LGBT champions Tony Lima EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF SAVE


Tony Lima made advocacy his full-time job in 2013, when, after serving as a longtime board member, he took over as executive director of SAVE, South Florida’s leading organization dedicated to protecting the LGBT community. “It wasn’t until I took the helm that I realized how difficult and all-consuming the work that we do truly is,” says Lima, who is the former vice president of the Miami Science Museum. For SAVE, that work includes educating the public, pushing for policies at various levels of government and organizing major events throughout the year, such as the annual Luminary Awards. “It’s intense but beautifully rewarding,” he says. Lima has steered SAVE in its successful suit against the state of Florida to legalize same-sex marriage and also helped to pass nondiscrimination protections for transgender individuals at the Miami-Dade County Commission. Lima, who doesn’t have kids of his own but enjoys spending time with his niece and nephews, adds that in a state like Florida, the work is hardly over. “We need to abolish the dangerous practice of conversion therapy to protect our children,” he says. Like the organization he represents, Lima’s approach for change is communal. “True change has to happen at the local level first.”


Lauren Foster REALITY TV STAR AND DIRECTOR OF


CONCIERGE FOR LGBTQ SERVICES AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI HOSPITAL


She may be known to some for her role on two seasons of Bravo’s short-lived Real Housewives of Miami or her six-page spread in the October 1980 issue of Vogue Mexico, but actress, director, model and transgender icon Lauren Foster is also the director of concierge for LGBTQ services at the University of Miami Hospital, providing guidance and support to transgender patients and education to the staff. “Having transitioned myself, I have a deep understanding of how difficult it can sometimes be for the patients to work with doctors,” she says. “My goal is to provide insight regarding this process for both parties—the doctors and patient.” Foster—a lover of fashion, photography and design— also educates people through her website, Just Another Girl (justanothergirl.org), a lifestyle platform for trans women. “The main driving forces [of the site] are the individuals and the family of individuals searching for support,” she says. Since her time on Real Housewives (the show ended in 2013), Foster says the number of people reaching out for help has grown exponentially. “My two seasons on Housewives provided me with a platform to share my story and reach others, as at the time there was still very little awareness of the transgender experience.”


Time Out Miami February 9–May 17, 2017 22


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