Our Executive Committee has four business and community leaders from the San Francisco Bay Area.
Board members serve without pay; each member pays their own expenses to attend semi-annual and committee meetings.
Erin Wilson, President
I am the proud President of the Board of Directors for TAJA Co. I come to TAJA Co. with a passion for serving trans communities. I have been working with trans communities since 2001, when I was part of a team that conducted one of the first HIV behavioral studies with young trans women in California. We observed a large impact of HIV on the young trans women we worked with and saw how HIV was a symptom of intersectional anti-trans discrimination and racism. I believe that violence against trans women is one of the most important human rights issues facing our global society, with far-reaching impacts on the health and wellness of many communities. Societal misogyny embedded in our laws, policies, and social norms is at the heart of this disgrace. But I believe major shifts are possible when grassroots movements lead. The strategic intersectional grassroots approach to violence that TAJAs Coalition brings to the fore is exactly what we need to make radical changes to liberate all people in society.
I bring to TAJA Co. my experience serving on non-profit organization boards over the last decade and 20 years of HIV research and intervention work with trans communities. Previously, I founded a non-profit fundraising organization to support my children’s public elementary school, Escuela Marshall, and served as President of the Board of Directors for the San Francisco Community Health Center. I am also a Senior Research Scientist at the Center for Public Health Research, where I lead the Trans Research Unit for Equity (TRUE) at the San Francisco Department of Public Health. I am also an Associate Professor in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the University of California, San Francisco.
Justin Meek, Treasurer
As Treasurer of TAJA Co's Board of Directors, Justin is passionate about empowering our community’s most vulnerable members. He champions the cause of overlooked and marginalized individuals. For six years, Justin served as a Board Member and President of Common Ground in Los Angeles. There, he led the organization in providing comprehensive services to prevent HIV and support those living with HIV, embracing a harm reduction model. Common Ground subsequently merged with Venice Family to expand services for young adults. Professionally, Justin spent 17 years in finance roles at Google LLC. He holds a degree in Economics from Claremont McKenna College.
Danielle Castro, Emeritus Board Chair
Dani Castro, MA, MFT. Dani Castro, former Project Director for the Center of Excellence for Transgender Health’s Community-Based Research at UCSF, is a nationally recognized and leading expert for health-related issues affecting trans and non-binary people. Dani has worked alongside her community to increase access to health and social services for trans and non-binary people on a national and international level throughout most of her life. She earned her graduate degree in counseling psychology from John F. Kennedy University in 2013. Ms. Castro utilizes her clinical training to develop community-driven social justice coalitions and provide mental health services at multiple organizations for LGBTQQI people and their families. She is a founding board member of the Center of Excellence for Transgender Health at UCSF, TAJA Co., and the Santa Clara County Transpowerment Program. She’s currently disabled and available for consultation on a case-by-case basis.