Tristan Vaught | they/them | Co-Founder / Advocacy Director

Currently, Tristan N. Vaught, M.A. is the CEO and Equity, Inclusion, Belonging, and Access Facilitator of Tristan N. Vaught Consulting & Coaching, LLC, the co-founder of Transform Cincy, and professor of LGBTQ+ Activism, Queer Studies, and Trans Studies at the University of Cincinnati. Before COVID 19 changed the landscape of our world they were the inaugural director of education and training and interim executive director for the Living with Change Foundation. Previous to this role, they held positions as the founding director of the LGBTQ+ Center at IUPUI, the interim director and first program coordinator of the LGBTQ Center at the University of Cincinnati. Tristan, originally from Buck Creek, Indiana, is a first-generation college graduate with a BA in Psychology and one in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies as well as an MA in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies from University of Cincinnati. Their thesis explored the effectiveness of LGBTQ+ educational ally workshops in higher education and beyond. Tristan's advocacy and work focuses on intersecting identities and how they impact individuals' lived experiences.

Email Tristan here: tristan@transformcincy.org

Ella Dastillung | She/her | Co-Founder / Youth Director

Ella became the third founder of Transform through helping her mother Nancy with starting the organization. She quickly fell in love with it, and became the “final piece of the puzzle” through designing logos, appointment forms, and organizing teens. Ella previously was president of the Oak Hills High School Gay-Straight-Alliance for two years. She learned how to work with other LGBTQ+ teens and ran events, such as a counter-protest of the Westboro Baptist Church at her school in 2017. Ella graduated from the School for Creative and Performing Arts in 2020 and graduated from the University of Cincinnati in 2023. She loves movies, dogs, and collaborating with other people. Ella has moved on to her career as an incredible educator in a local school district. She will always be a part of organization and is invested deeply in the mission/vision of Transform.

Email Ella here: ella@transformcincy.org

Nancy Dawson | She/her | Co-Founder

Nancy Dawson, mom of five, founded and owned BRIDEface makeup and hair for fifteen years. Her experience with her own transgender daughter inspired her to create Transform. Nancy passed away from breast cancer in April 2020, and her legacy lives on through Transform Cincy and her five children.