(Loose Accents podcast; Season 2, Episode 4; 28:30) This launched conversations which inspired Salcedo to once again organize fellow trans women when she was invited to be a keynote speaker at a national conference.
(Loose Accents podcast; Season 2, Episode 4; 29:10) The meetings were foundational for the organization, as the conversations affirmed that basic needs among trans women were not being met, from food and shelter to clothing, employment opportunities, and ability to travel.
(Loose Accents podcast; Season 2, Episode 4; 30:12, 30:43) Also in 2009, Salcedo began collaborating with University of Minnesota doctoral candidate, Karla M. Padrón, on her dissertation which centered trans experience in the investigation of topics including labor, migration, and gender narratives, and was which was published in 2015.
[13] The grant helped further the SPUNK program's mission to support transgender women recently released from incarceration and immigration detention centers by way of individualized peer-led navigation through legal, housing, and healthcare systems.
Another initiative that received sponsorship was the coalition's Be DOWN leadership development program in Washington, D.C., this time made possible through AIDS United's Fund for Resilience, Equity, and Engagement (FREE).
[21] In November 2019, the coalition was honored as a Gender Justice Champion at Celebrating Our Power, a gala hosted by The Women's Foundation of California, at which Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti deliver one of two keynote addresses.
In 2019, the coalition engaged in direct activism in partnership with the Transgender Resource Center of New Mexico "to help connect individuals to legal advice and social services while in detention, and coordinate post-release assistance, including housing, hot meals, transportation, and clothing.