Image of a person crouching around various shapes, with a second person in the background

Our Team

Staff

Une personne blanche genderqueer avec un bob rose, des tatouages et des lunettes debout contre un mur de briques avec des ombres dessus. Elle porte un collier de pierre de lune, un gilet en jean délavé et une chandail noire.

Cat – Executive Director

Cat is an emerging academic and artist weirdo, and established non-profit leader based in Regina, Treaty 4 territory, who strives to bring her dyke politics to work. Cat was previously the Development Director at JusticeTrans, the Programs and Operations Manager at UR Pride—a 2SLGBTQ+ non-profit in Regina, and was the Chair of TransSask—a non-profit organization with a mandate to provide supports for Two Spirit, trans and non-binary people in Saskatchewan. Cat is also a founding member of the Saskatchewan Trans Health Coalition, and a member of the Capacitor Advisory Council, which oversees a universal basic income pilot program for Two Spirit, trans, non-binary and gender diverse artists and digital creators in Saskatchewan. Outside her work, Cat enjoys painting portraits of people she is in community with and creating Super-8 films documenting her queer family and life. 

Ro Mather – Finance & Operations Manager

Ro (they/them) is an artist based in Tiohti:áke / Montreal, on the stolen territory of the Kanien’kehà:ka. Ro holds a BA in Diaspora & Transnationalism and a post–grad in Climate Change Policy from the University of Toronto. They have primarily worked in eco-tech and not-for-profit environments. Ro is passionate about barrier-free access to knowledge and economic empowerment for queer & trans people. They devote much of their time to providing accessible business literacy and mentorship services for emerging queer/trans artists, entrepreneurs, and sex workers. They are a board member on multiple queer events & production companies, and they regularly volunteer in harm reduction for queer nightlife. In their personal life, Ro enjoys photography and illustration. They are currently working on their tattoo flash portfolio and a poetry zine collaboration with friends. If they are not in their studio, you can be sure to find them at the dog park.  

Jack, a Cree 2 spirit transgender pansexual man, has short black hair. Wearing gold rimmed glasses, Jack is smiling at the camera wearing a buckskin vest and a blue button-up shirt underneath.

Jack Saddleback – Programs Manager

Jack Saddleback (he/him) is a Cree, Two-Spirit, transgender, pansexual man in a gay relationship from the Samson Cree Nation in Maskwacis, Alberta. An internationally renowned public speaker, activist, and equity champion, Jack is a staunch advocate for Two Spirit topics, mental health initiatives, Indigenous engagement, gender and sexual diversity, equitable policies, and social stewardship. Jack unapologetically brings these passions to the roles he has held over the years, such as the former Co-Interim Executive Director with OUTSaskatoon and the Board Co-Chair with 2 Spirits in Motion. The tireless initiatives work he spearheads in the Queer community and Indigenous communities brings attention to reconciliation and decolonization work that incorporates an intersectional lens. As the former President for the University of Saskatchewan Students’ Union (USSU), Jack was the third Aboriginal person and the first transgender person to hold the role and successfully introduced the mandate of Indigenous content in all degree programs at the University of Saskatchewan during his tenure. A recipient of numerous awards, such as the 2018 SK Young Humanitarian of the Year from Red Cross, Jack’s calling to create an equitable and accessible future that is steeped in sâkihito-maskihkiy (love medicine), the teachings that stem directly from the holistic worldviews his culture.

Board of Directors

Photo of Pierre

Pierre Cloutier de Repentigny – Co-Chair

Pierre Cloutier de Repentigny (he/she/they) is a non-binary queer disabled Assistant Professor of Environment, Law and Social Justice at Carleton University. They are currently finishing their PhD at the Centre for Environmental Law and Global Sustainability at the Faculty of Law, University of Ottawa where they were a Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation Scholar and a SSHRC Joseph-Armand Bombardier Canada Graduate Scholar. Pierre is a member of the Law Society of Ontario and practiced law as a sole practitioner in Toronto. A sizable portion of their practice was pro bono work, principally for members of the queer community. They were trained in both common law and civil law, and, as a settler, is a student of Indigenous laws. Their professional experiences include working for the federal government, a federal commission of inquiry, the Federal Court, a member of the International Law Commission of the United Nations, and the University of Ottawa as a part-time law professor. Pierre’s identity and past (professional and lived) experiences greatly influence their scholarship, teaching and activism. 

Photo of Evan

Evan Vipond – Co-Chair, Secretary 

Evan Vipond (they/them) is a Ph.D. Candidate in Gender, Feminist and Women’s Studies at York University. Their doctoral project, Trans Liberalism: Trans Rights and the U.S. Military, critically examines the advocacy efforts to lift the U.S. military’s trans ban. Evan serves as Co-Chair of the Board of Directors for JusticeTrans, an access to justice initiative for trans people in Canada. Evan is actively involved in the trans and nonbinary community in Tkaronto, Ontario, and has been involved in numerous community-based trans healthcare initiatives. Their work has been published in a/b: Auto/Biography Studies (2019), Canadian Review of Social Policy (2017), Gender and Education (2017), Western Journal of Legal Studies (2015), and Theory in Action (2015), among others. Evan is trans, nonbinary, queer, and invisibly disabled. 

Photo of Taryn

Taryn Husband – Treasurer

Taryn Husband (he/him) is multiply disabled white settler transmasculine advocate, educator and support giver. He is originally from Vancouver, British Columbia, but has been based in Ottawa since 2007. His activism is centred around advocating for the trans and disabled communities in Ottawa, particularly access to justice and community care. In addition to his role as the Treasurer at JusticeTrans, he is currently employed by the federal government (where he is heavily engaged in diversity and inclusion efforts), and volunteers with KindSpace (an Ottawa-based 2SLGBTQ+ organization), where he runs the GenderQuest support and social group for trans, non-binary, Two-Spirit and questioning adults and co-facilitates the CafeQ youth group. 

headshot of Gwen Rose

Gwen Rose

Gwen Rose (she/they) is a non-binary/trans-feminine person from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, on Treaty Six territory. She is a graduate student in English at the University of Saskatchewan, and in fall of 2022, she will begin her dissertation on reading transgender characters in the modernist period. They are also a research assistant on the TRANS project, a U of S research project dedicated to improving trans and non-binary healthcare in Saskatchewan. Gwen is also a parent and a musician. 

Founder

photo of Benjamin

Benjamin Mitsuk

Benjamin Mitsuk, BES and JD, (they/them) is the founder of JusticeTrans. In addition to constructing the JT website and app, they have also dedicated their time to numerous LGBTQ and Indigenous causes. They identify as Two-spirit, queer, and trans, and are currently the Manager – Economic Development and Culture, Policy Advancement with Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami.