The Trevor Project is expanding its leadership bench with a hire that signals both urgency and intention. The nation’s leading suicide prevention organization for LGBTQ+ young people announced that longtime advocate Rodrigo Heng-Lehtinen has joined its team as Senior Vice President of Public Engagement Campaigns.
Heng-Lehtinen enters the role as transgender lives and policy debates continue to dominate headlines across the country. His mandate is clear: help audiences better understand transgender people through messaging that is factual, accessible, and grounded in lived experience.
A Strategist for Complicated Conversations
Well known within advocacy circles, Heng-Lehtinen has built a reputation for translating complex LGBTQ+ issues into language that resonates beyond traditional echo chambers. His work has often focused on persuasion rather than polarization, particularly when speaking to audiences unfamiliar with transgender communities.
That skillset aligns closely with The Trevor Project’s growing emphasis on public education alongside crisis intervention. As LGBTQ+ youth face rising mental health risks, leaders at Trevor say broadening cultural understanding is a necessary part of prevention.
A Career Rooted in Movement Building
Heng-Lehtinen brings more than 17 years of experience across national and grassroots LGBTQ+ organizations. Most recently, he served as the founding executive director of Advocates for Trans Equality, formed through the merger of the National Center for Transgender Equality and the Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund.
Prior to that milestone, he led NCTE as executive director after several years as deputy director. His resume also includes work with the Transgender Law Center, Gender Justice LA, Freedom for All Americans, and the National LGBTQ Task Force.
Across those roles, Heng-Lehtinen helped shape policy strategy, coalition building, and public-facing narratives at moments when transgender rights faced heightened scrutiny.
A Familiar Face in National Media
Heng-Lehtinen is no stranger to the spotlight. He has appeared on major English-language outlets including NBC, MSNBC, CNN, The New York Times, and Politico, while also conducting Spanish-language interviews on Univision, Telemundo, and CNN en Español.
That bilingual reach has allowed him to engage diverse audiences, particularly within Latino communities, where misinformation around gender identity often goes unchallenged.
Family, Politics, and Visibility
His personal story also carries national significance. Heng-Lehtinen is the first openly transgender child of a sitting member of Congress. His mother, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, represented a Miami district as a Republican for nearly three decades. Together, they have spoken publicly about family acceptance across political differences.
That dynamic has informed much of Heng-Lehtinen’s approach to advocacy, emphasizing empathy over confrontation.
Why This Moment Matters
As transgender people increasingly become the focus of legislative debates and media narratives, The Trevor Project’s leadership sees Heng-Lehtinen as a bridge-builder, someone equipped to meet the moment without sacrificing nuance or humanity.
For journalists, advocates, and audiences alike, his appointment underscores a growing recognition that how stories are told can be just as impactful as the policies being discussed.
And for LGBTQ+ young people watching from the sidelines, representation at the leadership level still matters, especially when it comes with clarity, care, and purpose.
