We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jenna Dunn a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Jenna, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

Mid-South Trans Nation evolved from a place of urgency, compassion, and community care. As anti-trans rhetoric and policy attacks intensified many transgender people across the country, especially in the South, found themselves facing increased uncertainty, fear, and barriers to essential resources. In our community, we saw firsthand how these political and social pressures were impacting real people’s lives. Access to healthcare became more complicated, legal protections felt fragile, and many trans individuals felt increasingly isolated.

In response, we created Mid-South Trans Nation as a grassroots effort to build something that was deeply needed. A supportive network where transgender people could find resources, share their experiences, and feel less alone. The organization started as a way to connect people to practical support, whether that meant information, mutual aid, or simply a safe outlet for storytelling and community dialogue. At its heart, Mid-South Trans Nation was founded on the belief that when systems fail us, community can step in to uplift, protect, and empower one another.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

Myself and my Now Fiance Mar :) Have always been community organizers, storytellers, and advocates for the Trans community focused on uplifting and preserving transgender voices. Our work grew out of a deep desire to create spaces where trans people could feel seen, supported, and connected to one another. During a time when transgender rights were increasingly under attack in the United States, particularly during the administration of Donald Trump & the Republican Party, we saw how urgently many people in our community needed resources, safe outlets, and supportive networks. Our organization’s focus is on connecting transgender individuals with resources, mutual support, and to know that they belong.

Through our work, our focus on community storytelling, advocacy, and creating opportunities for trans people to share their lived experiences. One of the most meaningful aspects of our work has been recording and collecting personal stories from transgender individuals. These narratives capture the humor, resilience, struggles, and beauty of our lives, and they help preserve a history that has often been overlooked. I believe storytelling is a powerful way to build empathy and understanding while ensuring that our voices are documented for future generations.

What sets our work apart is that it is deeply rooted in community and authenticity. The projects we create are not just about advocacy, they are about people, connection, and preserving the richness of our experiences. I am especially proud of building spaces where transgender individuals feel safe sharing their stories and where those stories can be preserved as part of a broader cultural history. Our goal is to continue expanding this work, building archives of trans narratives, and helping ensure that our voices are heard, valued, and remembered.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

One of the moments was realizing how many transgender people around us were struggling to find resources, support, or even safe spaces to simply be themselves. During a time when national conversations and policies were and still are becoming increasingly hostile toward trans people, many of us carry that weight in our daily lives. I remember feeling both overwhelmed and motivated at the same time, overwhelmed by the scale of the need, but motivated by the knowledge that community solidarity could make a real difference.

That moment pushed us to step forward and build something meaningful, which eventually led to the creation of Mid-South Trans Nation. Starting a grassroots organization isn’t easy. There were moments of doubt, moments where resources were limited, and times when the work felt emotionally heavy. But what keeps us going is seeing the impact of even small act of support, people finding resources they didn’t know existed, making new connections, or simply feeling less alone. Those moments reminded us that resilience often comes from community, and that when we support one another, we can build something powerful even in challenging times.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

One of the moments that required a real pivot in our work came when we started seeing the direct impact of new policies targeting transgender people, particularly the driver’s license law in Kansas that required identification documents to reflect sex assigned at birth. For many transgender people, that meant licenses that had already been updated were suddenly invalidated. Overnight, people were being told their identification no longer matched who they were. That created serious and immediate challenges, because a driver’s license isn’t just an ID, it’s something people rely on for work, housing, travel, healthcare access, and everyday safety.

As we began hearing from people affected by the law, it became clear that the situation was bigger than awareness or advocacy. Many individuals suddenly needed money to obtain new documents, travel to states where they could update their records safely, or in some cases relocate altogether to places where they felt safer living openly as themselves. Listening to those stories made it clear that our work needed to evolve.

That’s when we decided to implement the Trans Assistance Fund. Up until that point, much of our work had focused on community building, storytelling, and connecting people with resources. But the moment called for something more immediate. The fund was created to provide small but meaningful financial assistance to transgender individuals facing urgent situations like document updates, relocation expenses, or other barriers created by these policies. Resilience sometimes means being willing to shift your mission in real time, so that when people are facing uncertainty, they know someone is there to help them get through it. We still need continued support from donors to sustain the fund as we rely on outside donations rather than grants to continue to provide this assistance to our community.

Our own journey took us from our Tennessee home and chosen family, to our new Illinois home. With help from our friends, family and own resilience, we are creating our safe space in a safe state. Understanding this experience has helped us to deepen our focus with helping our community.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.midsouthtransnation.org/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mid_south_trans_nation?igsh=MTBhcmVqbWF3NTNoMQ%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1EZB6BaEXf/?mibextid=wwXIfr
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@JennaLeeDunn
• Other: https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.instagram.com%2Fjennaonfire%3Figsh%3DMW1mMTlwaHAyaHJzMw%253D%253D%26utm_source%3Dqr%26fbclid%3DIwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAYnJpZBExVGRZY2VndktvZ0Zkc05EbnNydGMGYXBwX2lkEDIyMjAzOTE3ODgyMDA4OTIAAR6rkw3_UNj5uNmm2u536AsRYDThQeonJ-fLxYJgBbZ1166aXy4nXv1BLCnmow_aem_w-lCCC8kMmeYZ8RrP0TmBA&h=AT72htbSXmdApDel9gBKM2SJui8nwR7Gx8Yg7CpR9McVNQF22trxvV_nfdnZOq8V1MyycaLk74sKTe1Sar67rY_EMCpWwRR-_0LKA4Ggw16OzzwVQd3UVaBZ4XVvgvN9KGBfL3DE7xXcJ61jXEnOjvBMVlk

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Image Credits

i took all photos and made all the graphics myself.