Interview with Andrea Zekis

Monika: Today it is my pleasure and honor to interview Andrea Zekis, a cartographer and transgender activist from Arkansas, USA. She’s executive director of the Arkansas Transgender Equality Coalition and consultant to the Human Rights Campaign in Arkansas. Hello Andrea!

Andrea: Hello Monika! Thank you for the opportunity to explain myself! Ha! Ha! Seriously, I appreciate the opportunity to talk to you about the work I take part in and the community I serve.

Monika: Could you say a few words about yourself?

Andrea: I’m 36, originally from the Chicago area, but have called Arkansas home since 2005. At the time, I was married, living as a man, and working as a journalist. Since age 3, I knew there was something different about myself, but didn’t learn the word transgender until I was 18 years old.

Interview with Jer'Ell Hartsig

Monika: Today it is my pleasure and honor to interview Jer'Ell Hartsig, an American writer, the author of the biographical book titled “The Wind that Ruffled the Field” (2014). Hello Jer’Ell!

Jer’Ell: Hello Monika!

Monika: Could you say a few words about yourself?

Jer’Ell: I can say that at this time in my life I’m very happy and have no regrets. I have become the person I always knew I could be. The journey that I took to becoming Jer’Ell can be followed in my book, ”The Wind that Ruffled the Field”.

Monika: Why did you decide to write your autobiography?

Jer’Ell: I felt my story would not only be inspiring but also enlightening to those people struggling with gender dysphoria and also their family and friends who have someone in their lives who may not be understood as a transgender person. Also, there is a hook to the story that needed to be told that Hollywood did not want you to know.

Interview with Victoria Masl

Monika: Today it is my pleasure and honor to interview Victoria Masl, a young T woman from Russia, the first-known deaf Russian T woman, the first LGBT Russian disabled /deaf/ refugee in the West /the official refugee status since 2012/, living in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Hello Victoria!

Victoria: Hello Monika and our readers!

Monika: I must say that when I read your story published in the recent issue of the Frock magazine I could not help crying …
Victoria: The world is very cruel, especially to not typical people and we know this. I never lived a secure or privileged life. Maybe, my parents belonged to a Soviet semi-privileged class, circle, but I have been deprived of it since my childhood.
Monika: You were born in Russia where you spent your childhood …
Victoria: I was born in the USSR. They were two different countries. I spent my childhood on a trip with my parents, living in small special military towns.

Interview with Veejay Floresca

Monika: Today it is my pleasure and honor to interview Veejay Floresca, a talented young fashion designer from the Philippines, whose work graces the covers of many fashion magazines. Hello Veejay!

Veejay: Hi Monika.

Monika: Could you say a few words about yourself?
Veejay: I am from the Philippines and I moved here to San Francisco two years ago to finish my master's in fashion design.
Monika: How did you start your fashion designing career?
Veejay: I got my bachelor's degree in fashion design in the Philippines. I discovered that this is something I want to do and I am so passionate about it. I love everything about my job.

Interview with Grace Anne Stevens

Monika: Today it is my pleasure and honor to interview Grace Anne Stevens, an American writer, speaker, trainer, blogger, design engineer, and senior engineering manager, with two patent awards. Hello Grace!

Grace: Hi Monika, It is a pleasure to chat with you here. Thank you so much for inviting me.

Monika: Could you say a few words about yourself?
Grace: I consider myself incredibly blessed to have transitioned as a “senior” while working in two workplaces and have lost no one in my life.
Monika: Your resume shows over 40 years in high tech, building successful teams and processes in both startup and large companies; holding Director and VP positions … 
Grace: Yes it does. It took me a long time to realize that even with this apparent successful career there was still something missing. The biggest realization was taking action to discover what that was both in my personal life as a transgender woman and my work and training. I really took to heart the famous quote from George Elliot – “You are never too old to be what you might have been.”

Interview with Kristina Ferarri

Monika: Today it is my pleasure and honor to interview Kristina Ferarri, a Serbian artist, model, dancer, and TV celebrity. Hello Kristina!

Kristina: Hi there! ;)

Monika: Could you say a few words about yourself?
Kristina: What to say what the world doesn’t know? :) I was born and raised in a small town in the east of the country. I left my family home at the age of 16 and moved on to my grandmother’s house.
Now more or less I live alone for one decade in the Serbian capital, Belgrade. This city offered me stability and few more options to fulfill my dreams and start the transition of my life. So I found myself as a striptease dancer at the age of 21. This was the beginning of my journey.