Plume Medical Team – Gender-Affirming Care From Anywhere.

We work to provide the highest quality gender-affirming care and truly meet patients where they are by dismantling barriers that keep gender-diverse people from living their fullest life.

Sierra is a cis, queer, board certified Family Nurse Practitioner who decided to make gender affirming care her primary focus in 2017 in order to support a community close to her home and heart. Sierra educates health care organizations on gender-affirming care and enjoys speaking and sharing information at universities and conferences. Outside of work and community outreach, Sierra invests time in animal rescue and spoiling her overly affectionate pitbull.

Carly is a Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner with over 10 year’s experience providing gender-affirming care. In addition to her work with Plume, Carly specializes in intra-operative and post-operative care of vaginoplasty procedures as well as pelvic pain conditions. Carly is an ally of the trans community and finds her work to be incredibly fulfilling.

Dr. Leora is a cis queer woman who is board certified in Family Medicine. She has been practicing medicine for over 10 years in western Massachusetts, Maine, and Seattle. She has provided gender affirming care since 2016. When she’s not practicing medicine, she loves to spend time outdoors with her wife and 2 children.

Dr. Cooper-McCann is a trans, non-binary provider who is board certified in Family Medicine. They are passionate about serving the LGBTQ2IA+ community and expanding access to gender-affirming care.

Dr. Alann is a Jamaican and Jewish trans man who is board certified in Family Medicine and Addiction Medicine. He has been providing gender affirming care since 2009.

Dr. Mai is trained in Family and Community Medicine, and within that scope also practices addiction medicine and reproductive healthcare. She has dedicated her studies and training to provide gender-affirming care. She is an active ally to the trans and gender expansive communities in her professional and advocacy work and personal life.

Dr. Kirkley is a trans woman, board certified in Family Medicine, and the co-founder of Plume. She has provided gender-affirming care (GAC) in various clinical settings and is the author of a GAC protocol implemented by health systems across multiple states.

Dane has deep experience in gender-affirming care (over 10 yrs), was the previous clinical director of operations at the Mazzoni Center and now the director of LGBTQ services at Mainline Health.

Margot Presley, NP is a queer, cis, trans ally. As a nurse practitioner (NP) she provides primary care and addiction recovery services in Portland, Oregon. Since 2008, she’s been committed to supporting the LGBTQI community via social and healthcare services. Margot has led workshops, contributed to agency policies, informed legislation, and developed curricula on gender-affirming care and environments.

Lewis is a transgender man and Nurse Practitioner who has been providing gender-affirming care in a variety of settings including community health and chemical dependency treatment centers since 2014. His favorite activity is hiking mountains on the island where he grew up.

(Suegee/Dr. Tamar-Mattis)

Dr. Suegee Tamar-Mattis, DO is a board-certified Family Medicine physician, a human rights activist, and a member of the LGBTQI community. Suegee has been involved in queer and transgender healthcare since the 1990s and is the founder of the Sonoma County Transgender Health Clinic.

Dr. Toni is a family physician trained in Northern California. A queer Tejana from the border town of El Paso, Texas, her work in healthcare is strongly grounded in social justice and equity. She has been providing Gender Affirming Care since 2016 and as a cis female, she actively centers humility in her work. Founder of a physician advocacy organization, she is always eager to hold a megaphone to speak truth to power. Toni serves Plume patients in California and soon in Texas!

I’m Dr. Josh, and I am honored to be entrusted with your care. As someone who found it difficult to be myself with doctors, it is really important to me that everyone is able to find a healthcare provider that they can feel comfortable and honest with. Because of this, I sought to learn from the best at Montefiore Medical Center, Fenway Health, and directly from the trans community. Since then, I have worked on LGBTQ quality improvement projects at primary care clinics, provided care with Planned Parenthood, and created curriculum to teach new primary care doctors how to provide care to the trans community. In addition to gender affirming care, I am an HIV and sexual health specialist. My experience has taken me across the country, and it’s given me a unique insight on challenges patients have just to get health care based on where they live. It has also taught me not to take living out and proud for granted. It is my commitment that I will continue to listen and learn from the trans community.

When I’m not with patients, I enjoy making music, playing tabletop games, and cooking for my family – right now that consists of a partner, a dog, several ducks, chicken, and quail, and a robo-vacuum named Alberta. When things get tough, I remember a quote from a great drag queen: “Everything works out in the end. If it’s not working out, it’s not the end.

