Join Victoria Knight as the engineer and Humanist speaks with co-hosts Hunter and Shane Lukas about the intersection of her philosophical life and gender identity, her work in tech and community, and her vision for a more inclusive society.
As sort of a general philosophy. I really don’t want to tell people how to live their lives, appreciate people on all sides of the political spectrum. But what I want to do is work towards building a world where we produce fewer people like Elon Musk and Donald Trump. That’s what I want to do. I don’t want to wipe those people from existence as much as I loathe them. But I want to build a world where far fewer people are compelled to be that way and compelled and said to be kind and compassionate in general.
Shane (00:00:26 –> 00:00:46):
Hello and welcome to Power Beyond Pride, a queer change making podcast, bringing you voices and ideas from across our fierce and fabulous spectrum to transform our world. I’m your co host, Shane Lukas, lifelong harm, queer liberation and bodily autonomy activist, advocate, expert, and owner at A Great idea. I’m also your co host for today’s Queer change making journey.
Hunter (00:00:46 –> 00:00:59):
And I’m Hunter Curmudgeon, elven troll. A hybrid blend that likes, um, to live in the woods. And, yeah, I don’t know what else I change up, uh, my description every interview because you gotta keep things spicy.
Shane (00:00:59 –> 00:01:18):
And spicy it is. And in this episode, we are talking to the magnificent Vic Knight. She’s an engineer based in Greensboro, North Carolina, Active in local outreach and advocacy. In addition to her leading her employer’s employee resource group, she serves on numerous boards throughout the area, as well as serving as a current member in the city council’s transgender task force.
Hunter (00:01:19 –> 00:01:30):
She is a keynote speaker at the Reese and Guilford Green foundation and LGBTQ center annual gala in Greensboro. We are so fortunate to have this awesome crusader to share her philosophy, wisdom, um, and lived experiences with us.
Shane (00:01:30 –> 00:01:31):
Welcome, Vicki.
Victoria (00:01:31 –> 00:01:52):
Hey. Thank you so much. I am honored to be here as I was honored to speak at the gala. It’s all a bit overwhelming, honestly. I didn’t really get into this to be. To make any kind of a name and honestly, that’s, I don’t know, something we could talk about later, but people that do that really, they kind of bother me a little bit. So. But thank. I want to thank you all for doing what you do as well.
Shane (00:01:52 –> 00:01:59):
Well, I’ll start with that. I. Standing in front of a room to give people keynote. That’s amazing. Were you nervous?
Victoria (00:01:59 –> 00:02:16):
Yeah, I was, uh, I was plenty nervous, but I had practiced it a lot, so I wasn’t nervous about, remember what I was going to say. I was nervous about. I’m always nervous about my vocal presentation and I was nervous about how the talk would be received, but it was very well received. I Was very happy.
Shane (00:02:16 –> 00:02:17):
What kids do.
Victoria (00:02:17 –> 00:02:50):
Calm. I. As I mentioned, I had my kids there to support me and my amazing partner Liz. And they had. Have always encouraged me. And I also had a fairly large group from Qorvo, so you mentioned. Um, I started the employee resource group there called iq, and through that work, it’s been one of the highlights of a nice technical career. One of the highlights has been helping a fairly big company direct some of its funding to local organizations. And one of the groups that we sponsor is Guilford Breeding. So we had a fairly large contingency there for Gorvo, who was also supporting me.
Shane (00:02:50 –> 00:02:51):
That’s amazing.
Hunter (00:02:51 –> 00:02:54):
So how did you know where to start in your keynote?
Victoria (00:02:54 –> 00:03:24):
I figured I’d start with a little bit of information about me, uh, a little bit of background, because I don’t think a lot of people know me. And I think even though Good for Green is a wonderful, supportive organization and everybody that supports it is an ally, I think there are. There are always things that a trans person can divulge that, uh, will give allies information that will help them be better allies. So I just talked a little bit about my life and the goals that I had. I know, uh, it just seemed fairly natural, historically.
Hunter (00:03:25 –> 00:03:27):
Well, I heard you got a standing ovation. How did that feel?
Victoria (00:03:28 –> 00:03:41):
That was pretty amazing. One of the major donors got up and on stage and gave me a hug. I think he donated, uh, like, $5,000 in my honor. It was very touching. I didn’t expect that at all.
Shane (00:03:41 –> 00:03:51):
Do you think we get room to celebrate? Do you do feel like you get opportunities to celebrate sharing your story? That’s something in the local community that feels like it’s possible.
