Interview with Robin Diane Goldstein

Monika: Today it is my pleasure and honor to interview Robin Diane Goldstein, an American transgender rights activist, former talk-radio host and stand up comedian, blogger, former Senior Engineering Manager, former Principal Counsel, and currently Senior Manager of Health Special Projects at Apple Inc. in Cupertino, California. Hello Robin! 

Robin: Hi Monika. Greetings from the heart of the Silicon Valley.

Monika: Could you say a few words about yourself?

Robin: When I started as a talk radio host I described myself as a “Straight, White, Buddhist, Vegetarian, Lesbian Fraternity Boy trapped in the body of a Recovering Transexual Woman Patent Attorney with a Bizarre Sense of Humor and a Master’s Degree in City Planning.” Add in the fact that I make a great New York Style Cheesecake, and I think you’ve got me pretty much figured out.

Interview with Denise Chanterelle DuBois

Monika: Today it is my pleasure and honor to interview Denise Chanterelle DuBois, an American actress, environmentalist, and a businesswoman from Portland, Oregon, the author of the biographical memoir book titled “Self-Made Woman” (2017). Hello Denise! 

Denise: Hi Monika and thank you so much for interviewing me today! I really appreciate it.

Monika: You present yourself as a “fortune's favorite daughter”. Could you say a few words about yourself?

Denise: In my memoir, I write about so many close calls I had with death, and yet survived basically unharmed. I had huge drug & alcohol problems in “my other life” as I like to call it, and rightfully should either be dead from overdosing, or in a nursing home with no brain left, yet here I am still standing and grateful for that. Indeed, I am “fortune’s favorite daughter.”

Interview with Fran Fried

Monika: Today it is my pleasure and honor to interview Fran Fried, an American editor, writer, blogger, DJ, music fiend, friend, daughter and, accidental civil rights activist from Prospect, Connecticut. Hello Fran!

Fran: Hi, Monika! Thanks for finding me and thanks for the interview. I’m honored and flattered to be in some pretty good company here! 

Monika: Could you say a few words about yourself?

Fran: Well, I’m a writer, an editor, a DJ, a daughter, a sister, a good friend – and, oh, yeah, by the way, I’m trans. I’m out and about in the everyday world, and if you don’t know me, chances are you won’t read me. As far as I can tell, with my friends, being trans is just incidental; first and foremost, to them, as well as myself, I’m Fran. The gender dysphoria is just one facet of an interesting life – a big, honking facet, but still, just one nonetheless.

Interview with Jaime Erin Fivecoat

Monika: Today it is my pleasure and honor to interview Jaime Erin Fivecoat, a retired American benefits manager from Taylors, South Carolina. Hello Jaime!

Jaime: Hi Monika, Thank you for the opportunity to tell my story to you. What an honor to be included with such a great group of women.

Monika: Could you say a few words about yourself?

Jaime: I guess one way to describe myself is that I am an optimistic volunteer advocate. I volunteer for four organizations. I’m a Board Member of The Obesity Action Coalition (OAC), which is a patient advocacy organization for the treatment of obesity, Secretary of Upstate Pride SC (UPSC) for the LGBTQ+ community, I facilitate two SMART Recovery meetings for dealing with any form of addiction, and work on projects with Gender Benders a local Trans Support Group.

I feel deeply that we are all equal and I do what I can to fight for the rights of those that are marginalized, discriminated against, or are victims of any form of stigma. I am fortunate to have a loving wife and to be a mom to three dogs. Karen and I have been married for 43 years.

Interview with Aleana Robins

Monika: Today it is my pleasure and honor to interview Aleana Robins, a former skier, grave digger, performance car driver, small business owner, farmer, artist, radio announcer, blogger, parent of 7 children from Riverside, California, and the author of the biographical book titled “The Shadow of Ally” (2016). She lives in Launceston, a city in the north of Tasmania, Australia. Hello Aleana!
Aleana: Hello and thank you for taking the time. I promise you can ask anything but I will not promise you will like my answer (smiles). Though I would love to say that the start of my journey began in California but I have lived all over the western side of the US. I moved to Australia in 2002 to be with my former spouse.
Monika: Could you say a few words about yourself? The number of your talents and jobs is really awesome …
Aleana: I grew up in a middle-income family with a mother who did not know how to care and a father who was lost in his battles with PTSD from Vietnam. I think in some ways my teenage years while dysfunctional was also a place where I gained so many talents. I have enjoyed playing several musical instruments learned to have a love for music and the arts that have only grown in age. I love skiing and the sound of fresh powder under my skies. I am a proud parent of seven children, I know people think wow a breeder, lol. But I would not change their love and the experiences that come with them in my life for all the Tea in China.

Interview with Tuesday Meadows

Monika: Today it is my pleasure and honor to interview Tuesday G Meadows, an American transactivist, blogger, retired grocery store manager from Lexington, Kentucky. Hello Tuesday!

Tuesday: Hello Monika!

Monika: Could you say a few words about yourself?

Tuesday: My name is Tuesday Meadows, I live in Lexington, Kentucky. :)

Monika: I saw your short story in The New York Times series titled “Transgender Today.” Why did you decide to come out to the general public?

Tuesday: The purpose of the series was to tell stories of transgender individuals from varied backgrounds. The first 10 I read were people who had achieved great things such as scientists, doctors, lawyers, actors, and business leaders. I thought, “I wonder where the ordinary people like me are?” So I decided to give them a profile of me because there is no one more ordinary than me.