Transgender Women’s Business Council formed

Orlando's transgender community has a new platform. The Transgender Women's Business Council, launched in early June.

â┚¬Å”The goal is to have a very clear voice for transsexual women and to also reach out locally to other transitioning women and be a resource guide to them,â┚¬Â said the Council's president, CPA Laura Barbery. â┚¬Å”The council is going to be made up of successful, transitioned business women.â┚¬Â

Barbery said there are currently nine members meeting once a month, and they plan to cap membership at 11 members.

â┚¬Å”Our ultimate goal is to model what we do and allow other LGBT communities to adapt our model so it spreads more grassroots,â┚¬Â she said. â┚¬Å”We're encouraging other members under the T umbrella to form the same types of committees so every group under the T will have a very clear voice to articulate what their goals are.â┚¬Â

Because the group is relatively new, Barbery said its stilling defining itself and formulating ideas. However, one partnership has already formed with the Zebra Coalition, a coalition of LGBT youth organizations. She said the group hopes to mentor homeless transgender youth.