Victoria (00:03:52 –> 00:04:27):
Uh, that’s a great. What a great question. Comment. Yeah, I intend to engage with pflag. Uh, talk to Inez. He would like me to come speak to the PFLAG chapter. But, yeah, that’s a great point. I’ve also spoken to the IQ group at Orville. Yeah, I think. I don’t know. To me, there’s. I want to celebrate who I am, but I don’t want to overdo it and say, hey, look at me. I’m, um, moderately that, uh, uh, as you can maybe can imagine, me and a lot of other trans people are very uncomfortable being in the spotlight. But it is nice to have some celebration, have that be acknowledged.
Shane (00:04:28 –> 00:04:51):
Joy is so critical. I know. Hunter, you’re a big advocate of joy and finding space for joy. Are there. Are there ways you coach joy in yourself? Because this. The journey in speaking and being out in front of people and engaging. And again, sharing that story, which is a gift. It takes a lot of energy. So part of that is I gotta bring some of that joy home and replenish it. Are there things that you do to help replenish that?
Victoria (00:04:52 –> 00:05:36):
M. Yeah. I enjoy a lot of time with my partner, Liz. She’s been a wonderful counterpoint to me. There are some things about the way each of us thinks. For example, I have what’s called Aphantasia. I cannot see images in my head at all. I don’t know if you’ve heard of that or not, but Liz is the opposite. And we’re opposites, but we’re so compatible in similar way. So that relationship is joyful. And my kids, I mentioned, uh, some of this in my talk as Michaela. My kids have been my biggest cheerleaders. They’ve been supportive on and loving. Uh, and I’ve been very fortunate in my career. M. I have a lot of privilege. I think maybe we’ll talk about that a little bit later on. But yeah, that gives me a lot of joy that I have the privilege that I can give back to the community.
Shane (00:05:36 –> 00:05:37):
That’s awesome.
Victoria (00:05:38 –> 00:05:55):
I also did mention this. Uh, I highlighted that in my talk in a couple of places that it’s so important to, uh, remember your joy. And with all the craziness that’s going on now, one thing I said was, don’t let them steal your joy or hijack your passion. Very important to keep that.
Hunter (00:05:56 –> 00:06:22):
I really do appreciate you bringing up the topic of privilege because I know the marginalizations that we exist in and our identities that it is important to also acknowledge that maybe we do have privileges in some capacity. So do you feel your journey as trans woman and as a queer person has informed and impacted your vision? And also how do you utilize those privileges to influence that?
Victoria (00:06:23 –> 00:06:28):
I’m wondering, so were you at the gala? Because you’re hitting on a lot of stuff that I actually talked about.
Hunter (00:06:29 –> 00:06:35):
I talk about privilege all the time too, and the intersections that I live in. So I love to have these conversations.
Victoria (00:06:36 –> 00:07:53):
So, yeah, one thing I had mentioned was that I came out in 2015 and I feel like I am so much more self aware now. And I’m in the driver’s seat of my own life like I never have been before. It’s been an awakening experience for me. I mentioned that to folks, but don’t let anybody tell you that the, uh, transition is not an amazing, powerful, wonderful experience if you’re compelled to do that. But yeah, it has Made me appreciate the privilege that I had, which before I was Vicky, I was, uh, uh, a white guy. And there is a lot of privilege that comes with that. But I’ve realized that and I’ve built upon that after I transition. And as I mentioned, I want to continue my technical career, and I’ve gotten some nice technical advancements since that transition, so I want to keep that going. And largely by way of keeping access, uh, to the privilege so that I can spread that around. I’ve realized, especially since I came out and started working with Triad Health Project and Dover Green foundation, how critical it is and, uh, how many very important services and needs there are that are only met through generosity. And people use them. Privilege that they have, that’s.
Shane (00:07:53 –> 00:08:18):
I mean, I think it’s powerful that you have shared your experience and your insights across different organizations at different places. If you had one key goal, if you had one thing that you were going to say, this is like, when I’m making my decisions about where to spend my time, how to enact that privilege, how to participate in the communities that I’m in, what is the sort of goal in mind that you have? If you were to sum it up in a few sentences, that the change that you want to see happen.
Victoria (00:08:19 –> 00:08:56):
The change that I want to see happen. Wow. As sort of a general philosophy, I really don’t want to tell people how to live their lives. So I appreciate even people. I appreciate people on all sides of the political spectrum. But, um, what I want to do is work towards building a world where we produce fewer people like Elon Musk and Donald Trump. Really, that’s what I want to do. I don’t want to wipe those people from existence as much as I loathe them. But I want to build a world where we’re. Far fewer people are compelled to be that way and compelled and said to be kind and compassionate.
Shane (00:08:57 –> 00:09:08):
What do you think is facilitating the generosity gap? Like, why do you think people are feeling less. I guess. Or do you feel people are less generous than they were before? Or do you feel like that’s changing?
