Lily E. Rood’s decision to found a nonprofit dedicated to trans leadership was the product of years of experience in organizing alongside peers and mentors. From leading projects to serving on college task forces and electoral campaigns, Lily’s long resume in advocacy and trans activism is the product of many years of hard work—and it is only just beginning. More than simply being a leader, however, Lily aspires to use her passion to bring hope and joy to the people around her and to the greater community.

Everything in Lily’s life, from her personal relationships to her experiences in activism, has centered around this goal, she said. “We must model the liberation we’re seeking. In my organizing, both for trans-specific issues and otherwise, it’s been so important in the task of liberation—trans people are everywhere and always have been, and our joy can be liberatory.”

Prior to founding NTLC, Lily held positions in five electoral campaigns and several nonprofits, including Human Rights Campaign and SMYAL. At Mount Holyoke College, where she studies politics and feminist theory, Lily also spearheaded the trans-focused TGNC10 project with the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, and continues to serve as both DEI Fellow and Co-Chair of the Presidential Task Force for the Trans and Gender Nonconforming Community at Mount Holyoke. Her first year as a student, Lily also became the first woman of trans experience to serve as class president in Mount Holyoke recorded history.

While exploring all of these paths, however, Lily realized that there was nothing that truly catered to what she needed—a national leadership development opportunity both by and for trans people. Many of Lily’s past roles were centered around trans advocacy, but more still were not—and many of the roles dedicated to serving the trans community were ones she had to forge on her own. This gap in leadership opportunities sparked her desire to create a specifically trans leadership development program, which has since blossomed into NTLC.

“I’ve had all of these different experiences that were never exactly what I was looking for, but they had some components that I can now bring together to create exactly what I’ve envisioned. And so, I think that NTLC is a powerful testament to leadership development in its own sense. I have had leadership development experiences in my work that were informal and were maybe a little bit harder to move through—what we want to create is a streamlined, supportive, diverse, equitable, inclusive, development pathway for new and developing trans leaders,” she said.

Empowering trans leaders across every background and experience level is a deeply liberating, powerful mission, and it’s one that Lily is honored to work towards. Talking about the joy and hope she has for the future of NTLC, Lily said that “I feel really grateful to have been able to be a part of creating this space. It is really powerful to know the impact we’re making and to see what the NTLC means to people.” 

Inspiring hope and living a life full of joy and gratitude is central to who Lily is. “If I can create hope for one person, that creates such an infinite source of hope for me. It’s so powerful to continue this cycle of building hope and building the capacity for joy and leadership and success within our communities.”

Outside of work, Lily can often be found baking, writing poetry for her friends, appreciating the springtime flowers, and collecting items in her favorite shade of light pink.