Staff
Mx. Charlie Eau (they/them)
Executive Director
Charlie Eau (they/them) is a genderqueer parent, artist, partner, and activist of settler descent living and working on Treaty 1 Territory. They are raising a small pack of children and pets with their husband, and they spend their down time gardening and making art.
Charlie has a Bachelor’s Degree in Women’s and Gender Studies from the University of Winnipeg, from which they also hold a diploma in project and people management. They first joined Trans Manitoba as a community member, then volunteered for the Steering Committee before taking the lead as Executive Director in January of 2025. This role is a culmination of decades of experience volunteering and working with non-profit organizations in outreach and leadership roles.
Charlie is passionate about making Manitoba a better place to live for gender diverse Manitobans. They were one of the first people to hold an “x” marker on their driver’s license in Manitoba, and they continue to advocate for barrier free access to identity documents and gender affirming medical care for Two Spirit, trans, and nonbinary Manitobans.
Ashley Bieniarz (she/they)
Gender Equity Project Coordinator
Ashley Bieniarz (she/they) is a Métis and Polish artist, advocate, and the Gender Equity Project Coordinator at Trans Manitoba, where she will oversee Trans Manitoba’s federally funded WAGE project, coordinating advisory groups and developing a digital toolkit resource for local organizations. An accomplished facilitator and community builder, Ashley brings expertise from roles as Indigenous Music Export Coordinator at Manitoba Music and Artistic Director for the RiseUp Mentorship and Gerryfest at the St. Norbert Arts Centre, where they designed inclusive spaces for underrepresented artists.
As an avant-pop musician and producer under the moniker KWIAT, and with her songwriting program Songsmiths Canada, Ashley merges creative practice with systemic advocacy, earning recognition as a Billboard Canada Women in Music Honouree (2024) and Women in Music Honour Roll Award recipient (2023). Their intersectional approach is informed by leadership training, advisory work, and a deep commitment to 2SLGBTQIA+ and Indigenous equity.
James Webster (he/him)
Media Coordinator
James Webster (he/him) is a genderqueer activist working and living in Winnipeg, on Treaty 1 Territory. Despite a packed calendar, he takes care of a tiny Downtown apartment and his two cats, Hayes and Bernie, with the help of his lovely (and extremely patient) boyfriend, Jeremy. In his downtime, James enjoys digital art and plenty of video games.
James holds a Bachelor of Arts in Rhetoric, Writing, and Communications from The University of Winnipeg. In his time at UWinnipeg, James was UWSA’s Rainbow Lounge Coordinator, facilitating a queer safe space on campus and planning multiple fundraisers and social events. James’ specialties are copywriting and content creation, having worked with Gallery 1c03, Ai-Kon Winnipeg, and Prairie Comics Festival in these fields. He is very passionate about queer outreach and youth work, and spends a couple evenings a month with the Rainbow Resource Centre Youth Program crew, helping facilitate youth programming (and, mostly, cleaning up after the kids).
James is incredibly passionate about the power of community and direct action, and believes protest is the ultimate community care. He was one of a few principal planners of the 2023 Rally for Trans Youth, and continues to hand out water, help carry heavy things, and help where he can at protests and community actions.
Cassidy Froese (she/her)
Communications Coordinator
Cassidy Froese (she/her) is a transgender artist, activist, and mother to a senior cat, middle aged snake, and a transgender lizard of mysterious age. She has a passion for coffee, cutting her own bangs, and peer support.
Cassidy is in the final months of completing a Bachelor’s Degree in Social Sciences and Communications & Media at Canadian Mennonite University, where she grew and improved upon her passion for multimedia production. In 2024, she coauthored an article for the student-ran newspaper about persistent issues facing gender diverse students at CMU. Cassidy’s time at Trans Manitoba will help her to complete the internship requirement for her degree. She cares deeply for the queer community and is dedicated to giving back to her community whenever the chance presents itself be it in her professional or personal life.
Board of Directors
Elliott Long
Ethan Belcourt
Hillary Siemens
Kai Solomon
Laurie McDougall
Employee and Community Advisory Councils
The Employee and Community Advisory councils are composed of 15-20 members each from employee and community representatives and guide the creation of the we belong Digital Toolkit to improve equity in employment and service delivery for Two-Spirit, trans, and gender-diverse communities.