Aidan Key

Aidan Key (born January 22, 1964) is an educator, author, speaker, and community organizer. As a transgender man active in LGBT rights, Key's ground-breaking. work includes developing policies and procedures for the equality of transgender children in schools grades K-12. Key’s work with K-12 schools includes challenging topics such as gender neutral bathrooms (unisex), transgender student athletic participation, locker rooms, privacy, disclosure, name and gender changes. His expertise on gender nonconformity in children has informed gender-inclusive policy work within the WA Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI), the Washington Intercollegiate Activities Association, and Seattle Public Schools.
Key authored the Trans Bodies, Trans Selves manual addressing the support and understanding of transgender children (Oxford University Press 2014, ISBN 978-0199325351). He co-authored, Gender Cognition in Transgender Children, (Psychological Science, 2015), and has contributed to various blogs including Huffington Post, and Welcoming Schools

His perspective on trans issues has often been featured in the national media, including the Oprah Winfrey Show, NPR’s Diane Rehm Show and Fresh Air with Terry Gross, Al Jazeera America, Huff Post, Inside Edition, Nightline, the Seattle Times, Parent Map, and Larry King Live. His appearance on Larry King Live inspired a Saturday Night Live skit spoofing the obvious confusion of the host on issues related to transgender identities.

Key is a regular speaker at universities and conferences including the DSHS Children’s Justice Conference 2013, Adolescent Health Medicine Conference 2010, The Power of One: LGBT Student Leadership, and the Gender Odyssey Conference 2014. He has been a featured speaker at churches, universities, conferences such as the Children’s Justice Conference and the Adolescent Medicine Conference, and special events.

Key founded the international Gender Odyssey conference in 2001, which has since grown to include the Gender Odyssey Family conference as well as the Gender Odyssey Professional conference providing instruction to medical, mental health, and education professionals. Keynote speakers have included notables like Chaz Bono, Cheryl Kilodavis author of My Princess Boy, Janet Mock, and author, performer and gender activist Kate Bornstein.

His past collaborations include teaming up with Three Dollar Bill Cinema to launch the Seattle Translations Film Festival and co-founding the Bay area nonprofit, Gender Spectrum.

Aidan Key is an identical twin. His twin sister, Brenda Bowers, has joined him for numerous media appearances including two documentaries and articles in numerous international publications. Key and Bowers were the impetus for the launch of research by Milton Diamond, PhD, Transsexuality Among Twins, studying the concordance of transgender gender identity in identical twins. Key is married, father of one, and lives in Seattle, WA, USA.

• 2013 Trans 100: Inaugural Member of Trans 100 Award

• Trans, We Happy. "The Trans 100 – 2013 Inaugural Edition (U.S.)". Retrieved 2015-03-13.