TransGender 2013
April 25-27 · Albany, New York
Welcome to the annual Empire Conference, TransGender 2013, to be held April 25-27 at the recently remodeled Hotel Albany. The city and our hotel have both proven to be a very welcoming and friendly venue to hold our conference. We're in a great location right by the State Capital and Empire State Plaza in downtown Albany, with lots of restaurants, shops, parks, art and history museums, and other sight-seeing opportunities in easy walking distance. Visit the Albany Visitors Bureau
For anywhere you can't get on foot, being downtown puts us in the center of the city bus system. If you can, take advantage of our discounted hotel rate to come earlier in the week before the formal conference begins to explore this historic and vibrant city.
On Friday and Saturday, we will be offering one of the best educational and social programs ever. Noted workshop leaders are coming from all over the world to share expertise, experiences and knowledge with you. There will also be a Providers Training Day on Friday, April 26 organized by Arlene Lev and Carolyn Wolf-Gould with workshops for health care professionals. On Thursday, there's a special shopping outing to Crossgates Mall with Lady Ellen and others, or a bus trip to Saratoga Springs with time to enjoy the Casino and the downtown Broadway area.
Evening dinners on Thursday and Friday will be at nearby restaurants we've made arrangements with, and Saturday we'll have our traditional Gala Banquet at the hotel. Read more about Evening Plans
| Transgender Health and Wellness - Friday, April 26 | |
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Providing Primary Care and Mental Health Services Read more about Providers Training Day |
Our keynote speaker on Friday will be Dr. Milton Diamond, Professor and Director of the Pacific Center for Sex and Society at the University of Hawai'i; Past President of the International Academy for Sex Research; and Past President of the Society for the Scientific Study of Sex.
Among his other honors, he has received: the Magnus Hirschfeld medal of the German Sex Research Society (DGSS); the British GIRES (Gender Identity Research and Education Society) Research Prize (twice); the Norwegian Diversity Prize for research on trans worldwide; the award of the German Intersex Society "for his decades-long commitment to the benefit of intersex people"; and the Kinsey Award from the Society for the Scientific Study of Sex.
Saturday's keynoter will be Amanda Simpson, the Special Assistant to the Assistant Secretary of the United States Army for Acquisition, Logistics and Technology.
She is the first openly transgender woman appointed by any U.S. President. As a community leader, Ms. Simpson has served as commissioner of the City of Tucson LGBT Commission, has been a candidate for the Arizona House of Representatives and Vice-Chair for the Arizona Democratic Party. She has also served on a number of non-profit boards in her work for the community, including Wingspan Community Center, The Southern Arizona Gender Alliance, The Arizona Human Rights Fund, the National Center for Transgender Equality, Out and Equal Workplace Advocates, and the Southern Arizona Chapter of the ACLU.
TransEvents USA is proud to host Lady Ellen's Charm School as part of the Empire Conference. This unique program offers an opportunity to learn and experience all aspects of feminine presentation. What might cost you hundreds of dollars at her New Jersey establishment will be available here as part of your standard conference registration. She is offering a number of workshops over Friday and Saturday (as indicated on the program schedules) plus a special Thursday shopping outing (and pre-shopping image consultation).
Her school is meant for crossdressers that have never been out of the closet (but always wanted to be), and any of us who can use some help in our presentation. For those attending, there will be diplomas awarded at the Saturday Banquet. When you register for the conference, please check the box that lets us know you'll be one of her students.
Hotel registration is now open. Book your room soon so that you get the best room for the accommodations that you desire. Smoking rooms are very limited.
We suggest you bookmark this page and return often to keep current on what is happening. See you in the spring!



