Dr. Matthew Wetschler, M.D.,M.P.H.,C.E.O., is a graduate of the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, and completed his residency in Emergency Medicine at Stanford University. In 2017, while surfing in Ocean Beach, Ca., he sustained a severe cervical spinal cord injury. Unable to move his limbs, he drowned and was dead for at least 20 minutes. The profound internal changes, combined with his unbridled determination to recover from a quadriplegic state, led him to discover a new direction for his life. Over the last three years, he has built Plume, the largest digital transgender health care clinic in the world: www.getplume.co

The transgender community has become exponentially more visible over the past several years both in its representation in mainstream media, as well as its political significance in many states. Most people don’t personally know a transgender person and, though honestly well-meaning and wanting to learn, are hesitant to ask questions for fear of being unintentionally rude or inconsiderate. In this talk, he will provide an orientation the transgender experience, create space for any and all questions about the transgender community, and weave in anecdotes about his own thrilling journey of near-death and a path of personal transformation leading to entrepreneurship and his current project.