Isa(belle) Rose Barrett is a non-binary trans person who grew up in “rural adjacent” central Minnesota, but calls Des Moines their home. Isa moved to Des Moines to attend Drake University and study political strategy, rhetoric, and the Iowa caucuses. Once here, however, they realized that there is a lot of work to do in the community that simply cannot wait until they graduate. Currently, they are taking a break from school and have spent time working for various political organizations and campaigns that focus on reproductive justice, trauma-informed advocacy, LGBTQ+ rights, and now environmental stewardship.
Isa is a storyteller, a (sort of) astrologer, a survivor, an overly competitive board game player, a storyteller, and a self-professed work-in-progress. They love their pets (Marshall, Calvin, Saturn, & Neptune), any pitbull around, and thunderstorms. You can usually find them wandering around the Beaverdale neighborhood in search of animals in need of some good pats.
They are hoping to gain the skills necessary from the One Iowa LGBTQ Leadership Institute to better make knowledge accessible to queer youth in the rural Midwest. Isa aspires to become the fearless trans person they needed growing up.