show aired weekly for over a decade and earned national recognition, including a GLAAD Media Award in 2000 for "Outstanding LGBT Radio."
That same year, Nangeroni helped organize one of the first national protests against anti-transgender violence in the wake of Brandon Teena’s murder, an event that brought together prominent activists such as Leslie Feinberg and Kate Bornstein. In 1998, she co-led the vigil for Rita Hester, a Black transgender woman murdered in Allston, Massachusetts, an event that would inspire the founding of the International Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDOR). She continued to honor Hester’s legacy by documenting the media response and interviewing Hester’s family on GenderTalk.
Nangeroni also served as Executive Director of the International Foundation for Gender Education and was Chair of the Steering Committee of the Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition, where she served for six years and was later named Chair Emeritus. From 2006 to 2008, she co-produced and co-hosted GenderVision, a cable TV program about gender identity and expression.
A trained electrical engineer, Nangeroni worked in the field until a spinal injury in 2004 ended that chapter of her career. She continued to focus on activism, education, and media work, becoming a leading voice for transgender equality and representation.
