ELDERS PANEL
Saturday, March 29th, 2025
9:15 AM - 10:45 AM
Sngequ House (Sŋéqə ʔéʔləŋ) & Online
University of Victoria, Victoria, BC, Canada
Lək̓ʷəŋən territory
Charley Burton
Charley Burton is a native of Charlottesville VA. His book, telling his life story, The Boy Beneath My Skin, is available on Amazon. It’s a story about a survivor of abuse, addiction, mental illness, gender dysphoria that, in the end, shows his indominable spirit to recover and live a rich life. This may be just one man’s story but, in many ways, it’s a story about us all.
Charley recently founded STEP, the Supporting Trans Elder Project, that supports elder Transmen to continue to thrive as they age. Charley is the owner of Charley Speaks where he conducts speaking engagements and training and, through his story telling and inspirational chat, he involves his audience to better understand what it is like to be a Black Transman living in the south. Charley is a board member of Equality Virginia, and he also created a group called Black Transmen Can Cook, which will create the first cookbook created solely by Transmen. Charley is currently enrolled at Morehouse College, majoring in Business Administration/Public Health.
Lukas Walther
Lukas Walther has lived an extraordinary life full of peril and resilience. Homeless at 12, his experiences fuel his ongoing drive to bridge critical gaps in care outreach. His resume includes community counselor, group facilitator, mentor, advocate, educator, resource developer, and consultant. His front-line mental health work spans 50 years, 25+ specializing in gender diversity.
Lukas plays a unique role supporting trans youth and adults, their loved ones, care providers, employers, and schools. Since 1997, he has educated countless doctors, teachers, and mental health professionals. In 1998, he established a still-active discussion group for transmasculine adults. In 2004, while coordinating BC’s Transgender Health Program, he established a peer-led support network for trans-identified people involved in survival sex work, and in 2012 he established a still-active support network for parents of trans kids. In 2006, at the Gender Odyssey conference in Seattle, Lukas was presented with the FTM Award "In recognition for significant contributions to our collective communities." He continues to be a repeat invited speaker at numerous nursing, social work, and psychology post-grad programs throughout the Lower Mainland.
Brian Belovitch
Brian Belovitch, a now-cis gay man of trans experience, is an actor, author, public speaker and mental health professional. During the height of the New York City club scene in the 1980’s, Brian lived as a vivacious trans woman, Tish Gervais, who performed at top NYC nightclubs where she was billed as the “Bombshell of Rock n Roll.” He is the author of the 2018 memoir, Trans Figured: My Journey from Boy to Girl to Woman to Man – for which he was named one of the 50 most influential LGBTQ authors of all time by Barnes and Noble – and of the 2000 GLAAD-award-nominated Off-Broadway play, Boys Don’t Wear Lipstick. Brian is also the subject of a 2019 documentary film, I’m Gonna Make You Love Me and a frequent guest on multiple podcasts.
Brian now works in private practice as a Mental Health Counselor in NYC where he uses his life experience as a now-cis gay man of trans experience to help others who are exploring their own identity journeys. A long-term survivor of HIV, Brian advocates proudly on behalf of the LGBTQIA+ community in all its wondrous expressions.