Chicago House announced July 8 that Bonn Wade, director of the organization's TransLife Center in Edgewater, will be stepping down from their position at the end of July.
Wade has not announced their future plans.
"When Chicago House opened up the TransLife Center over a year ago, there was just one person we wanted to be the founding Director, and that person was Bonn Wade," said Judy Perloff, Chicago House chief program officer, in a statement. "We asked Bonn to come to Chicago House to launch the nation's most comprehensive center for Trans individuals, and in that endeavor Bonn has proven remarkably successful. In the time that Bonn has been here, Bonn has launched TransHousing, TransHealth, TransLegal, TransWorks and TransSafe. … In addition, Bonn created a Trans-affirming training that has been used by hospitals, social service agencies and community based AIDS organizations."
Perloff added, "In just the last two weeks, Bonn and the TransLife team helped Firebelly Design create the very first full media campaign targeting police, local communities, health centers and Pitchfork Music attendees through affirming billboards, posters and hand cards that are displayed throughout Chicago and on Pitchfork's website. These billboards and materials form a campaign aimed at decreasing the stigma and discrimination faced by the Trans Community, and they are just one part of the lasting legacy that Bonn leaves behind."
Wade will continue in their current role through the end of this month, and will also contract with Chicago House for special projects, according to the statement.
"When we needed someone really strong to get the program started, and Bonn, with their expertise and charisma, launched it on good footing," Chicago House CEO Stan Sloan told Windy City Times. "I've love working with them. The rest of the TransLife team is fantastic as well, and we're excited to begin the next chapter from here."
A longtime advocate for homeless LGBT youth, Wade was previously associate director of the UCAN program and program manager for Teen Living Programs. They are an appointee to Cyndi Lauper's Forty to None Project as well as a member of the LGBT and Allies Advisory Board for the National Alliance to End Homelessness.