Victoria (00:09:08 –> 00:09:38):
Like, uh, I. I think, uh. I think. I think we’re in an odd place in America. And that’s been a thing that’s been both uplifting to see how much generosity there is. As. As I’ve worked more closely with charitable organizations, I’ve realized how much. How much cherry there actually is. And the infuriating thing is that we actually need that in the United States. So other countries, they don’t need that because their Entire government is around supporting everybody and not just privileged.
Hunter (00:09:38 –> 00:10:07):
So I know that there’s in a lot of these topics that we’re talking about, especially when it comes to the support. And a lot of it come from donors or from. In kind, uh, and how that connects with our community and the places that we exist in. So do you feel connected to community in this. In this moment, and are you feeling any kind of, like, support or friction from the larger LGBTQ spectrum?
Victoria (00:10:08 –> 00:11:02):
Yeah, I’m glad you asked. That is one of the. One of my goals, and you asked about gold, and I was. That was a very broad goal. But another goal I have is. I know there is. There is friction in the LGBTQ community, even here in Greensboro. And one of the things that I want to do is break that down and, uh, get collaboration among the various organizations. They all have laudable goals. They’re all filled with amazing people that want to do the right thing, and we all have the same goal in sight. There’s drama that comes up. I just. I would like to work around that. So the work that I’ve done with especially Guilford Green, is towards that end, trying to improve collaboration and, uh, I think Impact Greensboro, which is the organization that puts on Greensboro Pride, is doing an amazing job. That as well. We really have broken out this year. They’re really reaching out, expanding the organization. I love the work that’s going on. I want to be a part of that.
Shane (00:11:02 –> 00:11:30):
Awesome. I mean, it’s powerful again, that you’re. You’re so engaged across the different communities, but many people are trying to figure out, like, well, how do they show up? Like, how do they. How are they able to make time to be in community and engaged? Like you said, there’s. There is definitely a need across organizations, like, what are ways that people can think to show up better or to show up differently? Because not. As some people are worried about time, some people may not have a lot of resources. What are different ways that people can show up?
Victoria (00:11:30 –> 00:12:49):
People can show up in their everyday life by. If somebody makes an offhand comment, they can not ignore it and let it go past. You can say, hey, not very kind to say that. People can show up to volunteer, not just for LGBTQ organizations, but for. One of the organizations we that IQ engages with is out of the garden here in Green Squirrel, which provides, um, meals for folks who are food insecure. Any organization like that will tend to build community. I love that. You know, honestly, the, um, Greensboro is an oasis in North Florida. There’s a few cities that are Wonderful. Greensboro’s one of them. Top of my list. That’s why I moved here. But even in Greensboro, there are not that many exclusively queer spaces. So what I found is you have to go outside of the queer spaces and meet with allies, with people who can be allied to build the community. And a lot of times when we talk about this in some of our board meetings, well, uh, there are people who are not out of the closet, but if they know that there are other folks out there that want to reach out to them and have a need or can provide a service or even just companionship or encouragement, you know, the more folks you get in contact with that know who you are, know you’re really your true self, the more folks, I think have an ability to engage in community.
Hunter (00:12:50 –> 00:13:31):
I love that. And it made me think about, like, in the ways that are the little subliminal messages, like how we clear code with one another. Yeah. I just had this at a grocery store earlier today where I was like, I can. I. I saw somebody that had a little rainbow hat on and stuff, and I’m just like, I don’t know. Sometimes I just feel like, am I showing up as queer? And how. How do I. Like. Yeah, so I just love that. Where you’re just like. Where people may be not in their full self or their full awareness of who they are, or they can’t be open about who they are. And how do we show up in that? Uh, and how do we allow others to know that they can show up in that? At least in our private presence?
Victoria (00:13:31 –> 00:14:14):
Absolutely. It’s one. I had a conversation just like that yesterday at the grocery store as well. It was just an awesome conversation. And it just. Sometimes just showing up and being who you are, people will open up. And the cashier had told me she was hoping to marry. She had proposed to her girlfriend, and they were hoping to get married, but she was putting off. Because I know somehow the conversation came up and I told her I just come from the protest. And she’s. I protest. And the conversation went on from there. So I think it’s being authentic about yourself and not hiding who you are and also being willing to talk to people. And I’m fairly, um, introverted, but through transition and realizing the needs that are out there, I’ll just sort of have to try and push through it.
Shane (00:14:14 –> 00:14:49):
That’s powerful. I love that. I also. I would say also compliment. Just sometimes a nice compliment when you see somebody who is sort of showing up in a public space, even if they’re doing it In a nice way where they have a little pen or just some way that you could tell that a member of community or an ally. It’s just nice to be like, love the shirt, love the hat. Hey, it’s great to see you. But just to me, I try to go a little bit more out of my way, especially in environments where you do see more closeted people or it’s not. Typically, again, in New York, it’s probably doesn’t feel like it’s as necessary, but in a lot of the country is really good to be like, hey, I see you and I celebrate you. This is a really great moment.
