Who We Are
Founder and Executive Director
He/they
Jeremy
I spent ten years in Washington State prisons. That experience fundamentally shaped who I am and what I'm committed to doing with my life.
I watched brilliant, capable people return to their communities with virtually no support, no identity-affirming resources, and almost no chance of success. I watched people cycle back through the system because the world outside was just as hostile as the world inside.
I previously worked with Beyond These Walls, a nonprofit providing reentry support and advocacy for LGBTQ+ incarcerated people across Oregon and Washington. In that role, I coordinated resources, trained volunteers, and learned the reentry landscape from walking beside people navigating the same barriers I'd faced.
I also learned that even with excellent programs and dedicated staff, the gaps were enormous. Most reentry services didn't understand trans and gender-diverse people's specific needs. Housing providers turned trans clients away. Healthcare systems interrupted gender-affirming care mid-transition. Employers saw criminal records and trans identity as two strikes against a person. The few people and organizations trying to address this were stretched impossibly thin. Need always outpaced resources.
When Beyond These Walls lost funding due to federal budget cuts in 2024, I faced a choice: find another job, or launch something new. The need was too great to walk away.
OutTogether exists because I believe trans and gender-diverse people deserve support that actually sees them not as problems to manage, but as whole human beings with dignity, agency, and the capacity to rebuild. I believe in mutual aid, peer support, and the power of community.
My lived experience is the foundation of this work. I know what it means to be incarcerated as a queer person. I know what it feels like to come home and have the door slammed in your face because of who you are or what you've done. But I also know what it feels like to have someone show up for you and to believe in you when you can't believe in yourself. That's what OutTogether does.
I'm committed to building an organization led by people who've walked this path, accountable to the community we serve, and grounded in the belief that successful reentry is possible. One where trans and gender-diverse people don't just survive, but thrive.
Education and Training
BA, Music
BA, Theatre
Audio Production Certificate
Certified Reentry Specialist
Board of Directors
Co-President
She/her
Pamela Kopines
I have over 30 years of professional work experience and over 20 years of management experience. After 12 years, 3 months, and 2 weeks of incarceration, I have the experience of being exactly where those we serve currently are or have recently been. In 2013, when I first came out as transgender and embraced my identity, there were no policies or treatment for trans individuals in Washington DOC. Other trans women and I have had to advocate for the most basic policy changes, allowing them mental health and medical treatment, HRT, gender affirming clothing...just humane treatment.
On January 21st, 2020, with the assistance of Jeremy, OutTogether’s Executive Director, and other friends, I have successfully reintegrated into society even though I had been released to a city that I had never lived in. It was during that period, while I started my new life, that I developed a passion to help those still inside and prepare them for their success. I recognize that I was extremely fortunate to have my friends paving the way for my reentry and that not everyone has people both willing and able to provide that degree of support.
I wanted to find a way to fill that void for as many LGBTQIA+ people as possible. I reached out to friends who were releasing soon and provided them with as many resources as I could find, and I started sending them release packages using my own money. I knew how important it was to return to the community wearing gender affirming clothing, as opposed to the men’s prison clothing that they would have been forced to wear otherwise. As word spread, I was put in contact with many men and women preparing for their future, and I assisted to the best of my ability but could not help everyone by myself...there was still a large void. OutTogether can continue filling that void, and I feel honored to be a part of its journey.
During my free time, I enjoy spending time with my family, our dog, reading, and dreaming of ghost hunting.
Education and Training
Certified Reentry Specialist
I have volunteered in prison advocacy groups for the last five years. I started a Care Closet for one grassroots organization to provide gender affirming clothing for transgender and gender-nonconforming individuals returning to their communities. I have had some incarceration experience personally, but am also married to someone on active DOC community custody. I have seen through her eyes what it means to be transgender woman who is justice-involved. I understand the barriers that trans individuals, who are affected by incarceration, must navigate during their reentry. As a transgender man, I myself have experienced the trauma of being targeted and mistreated by law enforcement and institutions.
In my free time, I like to go on long walks with my dog and spend time with my family.
Vice President
He/him
Hank Kopines
Education and Training
Board Member
She/her
Natasha
I am a 42-year-old trans woman recently released from prison. I’m a passionate trans advocate as well as a mobile tattoo artist, mechanic, and former bull rider. I’m currently working getting my peer certification as well as my driver’s license. Some of the other organizations I also volunteer for are Seattle/Tacoma Blank and Pink, Disability Rights Washington, League Of Women Voters. Currently living in Tacoma where I am an NA sponsor.
Education and Training
Secretary
He/she/they
Gary
I come from a country where LGBTQ+ rights do not exist and our community there face severe legal and social challenges to just exist. Trans women are ‘crossdressers,’ punishable by monetary fines, imprisonment, and corporal punishment. No due process is necessary for detaining suspected members of our community and sting operations regularly occur in hopes of entrapping them. The struggles I see in the US are familiar, and I believe that the fight is shared globally.
I value building resources and community across marginalization, which is necessary to navigate societies built on colonization and white supremacy. The current systems devalue our friends and family based on crucial components of our identity, and it is important to acknowledge how intricately they are connected. Sex to gender, sexuality to expression, race to color, ethnicity to national origin, age to ability, with all the possible intersectionality across all of these examples.
Trans and gender-diverse people are disadvantaged worldwide, and services that are unique to our needs are severely deficient, which is the gap OutTogether is aiming to fulfil. I support and believe in OutTogether’s work because I want our trans and gender-diverse community to receive the support to thrive and live their dreams. That is the best way to stand up against any perspective that deems our existences as unworthy.
Education and Training
BSc, Chemical Engineering
Project Management Professional
Certificate in Program Management
Treasurer
She/they
Magdalene
I spent years organizing alongside TwoSpirit, Trans, and Gender Diverse communities in Washington State. As Programs Associate at Gender Justice League, I worked directly with incarcerated and formerly incarcerated trans and gender-diverse individuals, building programs, coordinating volunteers, and learning what it takes to sustain community-led initiatives. I also served on the steering committee for the 2026 King County Trans Resource Guide, where I saw how visibility and resource access are essential to movement building.
I watched trans people cycle through systems that were never designed for us. Reentry services did not understand our specific needs. Healthcare systems interrupted gender-affirming care mid-transition. Housing providers turned people away because of who we are. The gaps between incarceration and stability were enormous. The few organizations trying to address this were stretched impossibly thin. Need always outpaced resources.
I support OutTogether's mission because I believe trans and gender-diverse people deserve support that actually sees us, not as problems to manage, but as whole human beings with dignity and agency. I recently started a new career as a legal videographer, documenting civil rights cases and immigration proceedings. These experiences inform my commitment to community-centered storytelling, systemic change, and the belief that people thrive when they have housing, healthcare, connection, and their basic needs met. That is what OutTogether does.
Education and Training
BA, Medical Anthropology & Global Health
BA, Gender, Women, & Sexuality Studies
MFA, Filmmaking & Producing
Advisory Council
The Advisory Council is a group of currently incarcerated transgender people who provide guidance and feedback to OutTogether.
They are trusted advisors who help make sure OutTogether actually serves the community and our programs reflect current needs and experiences.