Board of Advisors

TransAmericans Photos is a nonprofit organization

Founding Chair: Joe McCormack retired from executive search in 2023 after 45 years as a recruiter in New York and Los Angeles. He is the founding partner of McCormack + Kristel, the first openly LGBTQ-owned executive search firm in the country. McCormack + Kristel was established in Los Angeles during the AIDS pandemic in 1993 to address the need by emerging volunteer HIV/AIDS organizations for professional leadership. The firm has been recognized for the past three years by Forbes as one of America’s best recruiting firms. Joe is a Navy veteran, and he has been active on the Boards of the Palm Springs LGBTQ Center, Servicemembers Legal Defense Organization, the Point Foundation and the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN).

Creative Consultant: Jon O’Neal is a fine-art photographer whose work explores identity, the human condition, and visibility in American life. His photographs are held in major public collections, including the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), the Library of Congress, the Princeton University Art Museum, and the Spencer Museum of Art, among others. His latest photography series is Service Unerased: Portraits of Transgender Americans Forced Out of the Military.

Lisa Middleton: Former Mayor & Council Member, Palm Springs CA

Kara Corcoran: US Army Major and SPARTA Pride Executive Director

Laura Meeks: Retired USAF B-52 Pilot

Mara Keisling: Founding Executive Director, National Center for Transgender Equality

Executive Assistant: Kaleb Chance LaFleur is a student at College of the Desert