Y. Gavriel Ansara
Y. Gavriel Ansara, ('Gavi'), is an activist and social justice figure in New England.
Biography
Y. Gavriel Ansara is a gay man of trans experience who was designated female at birth and a polycultural, polyglot immigrant with ties to several continents. Gavriel moved to the United States as a teenager. He is the founder and executive director of Lifelines Rhode Island, a grassroots advocacy, education, and support initiative to meet the needs of transgender, transsexual, Two-Spirit, genderqueer, and intersex (TGI) people. Lifelines Rhode Island is currently the only statewide, multi-service nonprofit organization focused on meeting the needs of TGI people in Rhode Island and surrounding regions. The Lifelines TGI On-Call Advocates program is the 1st of its kind in the world.
Gavriel was the Recipient of the 2002 Keshet Leadership of the Year Award for his efforts as the founder and coordinator of Tiferet, a Keshet outreach project for Orthodox and traditionally observant gay, lesbian, and bisexual (GLB)/TGI Jews. Tiferet has the distinction of being the only project specifically focused on the needs of traditionally observant and Orthodox GLB/TGI Jews in Massachusetts, and one of only a few similar projects worldwide. He serves as one of the facilitators for Keshet’s Massachusetts Jewish Safe Schools program, and assists with other activities as a Keshet board member. He is editorial assistant at Developmental Psychology, a peer review journal of the American Psychological Association.
Publications
His piece, "Transitioning," appeared in the anthology From the Inside Out: Radical Gender Transformation, FTM and Beyond; edited by Morty Diamond. He is the author of an essay that appeared in Jewish Mosaic's Torah Queeries. His monthly column, TransLations, appears in Get Magazine and he is a contributing author to JVoices.
References
New organization provides much-needed assistance for Ocean State transgender community LIFELINES RHODE ISLAND PUTS FORWARD ITS TRANS AGENDA July 19, 2007 1
Ansara, Gavriel, "Transitioning" (2004) From the Inside Out: Radical Gender Transformation, FTM and Beyond; edited by Morty Diamond 2
Mentioned in "The Wondering Jew, Judaism and Gender Identity," by Leah Koenig for "New Voices" 3
Someone To Know: Gavriel Alejandro Levi Ansara 4