Moderator: Melanie D’Arrigo 

Melanie D'Arrigo is a native New Yorker, mother of three and activist for social change. She received her bachelor's degree from Barnard College in NYC and her Master of Science degree from Long Island University, Brooklyn. She is a former congressional candidate and a co-founder of Be The Rainbow. She spent her early career as an allied health professional building preventive health strategies and programs for organizations throughout the United States, but has focused her most recent efforts on affecting social change at local, state and national levels through meaningful policy change. She is a leading voice for universal healthcare and social causes in national politics and currently serves as the Executive Director for the Campaign for New York Health.

 Juil Grey-Owens, Executive Director for Gender Equality New York  

Juli Grey-Owens, a New York State transgender activist, is the founder and Executive Director of Gender Equality New York Inc (GENY), a non-profit corporation whose mission is to advocate for transgender, non-binary, and intersex New Yorkers through education, advocacy, and empowerment. GENY regularly provides Forums and trainings to the public both virtually and in-person.  

She was a Lead Organizer and driving force behind the campaign to pass the New York State transgender civil rights bill known as the Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act (GENDA), which was successfully passed and signed into law by Governor Cuomo in 2019.  

Grey-Owens served six years on the Board of Directors of the Empire State Pride Agenda, the New York State LGBT advocacy organization. In 2016, Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone appointed her to the Nassau-Suffolk HIV Health Services Planning Council, where she served for two three-year terms. In April 2022, she was appointed to the Suffolk County Executive’s LGBTQ Advisory Board and served the past year as the Board’s Chair. In 2023, Grey-Owens was appointed to the NYS Division of Human Rights Hate and Bias Prevention Long Island Regional Council and the Long Island Regional Economic Development Council Equity Work Group.  

In 2017 she was recognized by City & State New York magazine as one of the “10 People Making a Difference for LGBT New Yorkers” and in 2019 she was again recognized by City & State magazine in their Pride Power 100 list which recognizes the most influential figures in the LGBTQ community in New York.  

As Executive Director of Gender Equality New York (GENY), Grey-Owens regularly provides training to local and state agencies, organizations, colleges and universities, and health care organizations. She currently trains recruits at both the Nassau and Suffolk Police Academies, health care workers at Northwell Health Huntington Hospital and Memorial Sloan Kettering.  

She has an adult daughter, Sarah, and lives in Huntington with her wife Barbara and their two cats Bugsy and Baby. When not educating, leading a demonstration or speaking out for her community, she is an avid fan of the Mets, Islanders and Giants.   

Susan Gottehrer

Susan Gottehrer is the Director of the Nassau County New York Civil Liberties Union, the New York State affiliate of the ACLU, and has been a life-long activist and part of the New York Civil Liberties family since 2006.  She has fought for Immigration, Reproductive and Voting Rights, Police Reform, and Criminal Defense Reform.  She is heavily engaged in combatting the false narratives around Bail Reform, and in the effort to end mass incarceration.  Susan holds a Master’s degree in Education from Columbia University, a Master’s in Political Science from the New School for Social Research, and a Master’s in Public Administration/Policy Analysis from New York University.  She is an adjunct Professor of Political Science at Pace University, Adelphi,  and Long Island University, and has eight years of Public Relations experience.