ABOUT US

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

BOARD OF REGENTS

Joanne A. Herman

After almost half a century living as a male, Joanne Herman transitioned in 2002 to live as a female in order to resolve a gender incongruity she had felt for as long as she remembers. She has since been active in the LGBT community as spokeswoman for transgender awareness and understanding. Joanne has written numerous columns for Advocate.com, a popular LGBT news website, to help educate readers about transgender people and the discrimination they face. All of the columns she has written can be viewed at www.joanneherman.com.

In addition, Joanne is the first transgender member of the Board of Directors of Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders (GLAD), the New England LGBT legal rights organization known for bringing same-sex marriage to Massachusetts, where she is Treasurer and Chair of the Finance and Audit Committee, and serves on the Executive Committee. Joanne is also the first openly transgender member of the congregation of Old South Church in Boston (United Church of Christ), the same church where Benjamin Franklin was baptized and Samuel Adams served as a deacon, and where Joanne now serves on the Finance Committee.

Joanne is one of the first openly transgender alumnae of Dartmouth College, as a graduate of the last all-male class. Dartmouth President Jim Wright awarded her a Class of 1975 diploma in her new name in 2006. Joanne holds a BA in Government and Economics from Dartmouth and an MS/MBA from Northeastern University. She is currently Financial Controller at New England Foundation for the Arts and lives in Boston. Joanne is also fluent in French and an avid bowler.

In her own words . . .

"“Transgenderism is still largely misunderstood, even in the LGB world. The associated social stigma has left many transgender youth without the support of friends and family and therefore without access to education, keeping the nation from seeing just how promising some of these individuals are. By providing educational scholarships and mentoring for bright and motivated transgender youth, Point Foundation will do its part to ensure that the public sees more transgender success stories. And when that happens, the social stigma will finally begin to crumble.”