Paisley Currah, a faculty member in political science and gender studies at CUNY, tells the story of his transformation from a small-town boy in Ontario to one of the leading figures in trans activism and scholarship. As a graduate student at Cornell, he was active in ACT UP and Queer Nation. He went on to cofound the Transgender Law and Policy Institute with the help of staff and faculty from the Gender Studies Department at CUNY and the Graduate Center. Currah went on to cofound NYAGRA with Gideon Grudo, Scott Strand, and Sam Woolfe, focusing on identity documents and changes in the law regarding discrimination against people, even though antagonism with the local activist scene persists. He talks about the rise of trans advocacy in the 1990s, opposition from mainstream gay organizations, and the shortcomings of reformist strategies. He also discusses his significant contribution to the field of trans studies, as the author of several seminal books and founder of TSQ: Transgender Studies Quarterly. In recent years, Currah splits his time between research and family life—he is optimistic about the interaction of younger activists with the issue of trans rights at the intersection of other oppressions.