Victoria (00:14:49 –> 00:14:50):
I know.
Shane (00:14:50 –> 00:14:58):
We’re going to take a little break right now. Uh, we’re going to back in less than a minute. Please don’t leave us because we’re just getting warmed up with our conversation with Vicki Knight. See you in a minute.
Hunter (00:15:03 –> 00:15:34):
Welcome back. This is Power Beyond Pride, a queer change making podcast, and I am your host, Hunter, and I’m here with activist and organizer Vicki Knipe. So before we went on the break, we were talking about ways that we show up in our everyday lives as queer folk, and even just the nuanced ways that we may find ourselves in conversations with people. So I want to lead into this question of what would you say is the goal of representation, and why do you feel like it’s so important to you?
Victoria (00:15:35 –> 00:16:09):
M. I think the. Wow, that’s a big question. The goal of representation, for me, anyways, is to m. So Liz and I had gone through some stuff where we looked at how we’re compatible, and one of those things is we have common values. And one of my strongest values is authenticity. So for me, it’s very important to be authentic. So that’s one of the things I do, is present myself authentically and talk to people authentically. Ah. Honestly and frankly. And I think it’s important we do that all the time, whether we’re in a career space or not. Well, in the.
Shane (00:16:09 –> 00:16:17):
Create spaces for authenticity. Right. You are an inventor, and one of the things you invented at Qorvo was your employee resource group, is that right?
Victoria (00:16:18 –> 00:16:38):
Yeah, that’s right. Yeah. Yeah. There was no overt outreach at, uh, Qorvo or any kind of queer, LGBTQ or really no diversity outreach at the company, although the company was never, uh, they were always supportive, no matter how. I think I was probably one of the oddest people there before I transitioned.
Shane (00:16:39 –> 00:16:44):
So I have to ask, so sidebar. What is your favorite invention? What’s the favorite thing that you’ve invented?
Victoria (00:16:45 –> 00:17:03):
IQ has to rank up there with one of my favorite inventions. But there’s also some technical things that I’ve worked on at Gorvo that, well after I transitioned actually that were I’m very quite proud of, have to do with uh, their critical trade secrets, but they have to do with impedance matching. You know what that is?
Shane (00:17:04 –> 00:17:04):
No idea.
Hunter (00:17:05 –> 00:17:06):
Teach us.
Victoria (00:17:06 –> 00:17:08):
Resistance is in a wire, right?
Shane (00:17:08 –> 00:17:11):
I think so. It’s what stops the electrical current from moving forward, right?
Victoria (00:17:11 –> 00:17:52):
Yeah, yeah. So when the curve is alternating, it’s, it’s uh, you represent the, that resistance by a complex number and the way the field alternates, it’s a, it’s a complicated math problem involving a whole bunch of linear algebra. So I worked with some of the equations there and came up with a novel way to do impedance matching. Because what I do is I create systems for, to test semiconductor chips at my job and impedes matching is a very challenging thing to do in production test because we test every single chip that we ship out and it’s critical that we test it the same way. It’s going to end up in a following arrow computer.
Shane (00:17:52 –> 00:18:27):
So yeah, I mean that’s pretty powerful stuff. I mean again like it’s again, I think when we take think about technology and science, just the idea of inventing is really powerful. But also being in the company and creating a space, as we talked about before, representation is really powerful. Are you seeing the landscape either with other companies that you’re seeing in community, especially as you’re on these boards and these councils, are you seeing companies change or adjust the way that they’re inclusive, conversations around queer identification or again other ergs. Right. Other employee resource groups as well. Are you seeing some of that ship?
Victoria (00:18:28 –> 00:19:54):
Oh absolutely. There’s a couple other nice employee resource groups at Gorvo, but a lot of tech companies have and I talked about this. So one of the things that we sponsor is a hackathon in Chapel Hill called Pearl Hacks and it is at UNC Chapel Hill and is targeted towards women and gender non conflict forming people. So I, I go there and I was fairly surprised that most of the, there’s a lot of computer science and data science students there and most of the sponsors before Qorvo came on were financial institutions and that’s just where they looked because that’s where they thought all the job opportunities were. But I said, I told them no. Uh, tech companies wised up to be competitive world, you know, globally competitive tech companies have to cast the widest net they possibly can to attract all the talent, all the best talent. They cannot restrict it. A small number of demographics. So, yeah, I’ve noticed a big shift in especially tech companies. Orvo included in that, in how we recruit and look for employees. And a lot of the policies that have come about that they’ve written recently include that although we are defense contractors, so we have to be careful about the diversity language, especially the deferred administration. I love what they have done a wonderful job of navigating that and keeping, you know, the important aspects of diversity alive, no matter what the language is.
