Meet Mandy Giles | Founder, Parents of Trans Youth

We had the good fortune of connecting with Mandy Giles and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Mandy, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
As the parent of two transgender children, I’m constantly being connected with other parents of trans kids all over the country who need my support. When this started happening several years ago, I learned that parents of trans kids are hungry for connection, support, and learning but have trouble finding it easily. I started to think about how I could use my skills to support more parents in a broader way.

In early March 2020, I took a leap of faith and quit my nonprofit fundraising job to build something new that would offer hope and community to parents of trans kids and fill the resource gaps in my community.

During the 2021 Texas legislative session, I witnessed a completely different side of what it means to support transgender kids. When your government is taking away the rights of a marginalized group of people and trying to erase them from public existence, it’s time to get loud and fight back! That year, I testified against several anti-trans bills and spoke at rallies, protests, press conferences, and town halls.

From that experience, I knew the messaging for my resource needed to include not only sharing the joy, celebration, and challenges of parenting trans kids but also fighting for them publicly.

In February of 2022, I launched Parents of Trans Youth, providing learning, support, and community to parents and caregivers of transgender, nonbinary, and gender-diverse kids. I focus on Texas but serve families all over the country and around the world.

I structured Parents of Trans Youth as a social impact business to stay flexible, nimble, and political, unlike many LGBTQ-focused nonprofits. I also enjoy being the face of the business; I use my creativity, speaking talent, and connection skills both to create content and programs as well as to work collaboratively with other organizations.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Every day, I ask myself if I’m serving my community with honesty, integrity, and vulnerability. As a cisgender straight person, I’m incredibly careful in how I use my voice to advocate for transgender kids and am mindful to speak from my own experience.

Rather than constantly selling, I give generously from my knowledge, experience, and resources; most of what I provide is free in order to serve as many people as possible. While this philosophy can prove challenging for a business, my mission is at the forefront of everything I do, and I believe that my audience appreciates this approach. This outlook is also evident to other educators, advocates, and creators in my space and has opened doors to fun and rewarding collaborations.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Houston is a city of FOOD! Our itinerary would revolve around our diverse dining scene as well as some personal hospitality. For breakfast, we’d go to old-school diner Yale Street Grill, check out neighborhood favorite Puebla’s Mexican Kitchen, or bring home kolaches from the Kolache Shoppe. For lunch, we’d savor Vietnamese bahn mi sandwiches from Nam Eatery, go healthy at Local Foods, or relax with chips and a po’boy sandwich from Antone’s. Dinner would be crawfish from Rajun Cajun, a Tex-Mex combo plate at Ninfa’s, or kebabs from Kasra Persian Grille. But the ultimate event would be a home-cooked dinner featuring 18-hour smoked beef brisket, mac ‘n’ cheese, potato salad, and banana pudding (or Texas chocolate sheet cake!).

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
“You Are a Badass” by Jen Sincero gave me the kick in the pants I needed to follow my dream! This book helped me realize that I already had all the talent, wisdom, and experience I needed to start my business, and I was the only one holding me back. I love the author’s direct, no-holds-barred style that encouraged me to believe in myself, make some decisions, and get going. Whenever I slip into imposter syndrome or worry what people might think, I remember that I CAN do this and that I am worthy of good things that will come my way.

Website: https://www.parentsoftransyouth.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/parentsoftransyouth/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mandygiles/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/parentsoftransyouth1/