As we observe and celebrate Transgender Awareness Week (November 13 – 19), we’re honoring those heroes who have led and shaped the TGNC experience in New York and the United States.

Nora Molina was a Puerto Rican transgender activism and community educator. She was a pioneer collaborator with various trans programs in the early 1990s, including People with AIDS Coalition of NY (PWAC NY), the Gender Identity Project (GIP) at The Center, and the Hispanic AIDS Forum (HAF). Her knowledge, sensitivity and caring made her a powerful leader and unique voice in the modern trans movement, and the mentor of many. She was also a very effective community educator on trans issues and HIV for the Hispanic and larger LGBTQ+ communities.  Nora died in 2010.

“I met Nora in 1996 at PWAC NY.  When we first met, Nora’s beauty and grace overtook me.  After getting to know Nora through her involvement in TGNC Support Groups and her sharing messages of hope and resilience through Newsline and SIDAhora magazines – what stands out was Nora’s wisdom, capacity to love, ability to inspire others through her own lived experience, and her intuition about people’s true motives.  Nora loved with an open heart, but she could stand up to a bully or a hater with uncompromised fierceness. Thank you, Nora, for all that you gave to life, to your community and to me.” – Doug Wirth, President & CEO, Amida Care

“I met Nora Molina back in 2000 when I started to work for HAF (Hispanic AIDS Forum).  She welcomed me with a big smile and assured me that she was going to be there with me as I started to work with the Translatina community in Queens.  Her words of encouragement, her knowledge of what our community needs and her unconditional love for helping others have been some of the foundational qualities that I put into practice every day in my life.  I credit Nora for being the teacher that I needed at the start of my career in non-profit.  Thank you, Nora! – Cristina Herrera, CEO & Founder, Translatinx Network

“Nora and I met at PWAC NY, where I was the managing editor of SIDAhora, the Spanish AIDS magazine published by the organization. She was all smiles, eyes and hair! You couldn’t help but fall in love with her. She was our unofficial advisor on all issues related to the trans community. To me she was a friend, a teacher, and a confidante. When we were not working together on some article, we would talk about our lives – our hopes and dreams, the things we had overcome, and those that we were still struggling with. We talked about relationships, sex, and body image. One time she shared that she had changed her nose three times, and that she then realized that the issue might not be the nose, but the need to embrace oneself more completely, while still pursuing the changes that will complete us. Her words were transformational for me.” – Carlos N. Molina, Vice President of Marketing and Communications, Amida Care