MEDIA RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Contact: Shannon Garcia, Board President
Phone: 1-888-462-8932 (888-IMA-TYFA)
Email: shannong@imatyfa.org

ACCLAIMED AUTHOR JOINS TRANSYOUTH FAMILY ALLIES BOARD OF DIRECTORS

HOLLAND, MI, June 30, 2009 – TransYouth Family Allies (TYFA), a national organization empowering transgender and gender variant children and their families, today announced that the Board of Directors welcomed medical lecturer and journalist Andrew Solomon of New York City, NY. Nationally recognized psychotherapist Moonhawk River Stone, M.S., LMHC of Albany, NY, who previously served as a Director has been elected to serve as Vice President of the Board of Directors.

"We are thrilled to have our Board of Directors include these two prominent figures who have proven their ability to make positive changes in the community for our children,” said TYFA Executive Director Kim Pearson.

Andrew Solomon is a Lecturer in Psychiatry at Cornell Medical School, and is a fellow of Berkeley College at Yale University. A prominent author, he wrote The Noonday Demon: An Atlas of Depression, which was a Pulitzer Prize finalist, a 2001 National Book Award winner and garnered fourteen other national awards. He is also a regular contributor to top national news outlets including The New York Times, The New Yorker and Artforum. In 2008, Solomon was awarded the prestigious Humanitarian Award of the Society of Biological Psychiatry for his contributions to the field of mental health.

“TYFA supports a community for whose civil rights and personal identity there is no protection in
law, and very little in social tradition,” said Andrew Solomon. “TYFA's work saves lives and forestalls a great deal of suffering. I am thrilled to join the visionary activists of the TYFA board in this crucially important work.”

Moonhawk River Stone, M.S., LMHC is a psychotherapist, consultant, educator and writer in private practice. His leadership also extends to serving on the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Foundation Board of Directors where he is Chair of the Diversity Committee. Stone also serves as Chair of the Trans Health Care Committee for the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association.

"I am delighted to deepen my commitment to the important and timely work of TFYA through my appointment as Vice President of the Board of Directors,” said Hawk Stone. “I look forward to serving this dynamic organization and assisting more directly in furthering its vital mission for all gender variant children.”

“Both Hawk and Andrew are committed to helping TYFA in our quest for a society free of suicide and violence in which all children are respected and celebrated," said Pearson. “We are excited to welcome this new leadership and vision for our organization as we continue to serve the community.”

ABOUT TYFA
TransYouth Family Allies (TYFA) is a national nonprofit that empowers children and families by partnering with educators, service providers and communities to develop supportive environments in which gender may be expressed and respected. To learn more, please visit the TYFA website at www.imatyfa.org or call 1-888-IMA-TYFA.
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The Causes Team