Who We Are
OurTransLife.org was conceived and founded to exclusively serve the Transgender, Non-Binary, and Gender-Nonconforming communities of the Greater Bridgeport Region. Offering Peer-Led Support Workshops, Supportive and Educational Resources, and acting as Public Advocate for our gender-diverse community.
Mission Statement
Fostering fellowship among the trans and gender-diverse folks of the Greater Bridgeport Region through peer-led groups and community education and advocacy in the service of inclusivity and authenticity.
Meet the Team
Julia DiCola
Founder and Executive Director
(she/her/hers)
Julia is a very proud Transgender Woman. Relocating to Bridgeport and beginning her transition about 10 years ago settling in the downtown area. Having her roots from New York, she soon felt a sense of the NYC vibe of the Downtown community with its rich vitality of diverse cultural communities and quickly adopted it as her spiritual home.
With her first days of transition, came the inspiration that transitioning is a gift and in gratitude has been giving back to the community through efforts in volunteering and working directly with non-profit organizations of Bridgeport. Initially volunteering in meal kitchens and food pantries and outreach activities for homeless and homeless youth, Eventually she became associated with GBAPP as Strategic Development Director and Triangle Community Center as Director of Programs & Services. Julia is a former Board Director and Board Chair of Optimus Health Care of Bridgeport. Currently; Julia is currently a Board member and serves as Vice President of the Board of Bridgeport Pride Center, Member of the Steering Committee Greater Bridgeport Pride and is a Stakeholder Member of CT Children’s Research Institute R.E.A.C.H. initiative. She has had the honor of being recognized as among five women making history in Bridgeport in 2021 and 2024.
Bliss Kern
Deputy Executive Director
(per/per/pers)
Bliss earned a MA in Clinical Mental Health at Fairfield University, with a concentration in Sexual and Gender Minorities and is currently a LPC-A licensed in the state of Connecticut.. Per brings to the field past careers in education and behavior, which dovetail with per history of studying queer theory and advocating for LGBTQ+ community action. Per areas of interest in counseling focus on group dynamics and optimizing group therapeutic methods for positive identity development, especially for adolescents and late transitioners. Per currently works with the Greater Waterbury Pride Coalition, Comptroller Scanlon’s LGBTQ+ health sub committee, Connecticut Children's Medical Center’s LGBTQ+ Portal Project, and Q Plus. Per has previously worked in community outreach, clinician education, and gender group co-facilitation.
Blaze Lovell
Social Media Outreach Manager
(she/they)
Blaze Lovell is a proud nonbinary individual who lives and works in the Greater Bridgeport Area. They are notorious for becoming excited easily and for their overuse of dad jokes.
Blaze is a survivor of abuse and of various traumas, and having been raised in conservative settings, it was also difficult for them to come to terms with being bisexual and nonbinary. Like many who have faced similar life experiences, they struggled with emotional and mental health issues. But, from an open mind and will to thrive, they now live an authentic and fulfilling life, and have used their past to gain a more holistic worldview.
With support and guidance, Blaze became a leader in LGBTQ+ and transgender activism in their local community, serving as an executive board member and eventually the president of their college’s LGBTQ+ Alliance. They love working with the rest of the OurTransLife.org team to pay forward the same support, community, and healing to the trans youth of Bridgeport.
Blaze’s life philosophy is “Never stop growing,” and they believe everyone in the world is united in being on their unique journey to make sense of life, and of themselves, in the best ways they can.
Briana Wahl
Website and Communication Manager
(they/them/theirs)
Briana has experience in nonprofit management and communications, with a background in the arts and management. Briana is originally from Colorado and moved to Bridgeport in 2021. They received their Bachelor's degree from the University of Colorado Boulder in 2016 and their Master’s degree from Pratt Institute in 2020.
Jeantte Allam
Development Specialist
(she/her/hers)
Jeanette is an ally of our greater queer community and a longstanding advocate, committed to amplifying the voices of marginalized communities. With a wealth of experience developing funding strategies, she fosters partnerships with stakeholders to leverage resources, promotes inclusivity, and drives positive change, helping nonprofits make a meaningful, lasting impact.
