06/23/2026
Advocacy Director and possibility model, Joelle Espeut, started at the The Normal Anomaly Inc. in 2021. She aspired to live up to the organization’s tagline – Eliminating barriers, creating new norms. Through her role, she championed efforts to build direct services, capacity building, research, technical assistance, and advocacy programs.
Among those efforts is the TAC-SAGES, a research partnership with the SUSTAIN Wellbeing COMPASS® Coordinating Center, nested within the Graduate College of Social Work. Led by Joelle and a collective of Black Trans Women, Phase 1 of TAC-SAGES is a greater Houston-based qualitative study focused on the joy, experiences, and dreams of other Black Trans Women.
“My ‘Why’ and my purpose continues to be visibility and representation for Black Trans Women. The decisions I make always center around a 12-year-old Joelle that lived in the Midwest, who didn’t see herself or have any hope for the future. Because I know that there are countless Joelles that exist, and I want to continue to be a model for them.”