Dr. Heather is board certified in Adolescent Medicine. She is experienced in providing Gender Affirming Care for all ages, starting in 2012. During her Air Force career, she was the lead physician for Gender Affirming Care (2016-2017) for all military members in her region. She is a fierce ally and advocate for the trans and nonbinary community, educating hundreds of medical students and staff, school administrators, and community members each year on gender and sexuality topics. Dr. Heather volunteers leading youth, parent, and adult gender diverse support groups with trans community members. When she’s got time to unwind, Dr. Heather likes to garden, sew clothes, and show her kids how to hit the heavy bag.

Jazmyn is a nurse practitioner, board certified in women’s health, licensed in Connecticut and Florida. She received her education at Yale University and Mount Holyoke College. She currently practices family planning and gender affirming care at a Planned Parenthood in Connecticut. An ally to the trans community, she lives out her commitment to reproductive justice professionally and personally. She considers herself quite “indoorsy” and enjoys reading, beauty products, listening to jazz music, and just being cozy.

Dr. Jen is a board certified family physician who trained on the east coast in nursing and then medical school before moving to Seattle for residency where she has practiced medicine for the last decade. She is passionate about social justice and human rights, and is an ally to the LGBTQIA community. When not doctoring, she is busy enjoying her garden, exploring the bountiful Pacific Northwest with her kids and spouse, or trying out a new plant based recipe in the kitchen.

Larry is a queer, cis, board certified physician assistant (PA-C). He graduated from Pace University-Lenox Hill Hospital’s Physician Assistant program in NYC. Prior to moving to sunny San Diego, he practiced primary care with a focus on LGBTQ+ health in Manhattan and provided gender-affirming surgical care for the trans community at Mount Sinai Health. Throughout Larry’s career, he has enjoyed seeing the personal health evolution of his patients. The most satisfying part in his role as a clinician is to witness patients transform their confidence, appearance, and overall well being. This rewarding feeling fuels his drive to provide compassionate patient care. During Larry’s free time he enjoys volunteering at People Assisting the Homeless (PATH), traveling with his husband, and taking care of their cat Ghibli and houseplants.

Dr. Jenny Wares has been providing gender affirming care since January 2016. She worked with her administration to create the gender affirming care program at University of Georgia, and worked in outreach to her community since then; this involves finding allies in her medical community and providing trans medicine education at local hospitals, the medical school, and the UGA campus. Being able to help people live their best lives has been some of the most rewarding medicine she has been grateful to provide. When not working, she enjoys her family and two crazy pit bulls, and loves aerial dance, and making stuff.

Dr. Tiffany is a Board Certified Emergency Physician who has served in busy emergency

departments and provided prehospital care as well as remote care since 2007. A transwoman currently transitioning herself, she is the first open trans woman Emergency Physician in Louisiana. This along with her experience in remote medical direction led her to begin practicing transgender medicine via telemedicine, as making it accessible to all, even in isolated locations, is something she cares deeply about. She received her medical degree at the University of North Texas in Fort Worth, completed her emergency medicine residency at LSU New Orleans (Charity Hospital), and her EMS fellowship with New Orleans EMS. She has been a teaching staff at Ochsner in New Orleans and St. Francis in Monroe, and has a passion for medical education. Her non medical interests include amatuer storm chasing, writing, and she manages peer to peer support websites online for the trans community.

Dr. Joe is a Board-Certified Family Physician with a focus on sexual health, family planning, and gender-affirming care. As a proud member of the LGBTQIA+ community, and as a partner and family member to trans and non-binary individuals, he finds gender-affirming care deeply fulfilling and urgently needed in his community. He received his medical education at Baylor College of Medicine and John Peter Smith Hospital, and also received additional advocacy training via Physicians for Reproductive Health. He spends his personal time rollerblading in his community and deepening his personal buddhist practice.

Dana is a Family Nurse Practitioner graduated from Rutgers State University (pronouns: he/him). He is a parent of two children and lives with his life partner in Essex county, New Jersey. Dana is a primary care medical provider at CAN Community Health, Inc., who specializes in HIV and LGBTQ+ health care. He strives towards creating a culturally and clinically competent health care environment through education, support, advocacy, and empowerment.

