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Months ago, Chase Strangio became the first transgender lawyer to appear before the Supreme Court, arguing in the case of U.S. v. Skrmetti. Come join Chase in conversation with LGBTQ+ activist, actor and writer Celeste Lecesne, as they discuss their lives amidst the perilous state of LGBTQ+ rights.

Chase Strangio is Co-Director of the ACLU’s LGBT & HIV Project as well as a nationally recognized expert on transgender rights. Chase’s work includes impact litigation, as well as legislative and administrative advocacy, on behalf of LGBTQ people and people living with HIV across the United States.

Prior to joining the ACLU, Chase was an Equal Justice Works fellow and the Director of Prisoner Justice Initiatives at the Sylvia Rivera Law Project, where he represented transgender and gender non-conforming individuals in confinement settings. In 2012, Chase co-founded the Lorena Borjas Community Fund, an organization that provides direct bail/bond assistance to LGBTQ immigrants in criminal and immigration cases. Chase is a graduate of Northeastern University School of Law and Grinnell College.

Chase was counsel in the ACLU’s challenge to North Carolina’s notorious HB2, Carcaño, et al. v. Cooper, et al, the ACLU’s challenge to Trump’s trans military ban, Stone v. Trump, and the case of Aimee Stephens, R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes v EEOC, which resulted in a landmark 6-3 ruling from the Supreme Court finding the 1964 Civil Rights Act's prohibition on sex discrimination in employment extended to discrimination against LGBTQ workers.

On December 4, 2024, Strangio presented oral arguments on behalf of the private plaintiffs in U.S. v. Skrmetti, a landmark Supreme Court challenge brought by three families and a medical provider against a Tennessee law banning gender-affirming medical care for transgender youth.

Celeste Lecesne (they/he) wrote the short film Trevor, which won an Academy Award for Best Live Action Short and they are co-founder of The Trevor Project, the largest suicide prevention and crisis intervention Lifeline for LGBT and Questioning youth. They created THE ROAD HOME Stories of Children of War, which was presented at the International Peace Initiative at The Hague, and is credited as executive producer of After The Storm, a film that documents 12 young people living in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Celeste’s TV writing credits include Armistead Maupin’s Further Tales of The City for Showtime and Will & Grace. They have written three novels for young adults and created The Letter Q, a collection of Letters by Queer Writers to their Younger Selves. As an actor, they have appeared on TV, Broadway and Off Broadway. Celeste is perhaps best known for solo shows such as, One Man Band, Word of Mouth (Drama Desk Award) and The Absolute Brightness of Leonard Pelkey (Outer Critics Circle Award). The NYTimes has ranked them “among the most talented solo performers of his (or any) generation.”  They are also the co-founder of The Future Perfect Project, a national arts initiative for LGBTQIA+ youth, and the recipient of a 2023 Guggenheim Fellowship Award.