Janet Mock is an activist and advocate for trans women’s rights, and a New York Times bestselling author of Redefining Realness: My Path to Womanhood, Identity, Love & So Much More. She currently hosts “So POPular!” on MSNBC’s Shift Network and is a contributing editor for Marie Claire. In this role, she writes about race, gender, popular culture and representation. In addition to these roles, she has also been a guest host on various TV shows, including hosting HuffPost Live and Pivot’s TakePart Live. She previously worked as a staff editor for People.com.

Ms. Mock has received several awards and honors for her extraordinary work, including being named one of TIME magazine’s 12 new faces of black leadership and one of Advocate’s 50 Most Influential LGBT People in Media. She was also named one of the “smartest women on Twitter” by Fast Company for her launching of #GirlsLikeUs. She has also been honored by The Feminist Press, GLSEN, Planned Parenthood and the Sylvia Rivera Law Project.

In the words of the HLS community members who nominated her, “Janet Mock challenges the narratives that many trans women are pressured to conform to in order to prove that they’re “real” women. In doing so, she has empowered countless trans women to embrace themselves and tell their own stories. Through her efforts to fight racism and transphobia, she has brought national attention to the police brutality, harassment and arbitrary arrests that many trans women of colour face. She has used her platform and visibility to lift up people at the margins of trans community, and help them create their own platform for their voices to be heard.”

Ms. Mock holds an M.A. in Journalism from New York University and a B.A. from the University of Hawaii at Manoa.