This trans megachurch pastor survived 15 years of conversion therapy. She's now running for office.https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2026/04/this-trans-megachurch-pastor-survived-15-years-of-conversion-therapy-shes-now-running-for-office/ 🔗Ellen Shanna Knoppow (9 April 2026)
When Joanna Whaley calls potential donors to her campaign for Michigan state representative, she often faces a thorny problem. Awkward exchanges occur when an old friend or colleague is unaware that Whaley transitioned four years ago. Similarly, Whaley has been mistaken for her own brother, when in fact she's an only child.
"Some of those conversations go weird," Whaley told LGBTQ Nation. "We have a semi-pro hockey team in the area, and I was sitting down with one of the directors. In the middle of the conversation, he says, 'So do you have a brother? I went to high school with someone named blah blah blah,' and they said my dead name. I'm like, 'That's me.' And they're like, 'Whoa, what?'"
"It happens all the time," Whaley continued. "I'm honored by it, but at the same time, it does turn into some really weird and uncomfortable conversations, especially with some of my old Christian friends who then try to save my soul and tell me that I'm living in sin." Given that Whaley was a pastor in some of the country's most well known megachurches over a career that spanned 20 years, she does have an abundance of "old Christian friends."
"My Rolodex is very evangelical," Whaley said.
Whaley's journey from evangelical leader to Democratic candidate is certainly unlikely, made even more so by the fact that she endured conversion therapy with four different therapists over a period of 15 years.