Hunter (00:19:54 –> 00:19:59):
So what about companies that are removing their support? How can we change that trajectory?
Victoria (00:20:00 –> 00:20:13):
Uh, one thing I mentioned in my talk at the gala was, uh, I talked about Anita Bryant. And I don’t know if you were there or not, but I had the. Of course, the gif. Tom Higgins. Hitting her in the face with a pie was a wonderful moment.
Hunter (00:20:13 –> 00:20:14):
Yes.
Victoria (00:20:14 –> 00:20:50):
But, you know, that, uh, led to not just the pie in the face, but part of that movement was she was the spokesperson for Florida Citrus, and there was a very effective boycott of Florida Citrus that was a result of her horrible anti gay activism and the backlash against it. So I think boycotts are a very effective way. Even they’re always, I think, informal, especially at our things that we’re interested in boycotting. But they’ve been very effective. I mean, look at Tesla. It’s tanked. Target is suffering. Roll back their initiatives.
Hunter (00:20:50 –> 00:21:35):
Yeah, when you mentioned Anita Bryant, it reminded me, um, so I. I love Golden Girls. I’ve been watching the Golden Girls since I was a little kid. And there was an episode because it’s in Florida, in Miami, and there was a moment where an obviously gay man, because he was very flamboyant. This is in the. In the 80s when they’re doing the stereotypical pure voice and he looks at Dorothy’s forack and he goes, excuse me for trying to live Anita Bryant. And yeah, so I. Yeah, even though I did not grow up with seeing Anita Bryant get pied in the face, I sure enough have that moment, like, encapsulated in my m. Memory because of, uh, the influence of Golden Girls.
Victoria (00:21:36 –> 00:21:39):
I’d love to share that too, Olivia. It’s great. Or gift. Sorry.
Hunter (00:21:39 –> 00:21:45):
Well, pure, either. Yeah, I’ve seen the video. I have seen the video where she got pied in the face and it.
Victoria (00:21:45 –> 00:21:48):
Was just like the gray moment. Yeah.
Hunter (00:21:48 –> 00:21:53):
The theme song from Curv youb Enthusiasm always plays in my head whenever I would see that.
Shane (00:21:55 –> 00:22:19):
So being seen. One thing you’ve demonstrated in your work, Vicki is that being seen in many aspects of life is powerful. So you might not know this, but I also identify as a humanist in among humanist philosophy. So when I found out that you’ve been published in the journal Essays in the Philosophy of Humanism. Well, yes. So for people who might not be familiar with humanism, could you share a little like a quick description of what that means?
Victoria (00:22:20 –> 00:23:05):
So as a. So there’s atheism and humanism. Atheism means I don’t believe in any kind of, I guess I would call it a numinous presence. I don’t believe in anything superstitious. But as a humanist, that is the philosophy of how I arrange and live my life and how I interact with people. Humans believe in the commonality of the human experience. And in my writings that I got published, I was trying to make the case that, hey, this is the intellectual basis for morality, which is how we interact with one another. So that’s the basis of humanism is constructing your own reasons for living your life the way you do and finding your commonality with another rest of humanity.
Shane (00:23:05 –> 00:23:12):
It’s incredibly powerful. Do you have a favorite article that you’ve written that we can all look up so we can, we can all, we can all now search the web for it?
Victoria (00:23:12 –> 00:23:16):
Well, it’s under my dead name. Got it.
Shane (00:23:17 –> 00:23:23):
Maybe if you, I don’t know if you want to share the article, we’ll, we’ll put a link somewhere in case anybody wants to look. But they can also learn more about it through the American Humanists.
Victoria (00:23:23 –> 00:24:14):
Right. I think it was the 2014 year for that journal. Yeah, it was very flattering because it was a peer reviewed journal. There were a number of famous folks on the committee. I advocated for it and honestly I mentioned it was 2014. So that was part of my, hey, wake up and take control of your own life. Be honest about who you are. That was the first aspect was coming out as a bad atheist and saying, yeah, I really don’t believe in that stuff, but I think it’s important for us to be good people nonetheless without, I think what I call the baggage of, uh, a lot of religiosity. But yeah, after that it was my transition in 2015 and coming out in 2015 later. Transition all linked together, part of me being authentic and honest.
Hunter (00:24:15 –> 00:24:37):
So you led into the next question that I was going to ask about with gender identity and your identities. And I think that folks continue multitudes. So I always like to use plurality when I’m talking about these things. But when it comes to Your uh, transition journey, how did your philosophical identity play into processing that?
