Honoring Gender-Expansive Communities at Work

Rob Smith, the CEO and Founder of The Phluid Project, has created a brand, combining his profession, which is retail, along with his passion, a commitment to social justice.

Rob mentors numerous fashion brands and designers, leads the CSR committee as a Board of Director for Steve Madden Ltd., and raises critical funds for LGBTQIA+ organizations. He’s the former Board Chair for The Hetrick-Martin Institute, which empowers, educates and advocates on behalf of LGBTQIA+ youth around the world and has also served on the board of directors for Athlete Ally, eliminating homophobia and transphobia in sports.

Today, Rob leads and manages The Project Project, a leader in gender-free fashion. Phluid, joining a global movement of freedom, authenticity and self-expression, leads with values, a powerful community and a fearlessness to challenge the status quo. Phluid thoughtfully expands into new spaces where they can offer insight, education and impact.

Rob lives in NYC with his husband, Rod Grozier, and his dog, Jackson.

After 21 years in the employee benefits consulting field, working for firms, Bryan moved to the employer side and is currently the Director of Benefits at Zynga.

When the COVID-19 pandemic forced Zynga's employees to work from home, Bryan quickly shifted focus and implemented new benefit programs to support employees and their families in unprecedented times. His innovative ideas won him the 2020 Benny Award for Benefits Professional of the Year from EBN Magazine. Bryan is responsible for Zynga’s global benefit programs and was further recognized in The Wall Street Journal in November 2020.

Jean Malpas, LMHC, LMFT, is the Founder of the Gender & Family Project at the Ackerman Institute for the Family and a psychotherapist in private practice in New York City (jeanmalpas.com)

Jean has presented nationally and internationally on topics of gender, sexuality, addiction, couple and family therapy. His work with LGBTQ individuals, couples, and families has been published in numerous books and journals.Media appearances include the TEDx Talk “The Gift of Gender Authenticity,” National Geographic’s “Gender Revolution: A Journey with Katie Couric,” PBS’s Frontline: “Growing Up Trans,” and more. Jean’s groundbreaking work as Executive Director of the Gender & Family Project has been recognized by the Stonewall Community Foundation 2016 Visionary Award and the American Family Therapy Academy Social Justice 2018 Award.

Zeno is a poet and educator based in Los Angeles, by way of Harlem, NY. His pedagogy is embodied, compassionate, and focused on making equitable changes in institutional policy.

As a lifetime advocate of decolonial liberation and honest & informative early childhood education, Zeno’s curricular goals are much less about why we are the same, and much more about appreciating and being grateful for the endless ways we are different.

Devin-Norelle is a professional model, trans advocate, media figure, public speaker, and opinion writer, with published work in GQ, Teen Vogue, Allure, them, and Out Magazine, among others.

Ze has walked in New York Fashion Week shows for Chromat and dapperQ, and was featured in the 2019 Stonewall 50 Pride Campaigns for New York City Pride. In 2019, ze was awarded the Callen Lorde Transcendence Award for ze's advocacy and uplifting of the trans and non binary communities. Ze has recently joined NYC Pride's Community Council, helping to guide Heritage of Pride as they reduce police presence for future Pride marches and events.

Trace Cohen is the SVP of Brand and Community for Spring Health, focused on making Mental Health Fundamental in the workplace. Trace brings a 30-year career at the intersection of brand and digital strategy, working both agency and client-side to launch campaigns and conversations with F500 Brands in the B2C and B2B space. Be it web, social, mobile or AI, Trace has been at the forefront of bringing a brand’s story to life in ways that are both meaningful and impactful.

Ty Defoe (Giizhig), is from the Oneida and Ojibwe Nations. He is a Grammy-award-winning musician, playwright, librettist, interdisciplinary artist, actor, choreographer, eagle dancer, and hoop dancer.

A core member of All My Relations Collective, Ty interweaves artistic projects with social justice, indigeneity, trans rights, Indigi-Queering, and environmentalism. He has been recognized as a TransLab Fellow, Robert Rauschenberg Artist in Residence, recipient of the Jonathan Larson Award, Cordillera International Film Festival Finalist, 2021 Cultural Capital Fellow, and a Eugene O’Neill Theater Center finalist.

Ty’s songs have been featured at Lincoln Center, The Met, and The Kennedy Center, and his theatrical work has been presented at Guthrie Theater, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Yale Institute of Musical Theater, La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club, Native Voices at the Autry, The New Victory Theater, and the Studebaker Theater in Chicago, IL for the International Puppet Festival.

Ty’s international arts highlights include the Millennium celebration in Cairo, Egypt; International Music Festival in Ankara, Turkey; and Festival of World Cultures in Dubai.