Interview with Terri Jay

Monika: Today it is my pleasure and honor to interview Terri Jay, an American beauty pageant queen, model, and transgender activist. Hello Terri!

Terri: Hi Monika! I am honored to meet you and wanted to thank you for your time and interest to interview me.

Monika: You look fantastic, Terri!

Terri: Thank you very much.

Monika: Could you say a few words about yourself?

Terri: Yes, my name is Terri Jay, I am 46 years old and I am a proud Native American Indian transwoman, and I am also a member of the Navajo/Zuni Tribes from the state of New Mexico. I am currently single and am in the dating scene, looking for love with a respectful male partner.

I am very proud to share that I have a fabulous rewarding career as a Certified Addictions Specialist, working in the area of Non-Profit Organization at APAIT (Asian Pacific Aids Intervention Team) Health-Center, located in Los Angeles, California, and working with transwomen of color community who suffer from surrounding Addictions and Homelessness.

Interview with Michelle Enfield

Monika: Today it is my pleasure and honor to interview Michelle Enfield, a Navajo transgender activist and advocate, HIV counselor, and the winner of the 2012 Alexis Rivera Trailblazer Award. Originally from Lukachukai, Arizona, she lives in Los Angeles, California. She has first-hand experience working with homeless youth, and specifically with the Native American population providing HIV education and support. Michelle is a member of the Transgender Service Provider Network (TSPN) and co-chair of the Underrepresented Cultural Communities with the LA Department of Mental Health. Hello Michelle!

Michelle: Hello Monika. Thank you for your time and effort to connect with the many transgender advocates and activists throughout the world.

Monika: Could you say a few words about your career so far?

Michelle: I’ve been in the HIV field, professionally, for over five years, although I’ve been involved in HIV for many more. I was introduced to HIV/AIDS via a story in Reader’s Digest when I was a freshman in high school. At the time, I had a boyfriend whom I was intimate with. After the first time, we had sexual relations, I read the article and got scared of sex. I learned some information on HIV/AIDS through magazines but they didn’t make me an expert, by any means.

Later on, after high school, while still living on the Navajo Reservation, there were a couple of people I knew, close to me, that died from complications of AIDS—but it wasn’t talked about. My friends and I were told by our departed friends’ family that they died of walking pneumonia. Of, course, there was more to those stories, but no one insisted on getting more than the half-truth that was told.