Transgender Day of Visibility Luncheon w/ Charley Burton

The Hub for Student Inclusion & Community cordially invites you to attend the Transgender Day of Visibility Luncheon on Tuesday, March 31st from 12 - 1:15 PM in the Brown-Alley Room (Weinstein Hall, 3rd Floor).  Jasmine Khatcheressian (UR '26) will deliver our student speech, followed by our keynote speaker, Charley Burton (see bio below).  Catering will be provided by Carena's Jamaican Grille.

This event is open to all UR faculty, staff, students, and alumni.  No RSVP required.

About Charley Burton:
Charley Burton is a native of Charlottesville and the owner of Charley Speaks. He is often on the road offering speaking engagements and training where, through his story telling and inspirational conversation, he involves his audience on what it is like to be a Black Trans elder who has survived childhood abuse, substance abuse, and gender dysphoria. He is not just a survivor, but an architect of community and a storyteller of his truth. 

Some of Charley's accomplishments include serving as Board Chair of Equality Virginia, the first transgender person to hold this role. He was appointed by Governor Northam as one of the members on the LGBTQ+ Advisory Board. He is the Founder of Diversity in Recovery, an organization designed to provide safe spaces for the LGBTQ/BIPOC community. Charley is the Founder and Executive Director of Transforming Futures, an organization focused on hosting conferences across Virginia to enrich the Trans community and its Allies on how to be of support during these trying times. He is also the founder of Black Transmen Can Cook, featuring Black Transmen and their recipes and stories of being in the kitchen from pre-transition to now.

Charley has been honored as an Outstanding Virginian by Equality Virginia, received the Community Root award by Black Pride RVA, as well as the Caring for the Community for Above and Beyond Voice for Equity Award by United Way of Greater Charlotteville. He is certified as a Mental Health First Aid, Peer Support Specialist, Safe Space Trainer, and Trainer for Transgender 101. He also started a new podcast called "Porch Talk".

Charley is currently enrolled at Morehouse College, majoring in Business Management/Public Health. Charley has an autobiography available on Amazon called "The Boy Beneath My Skin", a story about surviving abuse, addiction, mental illness, and gender dysphoria that reveals one man’s indominable spirit to recover and live a rich life. Charley is also working on revising his mother’s cookbook that will have southern recipes and stories of black women in the kitchen and the stories behind her wonderful food creations. He is also in the final stages of completing a follow-up to "The Boy Beneath My Skin".

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