Setting the Bar: Grayson Arthurs on Transition, Community, and Finding Safe Spaces

Renee welcomes Grayson Arthurs, former Farm Cafe intern and current community engagement coordinator at He, She, Z and We, an LGBTQ+ nonprofit in Richmond, Virginia. What started as a college internship for political science credit became one of the most meaningful experiences of Grayson’s life.

Now working with trans youth and their families, Grayson draws directly on lessons learned at the cafe: wearing many hats in nonprofit work, navigating diverse communities, and finding creative connectors to bring people together.

Throughout, Grayson emphasizes that Farm Cafe set the bar high, teaching what meaningful community work should look like. The cafe showed that safe spaces aren’t just about providing meals but about creating room for people to find connection, dignity, and the freedom to just be.

Grayson Arthurs is a North Carolina native, turned Virginia transplant. They graduated from Appalachian State in 2021, the same year that they began a summer internship at F.A.R.M. Cafe. In 2023 they left the cafe and Boone for Richmond, Virginia where they now work at He She Ze & We, a nonprofit that supports transgender and nonbinary people and their families. Grayson says that their years at F.A.R.M. Cafe shaped them into the person they are today- a confident and passionate pursuer of authentic community with a deep appreciation for Dukes Mayonnaise (#Renee!).