Jeanette is a Bridgeport native and resident, proud graduate of HCC, and an active board member serving several NPOs advancing social justice. With great enthusiasm and passion for the mission and purpose of OurTransLife, Jeanette is eager in her role as Development Specialist to propel us into a successful and sustainable future.
Karen A. Daley
Founding Board Member
(she/her/hers)
Karen is the Chief Executive Officer of Optimus Health Care, Inc. Before joining OPTIMUS as an employee in 2017, she served as legal counsel for OPTIMUS and the board of directors. She was the chair of the OPTIMUS Foundation. Karen is a strategic leader with a unique combination of academic preparation and professional achievement in law, health care, and management. She brings to her position ten years of nursing experience working at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, a Harvard teaching hospital in Boston, Massachusetts. Additionally, she has nine years of experience practicing regulatory and corporate healthcare law and medical malpractice defense litigation, as well as four years in risk management in teaching hospitals.
She is an innovative, strategic, and progress-driven professional with extensive experience and a track record of success in improving healthcare organizations' clinical and financial performance. Karen is a mission-focused executive with a proven ability to launch new and enhanced programs, creatively resolve operational issues, and achieve consensus and shared vision among staff on all levels.
Karen holds a Juris Doctorate from Boston College Law School and an MBA from Boston College, where she also obtained her Bachelor of Science degree as a registered nurse. Karen is committed to improving access to quality health care in the communities Optimus serves and supports and is an ally of the LGBTQIA+ community.
Founding Board Member
(she/they)
Lauren became the president and CEO of the Bridgeport Downtown Special Services District (DSSD), a community organization aimed at enhancing the environment where people create, live, and work in Bridgeport, Connecticut, in 2018. Lauren made the move to Bridgeport after five years with the NYC Department of Small Business Services working to ensure the long-term vitality of the City's diverse commercial districts by delivering programs and services that enhance project execution, management, leadership, and strategic capabilities of community-based organizations. Lauren arrived in New York after serving as a Community Youth Development specialist with the U.S. Peace Corps to pursue her Master of Nonprofit Management at New School. She holds a Bachelor of Arts from Cornell University.
During her time with the Bridgeport DSSD, Lauren has overseen the launch of Colorful Bridgeport, a marketing and placemaking multi-platform campaign aimed at establishing Downtown Bridgeport as a desirable destination based upon its recognizable, distinct identity celebrating Bridgeport’s vibrancy, diverse tapestry of business owners and residents, and the legacy of its history. From Colorful Crew volunteers who beautify the neighborhood to the Color It In public art program; the Colorful Bridgeport program is the accomplishment of which Lauren is most proud – and entirely because it was created with and by the community members it was intended to serve.
The other honor Lauren holds is as the chair of the Bridgeport Farmers Market Collaborative and market manager for the Downtown Bridgeport Farmers Market, where Conne cticut Grown produce is made more accessible and affordable while supporting the local economy and building community across the city.
Lauren Coakley Vincent
Abby Anderson
Founding Board Member
(she/her/hers)
Abby is a coach, consultant, and facilitator focused on supporting individuals and organizations to infuse equity and belonging into their relationships, leadership, and Organizations.
Prior to founding her business, The Justice Walk, Abby spent over a decade serving as executive director of a CT statewide nonprofit doing policy and advocacy work. During that time, she went through her own experience of learning to see and then change personal and organizational policies and practices that excluded and “othered”
In that role and through The Justice Walk, Abby has supported leaders across many types of organizations to expand their thinking around who gets to be experts and who can/should make decisions. She then helps them to implement strategies to authentically partner with directly-impacted individuals.
The work of equity and belonging is hard. Abby’s goal is to normalize discomfort, encourage risk-taking, and mitigate fear as she walks with individuals and organizations committed to transformational equity and belonging journeys.
Abby is a certified coach through the Academy for Creative Coaching and a Certified Diversity-to-Belonging Facilitator through Veritas Culture.