BOSS is a labor of love, grounded in community power, passing down skills, sharing tools, and building futures together.
Where women, queer, trans, and femme-of-center folx can gather to learn, build and dream together. We believe that everyone deserves equal access to the tools, resources, and opportunities that ignite imagination and fuel growth, regardless of gender, sexual orientation, or identity.
We created this space to fill a vital gap in accessibility. Makerspaces and the trades have been environments where safety and belonging feel out of reach for most WQTF individuals. We are here to change that. Our mission is to open doors to building skills, provide workshops led by community professionals, and nurture a supportive network of mentorship and collaboration. We foster opportunities for hands-on exploration of the trades, support mutual aid initiatives, and offer space for WQTF artists to immerse themselves in their craft one transformative artist residency at a time.
Together, we are building a world where creativity, community, and courageous self-expression thrive for all.
Meet the People behind BOSS
Executive Director
Co-founder
He/him/his
Victor Valencia is a trans man, builder, and self-taught furniture maker and artist whose work reflects his love of geometry and lines, wood, and metal. Raised in a small town, Victor carries the grounding values of community and simplicity into his adventurous spirit. He loves traveling to new places and learning new skills, continually expanding his horizons.
Victor’s passion, curiosity, and resilience shine through every piece he creates. Now, he shares his knowledge through mentoring, workshops, and his role as a boss, empowering others to explore their own creative paths. Honored to be recognized as a 2024 Voqal Fellow, he is proud to contribute alongside brilliant WQTF (Women, Queer, Trans, and Femme) changemakers, using his artistry and dedication to build more beautiful, inclusive futures.
Victor Valencia
Sir Tang
Program Coordinator
He/Her
TC Tolbert
Co-founder & Board Member
Hey y’all! My name is TC Tolbert (he/him/hey grrrl!) and here are some snippets of my world:
I like walking up a mountain more than walking down; on the Enneagram, I'm a 1; I'm also a Capricorn; when I started testosterone, I chose Oct 21 so I could become a Libra – that was almost 20 years ago and I’m still searching for balance; learning is infinitely more interesting to me than knowing (and scarier, too); along with my partner, I am wildly blessed to get to care for a pit bull who is willing to cuddle any time day or night; I am white and I was born and raised a girl in Hixson, TN as a speaking-in-tongues Pentecostal and I eventually came out as queer, feminist, anti-racist, and trans-masc; I have lived in Tucson since 2003, which occupies the traditional territories of the Tohono O’odham and Pascua Yaqui peoples; I’m honored to work alongside Victor and y’all on Building Out – prior to the pandemic, my collaborations were through writing, movement, and social activism and this practice of building is a true transition and joy; I’ve been following my younger sister around and learning from her since she was born – she’s the real builder/home renovation genius and I’m forever her mentee; I never cease to experience a simultaneous grief and deep love any time I pay attention to the world.
I’ve published several books and chapbooks of poetry, including Gephyromania (Ahsahta Press, 2014/Nightboat Books, 2022) and The Quiet Practices, winner of the 2023 Chad Walsh Chapbook Prize at Beloit. I’m the co-editor (along with Trace Peterson) of Troubling the Line: Trans and Genderqueer Poetry and Poetics (Nightboat Books 2013). In 2019, I was awarded an Academy of American Poets’ Laureate Fellowship for my work with trans, non-binary, and queer folks.
I’m so excited to BUILD OUT WITH YOU. <3
BOSS exists because access to tools, skills, and good-paying trade work has never been evenly distributed and our communities feel that gap every day. When Women, Queer, Trans, and Femme of Center folks are locked out of the trades, it’s not just an equity issue, it’s a loss of knowledge, creativity, and economic stability for all of us.
Right now, fewer than 2% of workers in the trades identify as LGBTQ+, and only 6% identify as women. These numbers reflect generations of exclusion, unsafe workplaces, and systems that were never designed with our people in mind.
We believe something different is possible. When we invest in gender diverse leadership and make space for WQTF folks to build skills and careers in the trades, everyone benefits. Closing the gender wage gap in construction alone could add $1.6 billion to the U.S. economy, and companies with gender-diverse leadership are 21% more likely to be profitable than cis male led teams.
At BOSS, we’re not just responding to statistics we’re building a community powered pathway into the trades that values care, safety, and shared success. When our people thrive, the work is stronger, the economy is healthier, and the future feels positive.
