I Heart Edmonton

Local transgender pioneer & advocate Mickey Wilson talks about the struggles and triumphs of finally realizing his true self by emil tiedemann “ W HEN I look at a form with an ‘M’ and an ‘F’ option, I stroke them both out and write ‘T’ for trans,” admitted Mickey Wilson , executive director of the Pride Centre of Edmonton , and the first out trans masculine person in the city. “I refuse to enter into their binary gender politics. That’s not my problem; my problem is you haven’t prepared a place for my identity to exist.”  Mickey Wilson is the Executive Director of the Pride Centre of Edmonton Wilson won’t settle for anything other than what he believes is right, because he’s had to deal with a lifetime of sorting through the unimaginable complexities of being born into “a body that didn’t work” for him. That in itself could be seen as an insurmountable obstacle to overcome, but it was reality for Wilson, and one that included the burden of being disowned by his ...

Edmonton transgender advocate Marni Panas' journey transitioning into her true self by emil Tiedemann I F you can, try to imagine growing up in the wrong body. Imagine having the mind, the heart, the soul of one gender, but the physical frame of another. Imagine being trapped behind a veil for most of your life, no one able to see you wholly. Most of us have never had to imagine such a thing, because most of us are born into the body we were meant to encompass. Most of us, but not all of us.  Beautiful inside and out, transgender advocate Marni Panas “In September 2012, I was looking at a picture taken of me on a beach in North Carolina,” remembered transgender advocate and social activist Marni Panas . “And I cried and cried and cried. For the first time in my life, I saw ME looking back. It was one of the most profound moments of my life.” It took her more than 40 years before she was able to find herself in the mirror, to see beyond the mask that bound her own authent...

The Kids Are Alright! Dr. Kris Wells advocates for LGBTQ+ youth through his work with iSMSS and Camp fYrefly by emil Tiedemann “ I  WATCHED as the whole school erased his identity as though he had never existed,” recalled Dr. Kris Wells , assistant professor at the University of Alberta and director of its Institute for Sexual Minority Studies and Services , referring to a gay former student of his who took his own life. “I was that same kid; I remember the razor blade at my own wrists at 15. I made a different choice than he did. From that point on, I left teaching.”  Dr. Kris Wells is one of the most recognized & respected LGBTQ+ advocates in Edmonton, known for his work with the University of Alberta Wells returned to teaching when a friend introduced him to a group for gay and lesbian youth.  “And that’s when I came back to the University of Alberta to try to understand what was happening in our schools and try to change it,” he said.  He jo...

NOW! Radio host Mark D talks about his life in radio and how he almost ended up as a Rabbi? BY EMIL TIEDEMANN " I WASN'T allowed to listen to the radio growing up," admitted NOW! Radio host Mark Drelich , who moved to Edmonton from hometown Brooklyn when he was about two years old. "When I was younger I would put one Walkman headphone in my ear for the 630 CHED Oilers broadcast, and the other I would keep out to hear if my mom was coming down the hallway."  Mark D in training at Toronto's Humber College That's quite a progression from then and now - no pun intended - given Mark's current position at perhaps the most engaging FM station in the city.  Clearly, being in radio was never on his radar, let alone something Mark ever imagined for his future. Especially coming from a "very religious household" that had assumed he would take a more divine route, like his siblings.  He travelled to Toronto and Baltimore to gain a ...

There aren't many more folks in Alberta who have been as active in almost every aspect of our province than Michael Phair, one of the first openly gay politicians in Canada, which is why we needed much more than just a few minutes with him... BY EMIL TIEDEMANN It was only a few seconds after Michael Phair walked into the Roast Coffeehouse in downtown Edmonton that he had spotted someone he knew. A few people actually, including Ward 6 Councillor Scott McKeen . I certainly wasn't surprised, knowing Phair is a well-connected Edmontonian who's involved or has been involved in countless groups and organizations throughout the city, and for many years now. Michael Phair is currently an adjunct professor and education facilitator with  iSMSS  (Institute for Sexual Minority Studies and Services). But most folks around here know Michael Phair most as an advocate for the LGBTQ community , a hat he's been wearing since the '80s, when being openly gay in Alberta and in ...