Origins
GATE was founded in 2009 by Mauro Cabral Grinspan and Justus Eisfeld in response to the widespread violence and discrimination against trans and gender diverse people. In the years preceding GATE’s founding, trans communities faced intersecting forms of oppression in areas such as education, healthcare, and legislation, often exacerbated by race and poverty. Access to gender-affirming healthcare was restricted by harmful psychiatric and legal requirements, and legal gender recognition requirements breached basic human rights. Trans and gender diverse issues were largely dismissed by the broader human rights and LGBTI movements, leading to the exclusion of trans activists. GATE was established to address these challenges, strengthen political and financial capacities, and create job opportunities for trans activists.
Originally supported through fiscal sponsorship by the Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice, GATE was registered in the US as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit in 2016. This enabled the organization to significantly strengthen its financial and operational capacity, with income growing from US$240,000 in 2015 to US$1.57 million in 2022. Key to this growth was the appointment of Cori Zaccagnino as Director of Finance and Operations. GATE has undergone several leadership transitions, with Masen Davis taking on a key role after co-founder Justus Eisfeld stepped down in 2015, and Mauro Cabral Grinspan appointed GATE’s first Executive Director in 2017. In 2022, Erika Castellanos was named Executive Director, becoming the first Indigenous trans woman of color to lead the organization. GATE operates globally as a remote office and places a strong emphasis on staff well-being and diversity in the staff and the Board of Directors.
Since its founding, GATE has used global community consultations and engagement to guide its strategic direction, beginning with its first strategic plan in 2010, which was informed by meetings with activists in São Paulo and Barcelona. GATE’s workplans are continually adapted to address emerging challenges, including the COVID-19 pandemic and the rise of the anti-gender movement. From 2011, GATE engaged in advancing intersex advocacy and fostered collaboration between the trans and intersex movements. However, in 2024, the organization announced a decision to refocus its efforts solely on trans and gender diverse issues. GATE’s current work is structured around three main pillars: Health, Human Rights, and Movement Building, alongside an internal focus on Institutional Strengthening. In 2025, GATE will transition to a membership-based model to enhance collaboration and support within the global trans movement.
Key Milestones
2009: GATE is Founded
GATE was founded in 2009 by Mauro Cabral Grinspan and Justus Eisfeld to address the widespread exclusion of trans and gender diverse communities in the international human rights space.
2010: First Global Trans Convening
GATE hosted the first global convening of trans and gender diverse activists from 3-6 June 2010 in Barcelona, Spain.
2011: Engaging on Intersex Issues
GATE began to engage on intersex issues. For 12 years, GATE contributed significantly to strengthening intersex advocacy, participating in International Intersex Forums, engaging with global governance bodies including the UN and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) on intersex issues, and serving as Senior Advisor to the Intersex Human Rights Fund. In 2024, GATE announced a decision to discontinue intersex programming.
2013: First Global Trans and Intersex Funding Research
GATE conducted the first collaborative research on The State of Trans and Intersex Organizing. The report revealed a deeply troubling lack of funding, which led to a series of meetings focused on addressing the need to increase the amount and accessibility of funding for trans and gender diverse groups. Later editions were published in 2017 and 2024 (forthcoming).
2015: Founding of the International Trans Fund
Following the meetings on trans funding, a challenging organizing process took place that resulted in the creation of a community-led funding mechanism, the International Trans Fund (ITF).
2016: GATE Registered Independently as a Non-Profit in the US
GATE achieved financial independence from fiscal sponsors by registering in the United States as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.
2017: Hosting First UN Trans Advocacy Week & Drafting of YP+10
In an effort to coordinate trans advocacy at the United Nations, GATE co-organized the first UN Trans Advocacy Week at the Human Rights Council in Geneva. This initiative is held annually and is organized in collaboration with other global and regional organizations advocating for trans and gender diverse rights. GATE also contributed to the drafting of the Yogyakarta Principles Plus Ten.
2018: Global Trans Leadership in the HIV Response
GATE became the only member of the Communities Delegations to the Board of the Global Fund representing trans and gender diverse communities and became a vital member of the International AIDS Conference’s planning committee.
2019: Trans Identities Depathologized by WHO
Marking a significant victory in GATE’s advocacy efforts on depathologization, the World Health Assembly approved a new version of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD11) that no longer classified trans and gender diverse people as mentally disordered, an achievement comparable to the depathologization of homosexuality 29 years earlier in 1990.
2020: Creation of International Trans Men and HIV Working Group
GATE founded the International Working Group on Trans Men and HIV, focused on addressing the exclusion of trans men in the global HIV response. This led to the later development in 2023 of the Trans Men and HIV Policy Brief and Factsheet, supported by UNAIDS and UNFPA technical teams.
2020 – 2021: Responding to the COVID-19 Pandemic
In an effort to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, GATE transitioned its workshops and trainings online, hosted virtual events to keep activists engaged in key processes, and provided financial support for internet access, personal protective equipment (PPE), and other basic needs.
2022: Launching of GATE Open-Access Training Platform
GATE Learning Hub was launched, an open-access online platform providing free training on organizational development.
2023: GATE Receives ECOSOC Status & Produces Global Anti-Gender Report
GATE achieved a significant milestone by receiving ECOSOC status, further solidifying its role in international advocacy. This status allows NGOs to participate fully in the UN system, empowering GATE to engage more effectively with UN mechanisms, participate in high-level dialogues, and influence global policies affecting trans, gender diverse, and intersex communities. In response to the growing anti-gender movement, GATE also conducted extensive research that resulted in global and regional reports of the impact of anti-gender opposition on trans and gender diverse organizing.
2024: Second Global Trans Convening
GATE hosted the second global trans convening, the Unite! Advocate! Thrive! Global Trans Conference, which brought together over 200 trans and gender diverse activists and key stakeholders from around the globe to address the critical need for trans and gender diverse-specific strategies and unified responses.
