NOW OPEN!
SPEAKERS
Marci Bowers, M.D.
Keynote Speaker, Saturday Dinner Event
Marci Bowers, M.D. of Burlingame, California, is recognized as a pioneer in the field of Gender Affirming Surgery. She is the first surgeon with transgender history and first woman to perform Gender Affirming Genital surgeries worldwide.
Dr. Bowers is a pelvic and gynecologic surgeon with more than 32 years’ experience. She is a University of Minnesota Medical School graduate where she was class and student body president. After residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Washington, she practiced in Seattle at the Polyclinic and Swedish Medical Center.
Dr. Bowers left Seattle in 2003 to apprentice with the legendary Dr. Stanley Biber, considered the “Father of Transgender Surgery.” In 2010, Marci relocated to the San Francisco Bay Area community of Burlingame, CA. She has now performed more than 2250 primary AMAB Vaginoplasties and 3900 Gender Affirming Surgeries overall. In 2014, Dr. Bowers was hired to renew transgender surgery at Sheba Hospital in Tel Aviv, Israel. Subsequently, she initiated trans surgical education programs at Mt. Sinai (New York/2016), Denver Health (2018), the University of Toronto Women’s College Hospital (2019), Northwell Health (2020), and Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (2020). The Mt. Sinai Transgender Surgical Fellowship is the first of its’ kind. Dr. Bowers performed WPATH’s first 2 “live surgery” vaginoplasties at Mt. Sinai in 2018 and 2019.
Dr. Bowers is the WPATH President and currently serves on the Trevor Project Board of Directors having served previous terms with GLAAD and the Transgender Law Center. Her gender diverse work has been highlighted by appearances on Oprah, CBS Sunday Morning, Discovery Health and the TLC reality series, “I am Jazz.”
Jackie Richter
Guest Speaker, Friday Luncheon Event
After struggling to find individual employment opportunities in the construction industry due to her gender identity, Jackie resorted to creating her own firm, Heels and Hardhats, a female owned and operated contracting business, proving a wide range of contracting services.
After completing the Southern Company gas suppler diversity program, Heels and Hardhats went from being a subcontractor to a Tier 1 supplier for this company.
Mentoring has empowered us to be who we are today. Jackie has said that the Southern Company's willingness to share knowledge has helped to elevate our company status in the industry.
Jackie has since created a second company, Endurance, which is also a supplier for the Southern Company and has come to share her story with us and to encourage more to do the same.
Atlanta Comfort Conference is proud to present this remarkable business leader for our Friday Luncheon Event!
Cassandra Williamson
Guest Speaker, Saturday Luncheon Event
As a graduate of the US Naval Academy, Cassandra served in the US Navy and the USMC. She has four children and eight grandchildren and lives in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. She works closely with the Tuscaloosa Veteran's Administration on their LGBTQ+ committee as a veteran representative for their suicide prevention and advisory committee. In addition, she formerly served on the Veteran's Advisory Board of the Birmingham, AL VAMC. She speaks frequently about trans and LGBTQ+ veteran issues to groups large and small as she travels the nation visiting our veterans and providers. She regularly gives lectures to interns at VAs around the country on Transgender Affirming care using narrative exposure therapy (a way to think about trans veteran counseling developed first by Dr. Tiffany Lange, formerly of Hampton Roads VAMC).
She is the Executive Director of the Transgender American Veterans Association (TAVA). Prior to her current role, she was TAVA's Director of VA Engagement & Research. This past summer, she traveled the US visiting veterans, providers, and allies in all the lower 48 states! She was on the road from late February 2022 to mid-September 2022.
Cassandra is an authentic community leader that loves life and Atlanta Comfort Conference couldn't be more proud to have her as a Speaker and honored guest!
