Laney works as a certified nursing assistant in a hospital and is an intern for My Brother’s Keeper, a non-profit organization that provides health care to members of the LGBTQ community. Her own experience as a transgender woman sparked her motivation to help other transgender individuals who may feel alone or without resources. Her goal is to become a nurse practitioner and to provide healthcare and solutions for trans individuals, who are currently underserved by medical professionals in the area.

“We don’t have healthcare anywhere here,” she said. “It’s hard to get hormones. There’s only one place I know of in the whole state to get them.”

Laney is proud to work for My Brother’s Keeper, which provides HIV testing, STD testing, teen reproductive healthcare, and other essential services for LGBT people. In addition to offering medical support, she prides herself on being a solution-oriented resource for her patients, acting as a listening ear and offering ideas and perspective to those who could use them.

Laney says that when she was younger, staying home and doing nothing felt like the safest way to get by. Troubled by disproportionate violence against transgender women, fears of discrimination, and lack of access to healthcare, it was easy for Laney to feel powerless. But she was able to find a motivation to move forward, not only to seek personal happiness but also to make lives better for others in similar situations. “You have to tap yourself like, ‘Hey, wake up!’ These people are not caring for you. No one else is gonna do it, you have to do it. I had to kind of shake the fear out of me.”