Liz De Jesus

In 2007, Liz’s son invited her to attend Pittsburgh Pride, where she was introduced to the PFLAG Pittsburgh chapter. Now a 10-plus year member of the chapter, she served for two years as the chapter Vice President and Advocacy Chair, then spent three years as the chapter president, finally continuing on for an additional two years as a past-president advisor. Liz then took the skills and knowledge she gained in those roles and applied it to broader work, serving for six years as Pennsylvania state coordinator. As state coordinator, she had the opportunity to mentor other chapter leaders as she had done with the leaders that followed her in her own chapter, as well as provide peer-to-peer support to PFLAG leaders and members across the entire state. Liz has facilitated support groups not just for her own chapter but as a formal facilitator across multiple PFLAG chapters in the Western Pennsylvania area. She also served as a member of her local Speakers Bureau, and established the first support group in her local tri-state area for families of trans and gender-expansive people. That work led her to Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, where she provides support for families through their adolescent medicine program, and their transgender clinic. Liz also volunteers with the Shepherd Wellness Community which provides support for individuals and families affected by HIV and AIDS. Liz is married with three adult sons, five grandchildren, and very proud to call herself a PFLAG Mom. She looks forward to working with all, especially the North Atlantic Region chapters, striving to achieve the changes necessary to bring about a society that embraces and respects diversity.