Zahara Monique Bassett is the founder and CEO of Life Is Work.
Life is Work is a social service agency on the West Side of Chicago.
[1] She is also “a nationally recognized visionary activist and long-time advocate for trans human rights, social justice, health equity, and LGBT equality.”[2] Bassett grew up in the Garfield Park neighborhood of Chicago.
As a black, transgender woman, she felt her neighborhood lacked gender-affirming resources.
In 2021, she joined the AIDS Foundation of Chicago’s Learning Centre Collaborative and was appointed by Governor J.