Philadelphia Trans Wellness Conference

{{Short description|LGBTQ conference in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA}}

{{Multiple issues|

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The Philadelphia Trans Wellness Conference (formerly Philadelphia Trans Health Conference) was an annual conference related to transgender health and wellness for transgender people, advocates, and healthcare providers. It was run by the Mazzoni Center and was the largest free trans-focused conference in the world.{{Cite web |date=2024-03-22 |title=About The Conference {{!}} PTWC |url=https://www.mazzonicenter.org/conference/about-conference-ptwc |access-date=2024-04-02 |website=Mazzoni Center |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Bryant |first=Jess |date=2019-08-01 |title=Philly’s Trans Wellness Conference shows growth |url=https://epgn.com/2019/08/01/philly-s-trans-wellness-conference-shows-growth/ |access-date=2025-04-05 |website=Philadelphia Gay News |language=en-US}}

On April 4th, 2025, organizers announced that the conference would be cancelled, shifting to year-round programming.{{Cite web |last=Bloch |first=Emily |date=2025-04-04 |title=Organizers cancel Philadelphia Trans Wellness Conference, replacing it with year-round programming. Some community members are skeptical. |url=https://www.inquirer.com/news/philadelphia/trans-wellness-conference-philadelphia-canceled-lgbtq-health-mazzoni-center-new-20250404.html |access-date=2025-04-05 |website=www.inquirer.com |language=en}}

History

The conference emerged in response to the lack of healthcare resources and access for the transgender community in Philadelphia. An April 1999 survey conducted by the Philadelphia Transgender Health Action Coalition (which would later become the Mazzoni Center) exposed problems of transgender people being denied treatment for general healthcare problems, needing to educate providers on transgender healthcare issues, and a lack of understanding of transgender issues in HIV service providers specifically.{{Cite web |date=2022-05-03 |title=Looking Back: The First Philly Trans Conference |url=https://www.mazzonicenter.org/blog/looking-back-first-philly-trans-conference |access-date=2024-04-15 |website=Mazzoni Center |language=en}}

PTHAC, the Philadelphia EMA HIV Transgender/Transsexual Caucus, and the Philadelphia AIDS Consortium partnered to plan and fund a 3-day conference to address these issues. In the Summer of 2001, the organizations formed a planning committee consisting of Charlene Arcila, June Dizon, Ben Singer, and Ron Powers. Due to a lack of funding, the conference was made a single day rather than three.

The first conference, entitled "Trans-Health for the New Millennium," took place on May 5, 2002. From 2006 until 2020, it was held at the Philadelphia Convention Center.{{Cite web |date=2005-08-27 |title=About the Conference |url=http://www.trans-health.org/about/about-main.html |access-date=2024-04-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050827235437/http://www.trans-health.org/about/about-main.html |archive-date=August 27, 2005 }}

= 2020-2022 =

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Mazzoni Center postponed the conference that was scheduled to occur that year between June 23–25. They chose to move the conference to a virtual format in 2021,{{Cite web |last=Zipkin |first=Michele |date=2021-02-17 |title=Philadelphia Trans Wellness Conference to go virtual |url=https://epgn.com/2021/02/17/philadelphia-trans-wellness-conference-to-go-virtual/ |access-date=2025-04-23 |website=Philadelphia Gay News |language=en-US}} and again in 2022.{{Cite web |last=Given |first=Molly |date=2022-07-20 |title=Philadelphia Trans Wellness Conference 2022 serves hope |url=https://metrophiladelphia.com/philadelphia-trans-wellness-conference/ |access-date=2024-04-15 |website=metrophiladelphia.com |language=en-US}}

= 2023 =

On April 5, 2023, the Mazzoni Center announced on the conference's website that the team would be using 2023 as a planning and development year and that the conference would not be taking place that year. They hosted a community conversation in partnership with the Mayor's Office of LGBTQ Affairs on May 3 of that year.{{Cite web |date=2022-10-13 |title=Trans Wellness Conference Sign Up |url=https://us2.campaign-archive.com/pages?u=86648cd51de4cda081c120cab&id=0300dbf8e1f0 |access-date=2024-04-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221013190520/https://us2.campaign-archive.com/pages?u=86648cd51de4cda081c120cab&id=0300dbf8e1f0 |archive-date=October 13, 2022 }}

= 2024 =

In March 2024, the Mazzoni Center announced that the conference would be resuming in-person with a limited capacity of 1,000 participants. Unlike in previous years, the location was also changed to the Temple University campus.{{Cite web |last=Rodriguez |first=Jeremy |date=2024-04-24 |title=Philadelphia Trans Wellness Conference registration opens May 6 |url=https://epgn.com/2024/04/24/philadelphia-trans-wellness-conference-registration-opens-may-6/ |access-date=2025-04-05 |website=Philadelphia Gay News |language=en-US}}

= 2025 =

On April 4th, 2025, the Mazzoni Center announced that the conference would be shifting from a single event to year-round programming, feeling that it would best serve the community in light of the second Trump administration's attacks on transgender people. With that decision, they also renamed the organization to the Charlene Arcila Trans Wellness Collective in onor of the conference's founder.

Content

The conference hosts a variety of activities, such as workshops, religious services, certifications, and vendor spaces.

Attendees can take the general, professional, and continuing education tracts. In 2012, the conference also launched a youth summit with workshops and social events specifically for youth.{{Cite web |date=2012-05-23 |title=Trans Health Conference Returns to Philly |url= https://www.phillymag.com/news/2012/05/23/trans-health-conference-returns-philly/ |website=Philadelphia Magazine}}