We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Ravyn Whinehouse a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Ravyn, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.
Transgender Empowerment Alliance (TEA) was formed as a support group for transgender and non-binary individuals. I started TEA in Jacksonville, Fl. There weren’t support groups for our community and I was at a lost trying to find one. I felt defeated when I couldn’t find one. I decided to create one due to the lack of resources for our community. We deserved to have our voices lifted higher. Who was better to do it than a marginalized black transgender identified individual.
Ravyn, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
My name is Ravyn. I am a 26 year old black Trans Woman who dedicates her life to making sure my community have equality and equity. I followed my heart and my mind when creating Transgender Empowerment Alliance. We equip our LGBTQIA+ Community with the necessary resources needed to elevate in society. We make sure that our transgender and Non-binary individuals are at the forefront of our organization. We provide support groups where clients/youth can gather support and build lasting bonds. We also provide skill building opportunities that help with career development. Our long term goal is to create transitional housing for our LGBTQIA+ minority community.
Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?
I would say always be willing to listen to your team. Opinions matter and so does different points of views.
Can you open up about how you funded your business?
I found a couple of like minded individuals who believed in my cause. They decided to donate because they were proud of the work I was doing.
Contact Info:
- Website: Teajax.org
- Instagram: Tea_Jax