https://www.jrandvanessaford.com/blog daily 0.75 2021-02-12 https://www.jrandvanessaford.com/blog/blog-post-title-three-ynhgg-khdle monthly 0.5 2020-05-20 https://www.jrandvanessaford.com/blog/blog-post-title-four-myj58-ddw4e monthly 0.5 2020-05-20 https://www.jrandvanessaford.com/blog/Blog Post Title One-zrggp-zg6la monthly 0.5 2020-08-27 https://www.jrandvanessaford.com/blog/blog-post-title-two-elrlc-glz82 monthly 0.5 2020-05-20 https://www.jrandvanessaford.com/lgbtq-resources daily 0.75 2021-02-12 https://www.jrandvanessaford.com/about daily 0.75 2021-04-17 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/602690b1c4532c4a362a26b6/1613140146419-BYXGYXIDRY2DZMK2MVC9/IMG_1103.jpg About Us - Meet Vanessa! Vanessa Ford has spent her nearly 20 year career focused on equity in education. She has been a staunch advocate for equal rights for the LGBTQIA+ community and works with schools, leaders and Districts to make their schools more equitable and safe places. If you've met or talked to Vanessa, you will know she has the following super powers: being PRESENT, putting a smile on your face, and rocking cool eye wear! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/602690b1c4532c4a362a26b6/1613140146394-0M4I1JY1US63S9NUW6KG/IMG_8047.JPG About Us - Meet JR! Tobias Keene, D.D.S. Hailing from Richmond, Virginia, Dr. Tobias Keene brings a bit of unabashed Southern hospitality to all his patients. He moved to Washington, D.C. over thirty years ago as a freshman at Ivy College. Right after graduation, he attended World University’s School of Dentistry. Before opening Keene Dental in 1994, he worked for free clinics and some of the finest practices in the District. He is part of the 123 Dental Association and stays up-to-date on the latest dental discoveries. When not striving to keep his patients happy and healthy, he’s enjoys hiking with his family in Rock Creek Park. https://www.jrandvanessaford.com/meet-fords daily 0.75 2021-03-05 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/602690b1c4532c4a362a26b6/1613140151482-80BHX30K2BMRF5FNV75E/IMG_7836.jpg Meet the Fords - Our Work We are passionate about our work to make the world a more loving and equitable place for all people. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/602690b1c4532c4a362a26b6/1613140151472-GHLXR6BFEWFNNXOTGSDN/1930095_27409964195_9707_n.jpg Meet the Fords - The Love Story Short 1-2 sentences to engage site visitors and want them to learn more about you as a couple. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/602690b1c4532c4a362a26b6/1613140151478-OYTLE35I5O697V5XWQEZ/IMG_1636.jpg Meet the Fords - The Ford Family Family is the most important thing in our lives. We center all of our work around the idea that by making the world better for our children, we make it better for all kids. https://www.jrandvanessaford.com/books daily 0.75 2021-02-12 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ec321c2af33de48734cc929/1589847896255-71GDMB4JOGTFXFRK00TD/image-asset.jpeg Books - C-A-L-V-I-N It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ec321c2af33de48734cc929/1589847895626-I0RS2T6LQGM9IRYBEERM/image-asset.jpeg Books - Dream With Me It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.jrandvanessaford.com/home daily 1.0 2021-12-04 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/602690b1c4532c4a362a26b6/1618683767693-5PU67IFMN2JJ54PLW383/IMG_0186.jpeg Home - Resources and Support We’re very interested in connecting people with information to help them be more informed and more affirming. This section is and will be ever changing, and if there is a topic or resource that you need to learn more about, please contact us, and we will help to point you in the right direction. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/602690b1c4532c4a362a26b6/1618683237951-CTV87J5PEVFAFVZJBVRR/IMG_1364.jpg Home - Meet JR and Vanessa Ford We have been together for 15 years and have two beautiful children, one of whom is transgender. Six years into this journey, and we are constantly learning. We want to share our story with others, as well as elevate the voices of those doing the work. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/602690b1c4532c4a362a26b6/1618682707791-PR5YMHBIRCSUNJWRMYHL/CALVIN_HiRes+%281%29.jpg Home - CALVIN Calvin has always known he’s a boy, even if the world sees him as a girl. Though his loving family is quick to support him, Calvin is nervous about what his friends and teachers will think…. when his school community rallies around him, those “what ifs” melt away. Inspired by the authors’ own transgender child and accompanied by warm, joyous and inclusive illustrations, this must-have picture book celebrates kindness and empathy, and shows what it means to make someone feel safe, respected and welcomed. https://www.jrandvanessaford.com/dream-with-me daily 0.75 2021-02-12 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ec321c2af33de48734cc929/1589847904871-IJY33BXSJQA0OIFROI1H/image-asset.jpeg Dream With Me - Dream With Me byline Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. Don’t