Victoria (00:24:37 –> 00:25:33):
Philosophically, I think it’s important to be honest with oneself, acknowledge who you are and um, be aware of your like false, your biases, um, become cognizant of things in your own personality that affect how you interact with the world. Um, so to me it was a maybe a process of, I guess maybe introspection, thinking about realizing how over my entire life I always realized I was a little different. But I never acknowledged that. Always tried to hide it or squash it down or just ignore it. So I think if I, I guess if I had to pin it down, it would be, be again, we talked about values and virtues, authenticity. I think it comes down to that, to be an authentic person, to be honest with myself in the world, like I had to uh, express myself as I am.
Shane (00:25:33 –> 00:26:36):
I think it’s powerful that you again, model that authenticity as somebody who also shares that value and finds that authenticity is such an important component to the way that we show up because it really helps people who may not have the confidence or feel secure and bringing their, their whole selves into the room sometimes, like elevating that authenticity. And like you said, saying there are so many dimensions. And Hunter, I love that you talked about kind of we, we contain multitudes and that, that, you know, that authenticity requires that we have multitudes. So I’m curious, as you mentioned, Vicki, these sort of different journeys and kind of coming out in different ways. Right. So for a lot of people who identify as non faith participants, whether that’s atheist, humanist in those different circles. Right. There’s usually a coming out process there, uh, a little bit of disclosure among communities in their own area. So I’d love to hear like what that process was like. And then how do you compare that a little bit with your, in terms of your gender identity journey, like how coming out in that context was. Did it, did you feel like they were very different? Did they feel like they were similar? Could you share a little about that?
Victoria (00:26:36 –> 00:28:05):
Well, uh, yeah, it was fairly similar and I think maybe even more anxiety inducing to, to acknowledge and come out and be open about being an atheist because, you know, that was a big disclosure. And you know, we’re here in North Carolina, which is in the Bible Belt, and at the time I lived in Chatham county, which was fairly religious and not progressive area. And yeah, there were some of the local churches and some pretty ugly things written on their, on their billboards. And uh, yeah, I had a lot of anxiety about coming out as an atheist. But you Know, I had always felt, I don’t know, a little bit silly, like in church reciting prayers and things. So to me there was no way. I couldn’t, I had to do it. That process was similar. I had to disclose it to my uh, family. I was married at the time with two kids and my son was very interested in church. He actually, while he wanted to be a preacher. But you know, I was always honest with him from the time he was old enough to understand. I think by the time matters, a lot of anxiety with that. And then of course the process of coming out as trans was similar. First divulge it to my family. I think maybe having gone through the process of coming out as an atheist prepared me a little bit better for coming out as bisexual and transgender culture question.
Hunter (00:28:05 –> 00:28:30):
Wow. Yeah, I’m marinating on that because I’m just like, yeah, like the different ways of just like slowly teetering out with, okay, how am I going to show up in this way? Let’s test the waters a little bit in that way. Okay. I love that. So we need to take a pause here and take another short break. But we’ll continue our conversation about Vicky’s multi layered work after a really short break. Please stay tuned to Power Beyond Pride.
Shane (00:28:38 –> 00:28:58):
Welcome back to Power Beyond Pride. I’m your co host Shane Lukas and I’m here with my co host Hunter and we are talking with the amazing Vicki Knight. And we have had such a great conversation. But now it is time for our rapid question. So we’re excited so we get, so the audience can get to know you better, Vicki. So are you ready to, ready to take this on?
Victoria (00:29:00 –> 00:29:01):
Probably, um, as ready as I will be.
Shane (00:29:01 –> 00:29:14):
All right, well the first question is going to tie the first question is going to tie right into some physics. So what a word defines the scientific study of sound used to determine the efficiency of engineering projects?
Victoria (00:29:14 –> 00:29:16):
We’re talking about acoustics.
Shane (00:29:16 –> 00:29:17):
Acoustics.
Victoria (00:29:17 –> 00:29:17):
Yes.
Shane (00:29:17 –> 00:29:20):
It is. Boom. There we go. That’s awesome.
Hunter (00:29:20 –> 00:29:22):
What’s the best pickup line you’ve used?
Victoria (00:29:23 –> 00:29:35):
Oh my God. I’m a little nerd virgin. So I’m terrible at pick up lines. I can’t even think of a single one. That’s probably a pickup line right there. I’m um, terrible at pickup lines. How about that?
Hunter (00:29:36 –> 00:29:41):
Authenticity that would pick. Yeah, that’s the authenticity that would pick somebody up in a heartbeat.
Shane (00:29:42 –> 00:29:53):
So Vicki, we are of a similar generation. So do you have a favorite Val Kilmer movie? We wanna, we wanna remember Val. And do you happen to have a favorite Val Kilmer?
Victoria (00:29:53 –> 00:29:55):
Film. Didn’t, uh, he do the Saint?
Shane (00:29:56 –> 00:29:56):
Yes.
Victoria (00:29:57 –> 00:29:58):
Yeah, I like that.
