Karen Kendra Holmes spent forty years searching for the woman she already was.

From the age of thirteen to fifty-three, she lived a private battle almost no one around her could see. Her memoir, 40 Years and Wandering No More, is the story of that search — the silence, the fear, the small acts of courage, and the moment the wandering finally came to an end.

Today, Karen lives openly and proudly as a transgender woman. She serves as a federal government employee and stands with the Maryland Defense Force and the US Veteran Reserve Corps. She volunteers with the Red Cross Disaster Action Team and the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), showing up for her community when it needs help most.

As a TEDx speaker, Karen travels the country speaking to members of the military, law enforcement, the medical community, federal agencies, and students in schools, colleges, and universities.

Her mission is twofold: to empower transgender people to live as their authentic selves, and to help cisgender audiences better understand who transgender people really are — neighbors, colleagues, veterans, friends.

She writes for anyone who has ever felt trapped between who they are and who the world expects them to be. Her message to them is simple, and hard-won:

If you believe in something, you may achieve it. But if you believe in yourself, you will.