worry about sounding professional. Sound like you. There are over 1.5 billion websites out there, but your story is what’s going to separate this one from the rest. If you read the words back and don’t hear your own voice in your head, that’s a good sign you still have more work to do. https://www.jrandvanessaford.com/calvin daily 0.75 2023-07-26 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/602690b1c4532c4a362a26b6/1618686115805-G7MF9SIXFBMWAKRB844Y/CALVIN_HiRes+%282%29.jpg CALVIN - CALVIN by JR and Vanessa Ford Illustrated by Kayla Harren ORDER HERE In this joyful and impactful picture book, a transgender boy prepares for the first day of school and introduces himself to his family and friends for the first time. Calvin has always been a boy, even if the world sees him as a girl. He knows who he is in his heart and in his mind but he hasn’t yet told his family. Finally, he can wait no longer: “I’m not a girl,” he tells his family. “I’m a boy–a boy in my heart and in my brain.” Quick to support him, his loving family takes Calvin shopping for the swim trunks he’s always wanted and back-to-school clothes and a new haircut that helps him look and feel like the boy he’s always known himself to be. As the first day of school approaches, he’s nervous and the “what-ifs” gather up inside him. But as his friends and teachers rally around him and he tells them his name, all his “what-ifs” begin to melt away. Inspired by the authors’ own transgender child and accompanied by warm and triumphant illustrations, this authentic and personal text promotes kindness and empathy, offering a poignant and inclusive back-to-school message: all should feel safe, respected, and welcomed. https://www.jrandvanessaford.com/racial-justice-resources daily 0.75 2021-02-12 https://www.jrandvanessaford.com/love daily 0.75 2021-03-05 https://www.jrandvanessaford.com/family2 daily 0.75 2021-02-12 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/602690b1c4532c4a362a26b6/1613140164972-CCDDN7IP9DLRBZ9FHDNF/IMG_1636.JPG Ford Family https://www.jrandvanessaford.com/lgbtq daily 0.75 2021-04-19 https://www.jrandvanessaford.com/news daily 0.75 2021-02-12 https://www.jrandvanessaford.com/family daily 0.75 2021-04-23 https://www.jrandvanessaford.com/contact-us daily 0.75 2021-04-19 https://www.jrandvanessaford.com/media-advocacy daily 0.75 2023-07-26 https://www.jrandvanessaford.com/advocate daily 0.75 2023-07-26 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/602690b1c4532c4a362a26b6/5d8e7f9c-3b7e-40aa-b537-ccef17442aee/Final%2BCover%2BAdvocate%2BEducator.JPG cmkimball@icloud.com - The Advocate Educator’ Handbook Creating Schools Where Transgender and Non-Binary Students Thrive by: Vanessa Ford, M.A.T. Rebecca Kling COMING SOON With a powerful foreword by Dr. Peggy Brookins, President and CEO of The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, The Advocate Educator’s Handbook: Creating Schools Where Transgender and Non-Binary Students Thrive offers a tested framework for educators to use in their journeys to creating inclusive classrooms and education environments for transgender and non-binary students. Centered on a framework of four principles – educate, affirm, include, and disrupt –, this book provides a new way of thinking about inclusivity in the classroom, as well as practical ways to foster students’ sense of belonging. The authors bring rich understanding to the topic as educators themselves, Kling as a transgender educator and advocate and Ford as a teacher and parent of a transgender child. You’ll also read stories from transgender and non-binary students, teachers, researchers, parents, and more, providing unique and important perspectives. Inside the book, you’ll find practical tools that you can start using on day one. You’ll also find curriculum ideas for teachers and model policies for school administrators and public policymakers, so you can begin the important work of advocating for and with trans and non-binary students. By engaging with trans youth and allies, we can build inclusivity in and beyond the classroom. The Advocate Educator’s Handbook: Creating Schools Where Transgender and Non-Binary Students Thrive will help you: Understand what it means to be transgender or non-binary and learn about the experiences of trans youth Learn how to support trans and non-binary students, with firsthand accounts from a wide range of experts serving those communities Find resources you can use as an educator to support you in your journey toward inclusivity Recognize and respond to anti-trans policies and laws targeting trans students Identify important actions unique to your situation with personal reflection questions and scenarios This book was created especially for K-12 educators, administrators, pre-service teachers and others looking to enact change and create safe spaces for transgender and nonbinary youth. From daily life in the classroom to policy at the highest levels, The Advocate Educator’s Handbook will help educators & their community work toward meaningful change.