Dana is a thirty-year veteran of the United States Air Force where he served as a flight nurse. He served our country in multiple wars; to include, the Gulf War, Operations Desert Shield, and Desert Storm. He retired in September of 2018. During his service, Dana served as Wellness Co-Chair and mentor for The Service members Partners, and Allies for Respect and Tolerance for All (SPART*A), an association that supports actively serving transgender military personnel. Today he continues to mentor the members of this organization in matters of transgender healthcare to ensure that they have access to the most up to date evidence-based health care information.

Dana continues to work per diem at Callen-Lorde Community Health Center in New York City, New York, where he provides primary care for the LGBTQ+ community, with a focus on transgender health and HIV prevention. While employed fulltime at Callen-Lorde, he was selected to be the team lead of seven medical providers who deployed under the Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC) for The Community Health Care Association of New York State (CHCANYS) to provide medical care to the people of Puerto Rico after hurricane Maria.

Dana served on the steering committee for the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) of north Jersey and is the founder of OutSpoken; a Facebook “safe space” for parents of gender non-conforming children where they can obtain resources and have a voice. He has supported his previous employer by incorporating SOGI data (sexual orientation/gender identity) into workflows in the electronic health record (EHR) within medical platforms such as EPIC. This helped close the health disparity gap by incorporating important information that is medically relevant, including the social determinants of health. Furthermore, it allow researchers and policy makers accurately characterize LGBTQ health and disparities.

Given his professional background and experience, Dana continues to work on multiple initiatives to bring visibility to the underserved populations and ensures they receive the medically necessary services that they deserve. Dana is an elected board member for OUTCARE Health, a non-profit organization with the purpose of providing information and education on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) healthcare.

Dana is a member of American Association of HIV Medicine (AAHIVM), the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association (GLMA), the Humans Rights Campaign (HRC) and Family Equality Council, and member of the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH).

When providing patient care, Dana believes in the “gold standard approach”.

He shared with us “As a medical provider, I believe you should treat your patients as you would like to be treated. We must provide culturally and clinically competent quality health care not just to certain populations, but to all, regardless of their socioeconomic status, ability to pay, race, gender, … it’s a human right”.

Margaux Simon is a board certified Family Nurse Practitioner. She is queer cis-woman and a trans ally, she has provided gender affirming hormonal therapy since 2018 to a diverse student population at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC). She helped start the Transgender Taskforce at UNC. Margaux worked for 12 years in Labor and Delivery and has been a Nurse Practitioner in Gynecology since 2013. She is devoted to empowering people in their understanding on how to take care of their bodies and find joy within them.

Eddie was motivated to serve the LGBTQ+ community as soon as he came out as a gay man. His career started in HIV social services, providing case management in Seattle and financial benefits counseling at the San Francisco AIDS Foundation. While working with an outreach team at San Francisco General hospital he was energized to become a nurse practitioner. After graduating from the Yale School of Nursing in 2008, he trained as an HIV specialist in the Nicholas A. Rango fellowship at SUNY Downstate in Brooklyn. For Eddie, practicing medicine that supports the LGBTQ+ community is radical. Gender-affirming medical care has been a part of his practice and he joined GetPlume because he believes we should improve access to treatment and care for this community. When able, Eddie loves to travel internationally, cook, bake, ride his bicycle, get outdoors, appreciate the arts and dance.

Matt is board certified as a Nurse Practitioner (NP) in Family Medicine since 2017 & Psychiatric Mental Health since 2020. He received his education at Johns Hopkins University, Shenandoah University, Chamberlain University, and Maryville University. As a passionate champion, advocate, and ally for gender affirming care since 2018—Matt is actively dedicated to collaboratively developing an individualized safe space in service; contextually driven by evidence based practice and a trauma responsive approach. Both professionally and personally, Matt fiercely fights for social justice and equity in healthcare access. It is an honor to serve the Plume Community and Matt would like to thank you for allowing him to participate in your care.

Outside practice hours, Matt is likely on an adventure with his spouse, kids, dogs or usually playing guitar or drums.

Julia Gabriel, NP is a LGBTQ+ ally. Motivated by the bond she has with her non-binary sibling and greater trans community, Julia is very excited to live out her values professionally by offering compassionate, gender affirming care. She currently serves as a primary and urgent care provider for a predominantly Latinx immigrant community in Maryland, and greatly enjoys connecting people to the healthcare world. In her spare time, you can find her at the community garden or occasionally singing with her banjo-playing partner.