Shane (00:29:58 –> 00:30:05):
There we go. Awesome. I don’t. I actually. It’s a good one to go back and watch. I haven’t seen that one in forever. I was thinking top secret, I’ll be honest.
Victoria (00:30:05 –> 00:30:08):
Oh, yeah, It’s a good. He was also. Didn’t he do Jim Morrison?
Hunter (00:30:09 –> 00:30:09):
Yes.
Shane (00:30:09 –> 00:30:10):
Indoors.
Hunter (00:30:11 –> 00:30:31):
He recorded. He. He did the vocals for, I think they said, like, 25 songs or something like that. Yeah, it was remarkable. I’m not even gonna lie. There was also a romance like that he was in where he was blind and had surgery. I mean, it was corny, but I also had a thing for Val Kilmer back in the day, so.
Shane (00:30:32 –> 00:30:40):
Well, what I just heard you say, Hunter, though, is that Timothy Chalamet can eat it because Val, uh, Kilmer did it before him in terms of recording those songs ahead of time. So.
Hunter (00:30:43 –> 00:30:54):
I won’t even get into. I won’t even, um. Not even. Yeah, I’m not even gonna give him the airspace. So an embarrassing moment you experienced in the past six weeks. What was that?
Victoria (00:30:54 –> 00:31:08):
I had a parking incident with my car downtown. I should have let the car can park itself. I should have let it park itself, and I didn’t. And I was in a hurry, and I just. I crunched the whole front of the car just trying to park. Parallel park. Yeah. So that was pretty embarrassing.
Hunter (00:31:08 –> 00:31:09):
Oh, my gosh.
Shane (00:31:10 –> 00:31:20):
Parallel parking is evil. We can all agree to that as a general. As a general rule. All right, so here’s a tribute piece for you, Vicki, who designed the trans flag.
Victoria (00:31:20 –> 00:31:24):
Oh, dang. I should know that I don’t have that at my fingertips.
Shane (00:31:24 –> 00:31:26):
Not gonna lie. I had to look it up, too.
Victoria (00:31:26 –> 00:31:26):
I know.
Shane (00:31:26 –> 00:31:31):
The flag. Love the flag. But I did not know. Designed in 1999 by Monica Helms.
Victoria (00:31:31 –> 00:31:38):
Yeah. Just looking at that very fact online and the visual memory thing, I just don’t have it.
Shane (00:31:41 –> 00:31:43):
I mean, that’s what Google’s made for, is the.
Victoria (00:31:43 –> 00:31:43):
Is the.
Shane (00:31:43 –> 00:31:57):
But I do. I appreciate that not only. She was also a veteran, and she flew it in the first Pride parade in Phoenix, Arizona, in 2000. So that’s awesome. So celebrating 25 years this year, That’s. I think that’s awesome.
Victoria (00:31:58 –> 00:32:00):
My glasses, my bracelet.
Shane (00:32:01 –> 00:32:04):
I mean, the glasses are great, and there’s a little pink tint in the hair.
Victoria (00:32:04 –> 00:32:05):
Right.
Hunter (00:32:05 –> 00:32:13):
But honestly, I’m loving. Yeah. The coordination between the glasses and your hair. I’ve been living for it this whole interview.
Victoria (00:32:15 –> 00:32:29):
I’m. I’m also a, uh, color clutch. And my. I Have to admit that my partner Liz has helped me a lot with color. She’s hyper visual. Like, she’s. Her mind is so cluttered with visual stuff. But she’s very. She has a very good sense for color. War of n. She’s helped me.
Hunter (00:32:29 –> 00:32:33):
Awesome. So what is a philosopher’s take on why we exist?
Victoria (00:32:34 –> 00:33:03):
On why we exist. I mean, that sounds like the purpose of life. And I think the purpose of life was to find meaning in our lives and to acknowledge that. I can’t take credit for this. I think I want to say Neil DeGrasse Tyson, but. Or may it may have been. May have been Carl Sagan the. That said that we are. What we are is the universe the way the universe knows itself. So, yeah. Purpose of life, I think was to. Was to find our meaning.
Shane (00:33:03 –> 00:33:08):
I think that’s beautiful. And my last question is just as deep. Apples or bananas?
Victoria (00:33:09 –> 00:33:10):
Um, definitely bananas.
Shane (00:33:10 –> 00:33:13):
Is there a reason? Is it just the.
Victoria (00:33:13 –> 00:33:13):
Honestly?
Shane (00:33:13 –> 00:33:18):
Ah, to me, it’s easy. I’m lazy. I’m a lazy eater, so I want a banana. What is yours, son?
