# National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE) Founded in **2003** in Washington, D.C. by **Mara Keisling** as a **federal-policy-focused trans-rights advocacy organization** — distinct in scope from [[Transgender Law Center]] (Oakland-based, litigation-and-direct-services) and the [[Sylvia Rivera Law Project]] (NYC-based, low-income direct services). NCTE has functioned as the **primary trans-political-advocacy operation interfacing with federal agencies, Congress, and the White House** for the past two decades. ## Core Functions - **Federal-policy advocacy** — particularly with agencies (DHS, DOJ, HHS, State Department, IRS, SSA, OPM, [[Department of Education]]) on rule-making affecting trans Americans - **The U.S. Transgender Survey** — periodic large-scale survey (2015 and 2022 editions) of trans Americans' experiences across employment, healthcare, family, criminal-legal, public-accommodation, and political domains. The Survey is the largest dataset on U.S. trans-American life ever assembled (28,000+ respondents in 2015; 90,000+ in 2022) - **Federal-document-and-identification advocacy** — including the multi-year campaign that produced the 2021-2025 X gender marker on U.S. passports (subsequently reversed by [[Trump 2.0]] in January 2025) - **Coalition coordination** — particularly with the [[Human Rights Campaign]], [[ACLU]], [[GLBTQ Legal Advocates and Defenders]], and state-level trans organizations on integrated political strategy ## The 2024 Merger In **December 2024**, NCTE merged with the **Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund (TLDEF)** to form **Advocates for Trans Equality (A4TE)**, consolidating two of the major national trans organizations into a single combined operation. The merger was driven in part by funding consolidation pressures and the perceived need for unified federal advocacy infrastructure heading into Trump 2.0. ## Place in the Vault NCTE / A4TE has been the **primary trans-political organization at the federal-advocacy front** for the past two decades — the trans-rights equivalent of what [[Human Rights Campaign]] has been at the broader LGBTQ lobbying front. Its 2024 merger with TLDEF and its current operation under the Trump 2.0 federal-rollback wave makes it one of the most operationally important contemporary entities in the [[Queer Liberation Ecosystem]]. --- ## See Also - [[Queer Liberation Ecosystem]] - [[Queer Liberation Timeline]] - [[Transgender Law Center]] - [[Sylvia Rivera Law Project]]