Laverne Cox is the Closing Speaker for #ACPA15

Laverne Cox is a critically-acclaimed actress who currently appears in the Netflix original series Orange is the New Black, playing the groundbreaking role of Sophia Burset, an incarcerated African-American transgender woman. Laverne is the first trans woman of color to have a leading role on a mainstream scripted television show. TIME Magazine named Sophia Burset the 4th most influential fictional character of 2013, and she recently appeared on the cover of TIME for the cover story "The Trans Tipping Point." Laverne is also a recipient of the Dorian rising star award for her work in Orange is the New Black.

A renowned speaker, Laverne has taken her empowering message of moving beyond gender expectations to live more authentically all over the country. Her insights have been featured on CNN, MSNBC, ABC, NPR, HLN, VH1, and FOX News Latino, among other national TV and radio networks.

Laverne is the first trans woman of color to produce and star in her own television show, VH1’s TRANSForm Me, which was nominated for a GLAAD Media Award. She has been named one of OUT Magazine’s “Out 100,” one of the country’s top 50 trans icons by The Huffington Post, and one of Metro Source magazine’s “55 People We Love.”

We are excited to have Laverne as our closing speaker, as she closely aligns with our values of diversity, multicultural competence, and human dignity and outreach and advocacy on issues of concern to students, student affairs and services professionals and the higher and tertiary education community, including affirmative action and other policy issues.

President Kent Porterfield says, "In recent years, with the increasing visibility of transgender and gender fluid individuals, we must have greater awareness and understanding of transgender challenges on our campuses and in our society. ACPA is excited and proud to announce actor and activist Laverne Cox as the closing speaker for the 2015 Annual Convention in Tampa, Florida, on March 8, 2015!"