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Tune in to episode 20 of the Disability Inclusion: Required podcast.

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Dreaming Freedom, Finding Joy: Funding the Transgender Justice Movement with Aldita Amaru Gallardo and Rainier Miles

In this episode, host Justice Shorter welcomes Aldita Amaru Gallardo and Rainier Miles for a powerful discussion on transgender movement-building, gender liberation, and the collective efforts of disabled and transgender organizers. Aldita and Rainier unpack the interconnectedness of anti-trans legislation and state-sanctioned violence, and break down how bodily autonomy is a unifying principle between the disability justice and transgender justice movements. Aldita’s and Rainier’s dreams of a gender-liberated world filled with community, art, joy, and interdependence, where everyone is able to thrive and exist freely, provides a motivating north star for funding transgender liberation.

Correction: Rainier serves as the Disability Justice Program Director at Black Trans Fund, and Aldita serves as the Director of the Action for Transformation Fund at Emergent Fund.

Our podcast theme music is by Andre Louis and Precious Perez. Thank you to Recording Artists And Music Professionals With Disabilities (RAMPD) for connecting these talented disabled musicians with the Disability & Philanthropy Forum.

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Featured Guests

Aldita Amaru Gallardo, a disabled Indigenous queer trans woman with low shaved hair, black eyeliner, and a close-shaven beard. She is smiling at the camera against a blurred dark green background, wearing a black and white patterned top, aqua blue necklace, colorful earrings, and pink lipstick.

Aldita Amaru Gallardo

Aldita Amaru Gallardo (she/her/ella) is an organizer, resource mobilizer, and director of the Action for Transformation Fund at Emergent Fund. She is a disabled, Indigiqueer trans woman from Lima, Perú, and has called Oakland, CA on Ohlone Land home for over ten years. She is an experienced grantmaker and donor organizer, and serves on the Board of Directors at Funders for LGBTQ Issues. She is the founder and principal consultant of her own philanthropic advising practice. She is an Open Society Foundations 2024 Soros Equality Fellow, working to mobilize new donors to invest in intersectional racial and gender justice movements while supporting trans leaders to navigate philanthropy. A Northwestern University graduate, she is committed to resourcing generative movements working toward collective liberation.

An albino Black trans man with pink and blond hair wearing rainbow glasses, a maroon shirt and black blazer looks toward the camera in a white hallway with two colorful paintings.

Rainier Miles

Rainier Miles is a disabled, Black, trans liberation steward with over a decade of experience in community collaboration, organization, and outreach. Rooted in lived experience and education, Rainier advocates for reparations, representation, and the reclamation of power within marginalized communities. As a proud Black parent and cherished “Den Dad,” he is passionate about uplifting the joy, magic, and excellence embedded in Black culture. Rainier’s work reflects his unwavering commitment to justice, equity, and collective liberation, serving as a reminder of the resilience and brilliance that thrives in the Black community.