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Since 1919, The New School has been home to scholars, creators, and activists who challenge convention and boldly make their mark on the world.
To celebrate this groundbreaking legacy, we are opening our doors to the public for a weeklong festival of innovative performances, talks, workshops, screenings, exhibitions, and more.

On October 1–6, 2019, join us as we reflect on a century of world-changing ideas and together imagine a new kind of future.

The Festival of New is free and open to all.
avatar for Geena Rocero

Geena Rocero

Model, Producer, Gender Proud
Geena Rocero, born and raised in Manila, Philippines, is a model, public speaker, producer, trans rights advocate, and co-host of the Webby Awards honoree TV Show ASPIREist, broadcasted on HLN/CNN. As the August 2019 Playboy Playmate, she made history as the first trans-Asian Pacific Islander Playmate. On March 31, 2014, in honor of International Transgender Day of Visibility, Rocero came out as transgender at the annual TED Conference, her viral talk has since been viewed more than 4 million times and translated in 32 languages. Geena is the founder of Gender Proud, a media production company that tells stories on what it means to be trans and gender non-conforming.

She, with Gender Proud Productions, produced and presented Beautiful As I Want to Be on LogoTV highlighting trans youth, and received the 2016 GLAAD Media Award. Gender Proud also produced Willing and Able, a 2017 GLAAD Media-nominated web series about transgender employment with Fusion TV and worked with Fusion/Univision to produce a TV documentary about transgender athletes, No League of Their Own, and won 2017 Association of LGBTQ Journalists Best in Health and Fitness Coverage. Most recently, she co-executive produced the 2018 GLAAD Media Awards-nominated Made To Model, a documentary on 9 pioneers and emerging trans models in collaboration with LogoTV, MTV, and VH1. Geena has spoken at the White House, World Economic Forum, United Nations, State Department, Fortune 500 companies, and been featured on E's I am Cait, magazine cover of Candy Magazine, Vanity Fair: TransAmerica, Marriott's #LoveTravels campaign, and CoverGirl Cosmetics #GirlsCan Campaign. She was on the cover of Harper's Bazaar India. On September 2018, published by Simon and Schuster, she contributed a chapter to the New York Times best-selling book American like Me by actress America Ferrera with contributors like Lin-Manuel Miranda, Issa Rae, Kumail Nanjani, and many others. She's a board member of NY LGBT Center and an ambassador for The Stonewall Day. She has been featured in media publications such as CNN, Al Jazeera America, MSNBC, Today Show, NHK World Channel, HuffPost Live, New York Magazine, Mashable, Glamour, Cosmopolitan, Vanity Fair, Elle, Entertainment Weekly, People, Variety, Take Part, The Advocate, MTV, and others.