Hi! I’m Calvin, a non-binary/transmasc/questioning, queer nurse practitioner who has been passionately out as trans for over 15 years. During this time, I found myself spending a lot of energy educating my health care providers about my own health care while experiencing transphobia in many medical settings. I decided to channel my passion and frustration into a degree so that I could provide the kind of health care that we all deserve, while advocating for and providing trans/NB health education to medical and nursing programs with the goal of normalizing trans/NB health as an essential part of primary care that all providers should be familiar with.

After working at Lyon-Martin Health Services in San Francisco for over 2 years, I am comfortable prescribing a variety of HRT options, doses and combinations. My practice style is centered around building trusting relationships to explore and honor individual gender experiences and expression, with or without the use of hormones and/or surgery. I strive to help create a space where discussing these topics feels safe, affirming and hopefully even exciting! I love working with people to discover the balance of hormones that feels best for them, with the knowledge that these goals may change and evolve endlessly over time and we can always adjust accordingly.

Besides transgender/NB healthcare, I enjoy working with patients to manage psychiatric medications, including substance use disorders, anxiety, and depression.

I grew up in Vermont and currently live in California with my partner, rescue pit Tippi, and the queen of our house: Diane the cat. I spend my down time consulting and educating around trans health care, building things with recycled wood and other found objects from the roadside, and playing outside.

Courtney is a Nurse Practitioner (with Board Certifications in Women’s and Family Health). They are an Ally-in-Practice to Transgender, Gender Non-Conforming, and Non-Binary People. As a Black, Femme, Non-Binary, and Queer Person, Courtney understands Black people’s challenges when accessing care within the American medical system. They are deeply passionate about caring for people with marginalized identities, particularly those who identify as disabled, low-income, BIPOC, and LGBTQ+. Courtney understands the harms that white heteronormative patriarchal culture inflicts upon our society, and they provide medical care from a trauma-informed and anti-racist perspective. Courtney identifies as a “complex” person, meaning that they know how to hold space as a “professional” and also consider themselves “real extra” too. They love the dynamic of both/and rather than either/or (“Ain’t nobody got time for binary thinking!”)

Courtney lives in Hopkinsville, Kentucky (birthplace of Bell Hooks!), with their partner Johnny, parent Tanya, and their 3 fuzzy babies (Bananas, Orion, and Phoenix). They love music, reading, cooking, binge-watching, eating in bed, and dancing around the house. Their most listened to Artist is Justin Bieber, and they frequently dream about having “sexy-time” with Justin Timberlake (The “Justified” version). They look forward to working with you!

Kelly is a board certified Women’s Health/Gender-Related Nurse Practitioner who is passionate about providing trauma-informed sexual and reproductive health care centered around social justice and bodily autonomy. A native New Englander, Kelly currently makes her home in the mid-Atlantic, living in Philadelphia and practicing in Delaware. She completed her education at Brown University and the University of Pennsylvania. Kelly has been providing gender affirming care since 2019 and works to be an ally to the transgender community professionally and in her activism towards health justice. Outside of work she enjoys going on cat walks in her neighborhood, trying to keep her plants alive, block printing, reading, and spending time outdoors.

Katie is a nurse practitioner who is board certified in family medicine. She received her education from Western University of Health Sciences in California. She is currently practicing in Colorado. Katie has been providing care to the LGBTQ+ community for over 5 years. She is passionate about providing affirming medical care. She believes that everyone should have a provider who is an ally and can listen and guide them to achieve their goals. In her spare time Katie enjoys cooking, traveling, and spending time with her family.

Denym is a non binary trans masculine person and is a care coordinator at Plume. Before coming to Plume Denym worked in gender-affirming care at Planned Parenthood of the Rockies. Since starting their own medical transition, Denym found passion for helping others in the community navigate the healthcare system.

Leigh is a trans man and the clinical manager. He has worked in science research and as a registered nurse in oncology. Leigh enjoys backpacking, motorcycle rides, and volunteering in the LGBTQ+ community.

