I first met Jude Guaitamacchi (they/them) on a Zoom call to chat about them speaking at some events. I was instantly bowled over by their energy & enthusiasm!

And that's Jude. They're out to make a difference. Through activism, campaigning and education. From wonderful, well known campaigns such as 'L with the T' and '#transpeopleareloved' through to founding the Trans+ Solidarity Alliance. Their career, work and purpose has evolved over the years and their gender journey is a fundamental part of that.

Jude's early years were challenging and turbulent and we'd like to put out a trigger warning with this episode as we cover challenging issues including addiction, recovery and mental health.

'Shame, Empowerment & Liberation' are the three words Jude uses to describe their origin story - which lean very much into how their adventure to 'becomingjude' (their Insta handle) is a work in progress and one that is changing lives. There's a lot of joy & love here too - for chosen family, the trans+ community and each other. Enjoy!

Following last year's burnout, I made a promise to myself to only get involved and support new projects if they met these two conditions:

• I believed in the cause
• I believed in the person

These were 100% met when my dear friend Marty Davies (she/they) asked me to jump on board as Events Director for the first ever Trans+ History Week (6-12 May).

Marty founded Trans+ History Week partly to challenge the rhetoric that trans+ identities are a recent phenomenon and the accompanying history lesson guidebook shows that trans, non-binary and gender non-confirming people and communities have always been here. But more importantly, to show trans+ people that they have a place in history. They've had an impact. They belong. Because trans history is history. Find out more about it on Instagram @transhistoryweek

Not only is Marty a history maker but they're a highly impactful and effective change maker too and their work across advertising, brand campaigns and the media is tackling anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric and shining a light on issues across multiple industries. I'll let the podcast do the rest of the talking - Marty's origin story which she describes in three words 'Proud Attention Seeker'. And she's owning it! Enjoy...

Polly Shute (she/her) is someone who likes to get shit done. And through talking about her origin story, we sussed out that Little Polly was exactly the same and didn't like to be held back!

Polly is a marketing, sales, partnerships and brand expert with a passion community, equality and representation. She's the Founder of Out & Wild, a festival for queer women and last she set up Outspoken Speakers Bureau - a collective and network for queer women & non-binary people (alongside Raga D'silva, another fab guest on the show). Polly also successfully launched the first ever Pride Swim in 2023 which will see tons more events in 2024 & beyond!

We talk multi-tasking & mental health, ageing, menopause & representation along with Polly's love of travel, cooking and her gorgeous dog Noreen. I only met Polly last year through a previous shared employer and I'm grateful that I get to work with her on various things still. Her 3 words to describe her origin story are 'drive' passion & energy' - you'll hear why this is so spot on throughout the episode!