Janet Mock

Janet Mock is a Black transgender American writer, director, producer, and activist who is one of the most prominent trans voices in American culture. She spent five years at People.com, rising from staff writer to staff editor, before a 2011 Marie Claire article about her own life launched her as one of the first prominent public faces for trans women of color; the following year she founded the online empowerment campaign #girlslikeus. She is known for her memoirs Redefining Realness (2014) and Surpassing Certainty (2017), and for writing, directing, and executive producing Pose (2018) — the landmark drama about New York's ballroom community in the AIDS era — becoming the first trans woman of color to write and direct an episode of American television with "Love Is the Message," and earning an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Drama Series as a producer on its first season. She has spoken about the critical importance of trans people telling their own stories and has been a passionate advocate for trans rights and Black trans lives.