Sylvan is a trans man and care coordinator. He has assisted HelpLines in Boulder, CO and homeless youth shelters, many of which have high LGBTQ+ residents. Medically transitioning over the past 6 years has given him a lot of insight into the medical ins and outs, and the impact of gender in our community and workplace. He is excited to support the trans community in accessing medical services.

Jenny Fernandez works as a virtual registered nurse for Plume, she handles Curexa Pharmacy tasks and prescriptions. She aims to contribute to the clinical team by giving 100% in every possible aspect of her work. She is a strong advocate for becoming the best version of ourselves. This is one of the reasons why she chose to work with Plume, because like Plume, she believes that everyone deserves to live their fullest life. During her free time, Jenny trains Brazilian Jiu Jitsu to develop discipline and peak health. She also loves learning new things to gain perspective and understanding of people she encounters, whether through work or daily life.

Marc is non-binary and one of our care coordinators. They have worked in customer care for 10 years and have a passion for helping members of their community.

Max is a Floridian trans man and care coordinator at Plume. He worked with Maine Transnet on a workshop to educate doctors with proper pronouns usage and creating a welcome space. Max believes everyone should have access to a welcome and caring health care regardless of gender. In his down time, he loves to be in the ocean.

Arlynn Lozano (she/her) works as a Virtual RN for Plume, she takes care of electronic prior authorization and follow up calls to pharmacies. She enjoys binge watching Netflix series during her days off.

As an African American Transgender man in the small state of Delaware, I believe that seeing a version of yourself is a very important part to finding one’s self. To me representation is everything especially in such a vulnerable time in your life. When starting my journey, I had no one to help me along my way. Everything was done from self-education. The time is now that I pass my knowledge down to others to make their journey as smooth & stress less as possible. I have 13 years of Healthcare Customer Service experience working with clients of all diverse backgrounds. Empowering & interacting with others to ensure they feel cared for & being heard is my top priority. I volunteer with a local LGBTQ+ youth program called “Thrive” helping youth feel accepted, love, and educated along their journey. I also am a youth mentor at my alumni high school working with their GSA program called “Kaleidoscope.” In my spare my time you can find me volunteering with other organizations locally, and mentoring young transgender men providing support, education, and knowledge to help them find a sense of peace while also finding their way in life. While starting my new career as a Care Coordinator for Plume it will allow me to continue advocating for others like myself in the healthcare world.

Tisch is an artist who uses their lived experiences as a fat Black non-binary woman to promote representation and equity through their artwork. They have used their skills in a variety of fields including art administration, customer service, and community justice initiatives. Whatever position Tisch finds themselves in, they emphasize creating safe spaces for marginalized people in that environment. Aside from their work with Plume, Tisch is currently working on initiatives in their community including addressing medical racism as well as dismantling the persuasive homophobia and transphobia in religious spaces. When presented with free time, Tisch can be found playing video games, reading for pleasure, wiping paint off of their pet cat Pericles, or driving long distances to visit family.

Julian is a Care Coordinator for Plume. He is passionate about accessible LGBTQIA+ health care, and US health policy. He is excited to be able to provide support to the trans community.

Meet Your Medical Team

Medical Providers

Care Coordinators & Clinical Manager

Be Seen By One of Our Providers

Sierra Brittingham, NP

Carly Calagias, NP

Leora Cohen-McKeon, DO

Riley Cooper-McCann, MD

Alann Weissman-Ward, MD

Montida (Mai) Fleming, MD

Jerrica Kirkley, MD

Dane Menkin, MSN, CRNP

Margot Presley, NP

Lewis Simpler, NP

Suegee Tamar-Mattis, DO

Toni Ramirez, MD

Joshua Yap, MD

Heather Stewart, MD

Jazmyn Price, NP

Jennifer Klein, DO

Larry Yip, PA-C

Jenny Wares, MD

Tiffany Najberg, DO (she/her)

Joe Nelson, MD (he/him)

Dana Delgardo, NP

Margaux Simon, NP

Eddie Meraz, FNP

Matt Dove, NP

Julia Gabriel, NP

Calvin Gilbert, NP

Courtney Rawls, NP

Kelly Nichols, NP

Katie P. Rudofsky, NP

Denym Aphrodyte

Leigh Davis, RN

Sylvan Harris

Jenny Fernandez, RN

Marc Giese

Max Golek

Arlynn Lozano, RN

Jay-Xavier Johnson

Tisch Lewis

Julian Adame