Victoria (00:33:19 –> 00:33:59):
One of seven children. And my parents weren’t. Bless my mother for that. Were not able to mind us as well. So I would never. Grew up with a great sense of, uh, a lot of things. Like, I was not really good at brushing my teeth, so my teeth were fairly weak. And I was eating an apple one time and I bit into the apple and I broke off my front tooth. So I have a little bit of an aversion to apples just because of that. I do a lot better now since I got bra. I didn’t even have braces until I was almost, uh, 50. So, you know, so I really appreciate my piece now. But. Yeah, and even more so because the reason that I prefer bananas over apples.
Shane (00:34:00 –> 00:34:11):
I’m. I. I mean, I. I’m with you. I’m with it. Yeah. It’s amazing. Amazing we got to know you more better, Mickey. I love that. So I guess our first question has to be. Our next question just has to be. What’s next on your agenda?
Victoria (00:34:12 –> 00:34:36):
Wow. What’s next on my agenda? Um, well, there’s another technical ladder step that I’d like to make at Qorvo. I’d like to become a principal engineer there. I’m working towards that. Yeah. I guess maybe a couple of steps. I’d like to, like, expand my work with charities, local charitable organizations, and also continue to enjoy my life. Hope everybody remembers that. So important.
Shane (00:34:37 –> 00:34:39):
Hey, we’re giving you a standing ovation right now.
Victoria (00:34:39 –> 00:34:41):
So we’re We’re. We’re.
Shane (00:34:41 –> 00:34:42):
We’re loving it.
Victoria (00:34:42 –> 00:34:43):
Thank you.
Hunter (00:34:43 –> 00:34:50):
So where can people follow you? Do you have social media or anything that people can kind of check in on the progress?
Victoria (00:34:50 –> 00:35:33):
Uh, I have a Facebook page, and I’m fairly open about Victorian Night on Facebook. Although I have to say I’m, um, a little bit careful about accepting friend requests. But everything I post is completely public because, again, I think it’s important that we represent and we don’t, like, restrict access. We didn’t get into a lot of this stuff, but I think a lot of the problem with the way we are now politically is people are very siloed. And while it’s important, I think, to not consume too much alarmist information that is completely antithetical to what you believe, it’s important to at least be aware of it and buy that same token. I don’t want to restrict things that I post to just my friends.
Shane (00:35:34 –> 00:35:39):
Well, and also, you are so involved in local organizations that we can also stay in contact with you through those.
Victoria (00:35:39 –> 00:35:39):
Right.
Shane (00:35:39 –> 00:35:45):
So through tried Health Project Guilford Green in Greensboro, North Carolina, look for your future keynotes.
Victoria (00:35:47 –> 00:36:19):
Um, yeah, I actually. Yeah, I was a little uncomfortable doing the Go for Green thing. I’ve done plenty of technical presentations, but speaking in front of the Green, the gala at Dilford Green was. I was a little bit apprehensive. You asked if I was nervous. Yes, I was a little nervous, but I. I enjoyed it, and I really, uh. It was so well received. I. I’m be glad to share with other folks. Uh, again, I don’t want to seek the spotlight, and I don’t want people to think that I’m seeking any kind of a spotlight. But I would love to share with folks. Maybe start with Keith Lag next.
Shane (00:36:19 –> 00:36:43):
Well, we definitely always have spotlights for you here. We are so excited to be able to spend this time with you. It’s all we have for today’s show. And you can learn more about Viki, uh, as she mentioned on Facebook, as well as through the organizations that she’s involved in, and honestly, uh, through the show, too. So we’re excited. Thank you again, so much, Vicki, for being here today. I’m Shane Lukas. You can find me@shaneLukas.com and follow me through Shane Lukas on Blue sky, as well as on LinkedIn.
Hunter (00:36:44 –> 00:36:51):
And I’m Hunter. You can find me on my website@hntrphoto.com and at links to my Instagram. Instagram. And, uh, yeah, that’s about it.
Victoria (00:36:51 –> 00:36:57):
And I’m Vicki. I’M a little old so I only have a Facebook page so thank you for having me. Really enjoyed it. This was a great conversation.
Hunter (00:36:58 –> 00:37:06):
Thank you. I hope we can have you back again and to have to extend the conversations into some even more spaces.
Shane (00:37:06 –> 00:37:16):
Yeah Remember to subscribe and get your friends to subscribe to Power Beyond Pride wherever you get your podcast and check out our site at power beyond pride.com as well as as us following all of our socials.
Hunter (00:37:16 –> 00:37:33):
Power Beyond Pride is a project from um a great idea of your own design and content agency. Learn more about them atagreat idea.com this episode is produced by Shane Lukas. Tamita Sakar is the project developer. Our editor is Jared Redding with support from Ian Wilson.
Shane (00:37:34 –> 00:37:47):
Uh, we are both part of this podcast host team and we invite you to send in your questions and comments at Power Beyond Slide. We look forward to queer change making with you together at Power Beyond Pride.