Tributes pour in as trans advocate Cecilia Gentili dies at 52, a week after her birthday
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/tributes-pour-in-as-trans-advocate-cecilia-gentili-dies-at-52-a-week-after-her-birthday/ar-BB1hZLf8?ocid=hpmsn&cvid=a61f252f5e394fedb45074a73f55ad34&ei=28#image=BB1hWibn|1
Story by Amaris Encinas (8 Feb 2024)
A New York City woman who spent her life dedicated to the liberation of marginalized people died Tuesday, a week after turning 52.
The family and friends of "beloved" Argentinian advocate Cecilia Gentili confirmed the news on Instagram, saying that she would "continue watching over us in spirit." The cause of Gentili's death was not immediately clear.
Tributes poured in for Gentili, who made a career out of "uplifting trans people, sex workers, immigrants, and those pushed to the margins," reads a statement from Trans Equity Consulting, an organization Gentili founded in 2019.
She has worked at a number of local non-profit organizations in various capacities over the years, including The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center, Apicha Community Health Center, Gay Men's Health Center which is now known as GMHC and most recently Trans Equity Consulting.
The "blazing legacy" of love and kinship she left behind will continue on through the number of projects she spearheaded like TRANSMISSIONS, the first all-trans music festival in New York City; Cecilia's Occupational Inclusion Network (COIN) Clinic, which provides free healthcare to New York sex workers; or Stop Violence in The Sex Trades Act (SVSTA) in New York, a piece of legislation she publicly backed.