Addison Rose Vincent

Addison Rose Vincent (they/them) is a 30-year-old transgender and nonbinary advocate, educator, and influencer based in Los Angeles, CA.

Vincent was born in Windsor, Ontario, Canada and raised in various suburbs of Detroit, Michigan. Growing up, Vincent experienced excessive homophobic bullying and microaggressions from peers and teachers alike – especially in the all boys middle school they attended – and they didn’t feel safe to talk openly about their sexuality and gender identity. Vincent says, “They saw me before I could truly see myself, and instead of supporting me they shamed me, silencing me further.” After graduating from high school, Vincent longed for a fresh start and decided to move away to Orange County, CA to come out as their more authentic self: a proud queer, trans, nonbinary person.

Vincent challenged the Greek Life community at Chapman University in 2013 by participating as the first openly transgender person in the sorority rush process on campus. Due to anti-transgender policies in most of the sororities, Vincent was ultimately not invited to join any sorority but managed to spark crucial conversations about inclusion and acceptance within the National Panhellenic Conference. Vincent made waves in 2014 by participating as the first openly transgender person in the Delta Queen Philanthropy Pageant at Chapman. During the talent portion they performed a self-written poem called "The Look" focused on the daily microaggressions they face, and ultimately won the title of Miss Congeniality. Vincent's advocacy led them to use their voice online by becoming a HuffPost contributor, bringing attention to the violence against transgender women of color across the country and openly sharing their gender journey.

Before graduating in 2015 with a Bachelor’s in Peace Studies and Minors in Business Administration and Gender Studies, Vincent co-led a student activist group called The Student Review that called out the busts of questionable political and social figures around campus, as well as demanded long-term changes at Chapman such as the formation of an Ethnic Studies Chair, transparency and acknowledgment by university administration of hate crimes and incidents on campus, and mandatory DEI training of staff and faculty. Vincent also created Gender Neutral Restroom Day their Senior Year at Chapman which highlighted the lack of gender-affirming facilities on campus and transformed existing gender-specific bathrooms into gender-neutral bathrooms for a day, normalizing and destigmatizing the experience. Furthermore, Vincent's undergraduate thesis correlating the safety and wellbeing of marginalized university students with the existence of multicultural centers on campuses later played an instrumental role in the formation of Chapman University’s first Cross Cultural Center in 2017.

Vincent began their nonprofit career journey in 2016 as the LGBTQ+ Advocate at Strength United providing direct victim witness advocate services to LGBTQ+ survivors of sexual and/or domestic violence. The same year, Vincent was appointed as the Youth Member of the Los Angeles Transgender Advisory Council, a group of local transgender and nonbinary activists and leaders that provides recommendations for transgender inclusion, policy reform, and decriminalization to the Mayor’s Office, City Council, and LAPD. Vincent was also recruited by Blue Shield of California Foundation as one of sixteen community activists in the state of California for the Reimagine Lab to develop and implement innovative approaches to domestic violence prevention. By 2018, Vincent was serving as the Manager of Programs at TransLatin@ Coalition, an organization focused on supporting transgender women of color navigating life after incarceration and/or detention facilities. Vincent then served as a Risk Reduction Counselor at Asian Pacific AIDS Intervention Team (APAIT), providing patients living with HIV with cognitive behavioral therapy, goal-setting support, and emotional empowerment.

In 2019, Vincent made the decision to embrace their facial hair and be more unapologetic in their gender nonconforming expression. They quickly became an Instagram and TikTok influencer by sharing their journey and being visible online. Vincent formed their ever-growing consulting firm Break The Binary in 2019 to offer LGBTQ+ and DEI training and educational services to businesses, schools, and organizations around the world. The same year, Vincent was appointed as the Interim Executive Director of the Nonbinary & Intersex Recognition Project, an organization focused on political advocacy for X gender marker options on birth certificates, passports, and drivers’ licenses across the US. Since then, Vincent has been featured on the Dr. Phil Show, educational videos with fellow influencers, and in awareness campaigns for major brands and organizations. Vincent currently serves on the Board of LA Pride and the Project Director for History Reimagined, an organization focused on breaking cycles of domestic violence and the school-to-prison pipeline by empowering youth with their own family and community history.

In their free time, Vincent enjoys creating interesting pieces on the pottery wheel, hiking with their dog Xena, caring for their houseplants, and spending quality time with their friends and family.

Addison Rose Vincent is available in partnership with Collective Speakers.