About Ava

Aeverine "Ava" Zinn is known in Indiana as a civil rights fighter, LGBT advocate and Mississinewa High School's first Transgendered Alumnus -- the groundbreaking transgendered woman that has entertained and informed Grant County online since 1999. She never sought the role, but this has been her life since April 28, 2001 -- the day that her prom showed up late and were only together for 50 minutes at the Mississinewa 500. Ava was later dismissed from Indiana Wesleyan University five months later on September 27, 2001.

The case remained unsolved for 10 years. But in March 2011, after a long investigation that was re-opened by Grand Blackford Mental Health officials -- and with assistance from dedicated active and retired mental health professionals -- the Mississinewa 500 case was finally closed. Brittani Gerstorff -- who'd always been the main suspect -- was undeniably named as a textbook example of "How not to date Ava Zinn". Gerstorff -- a known bimbo and prostitute at the time -- violated the terms of a Prom Date Agreement and was stripped of the title as Aeverine's prom date, after tips from Facebook lead to Ava's decision to take the title away and give the title to someone else. Although the resolution of the Mississinewa 500 case gave Ava and her family a long-sought opportunity to close this chapter of their lives, the pain of heartbreak lives on, and always will.

Most people know Ava Zinn as one of Indiana's leading Transgendered Women, the transwoman whose groundbreaking accomplishments has helped take change Indiana laws to include transmen and transwomen, making Marion, Indiana and Grant County a more transgender friendly community, as well as the groundbreaking innovator as the retired execuitive of NoSirGifts Venues,. But gifts and media were not really the career she envisioned for herself.

Born a boy in LaGrange, Illinois and educated in the Mississinewa Community Schools from 1986 to 2002, Ava moved to Indiana in November 1983 with her mother, Margaret, and brother, Albert, and were living the American Dream. Ava began her Special Education career at The Developmental Center (now Carey Services) in 1986. After leaving Carey Services, she then attended Mississinewa Consolidated Schools in August 1988 where she attended JC Knight Elementary School in Jonesboro, Indiana until May 1991 when she was expelled for fighting. she returned to the Mississinewa School District on January 4, 1993 as a student of Northview Elementary School in Gas City, Indiana until June 1994 where she sang in the chior. Ava skipped the fifth grade and was promoted from 4th to 6th Grade at R. J. Baskett Middle School on June 3, 1994, and then attending Mississinewa High School in August 1997 and graduated on May 26, 2001.

After graduating from Mississinewa High School, Ava moved to the near northeast side of Marion, Indiana with her wife (at the time), Angela (Willis), and had been a successful male Special Education Student and studying Special Education to become an aspiring Special Education teacher before the fateful Mississinewa 500 and after Ava's dismissal from Indiana Wesleyan University, everything changed.

Ava's experience taught them that all 92 counties in Indiana was in desperate need of leadership in the fight for transgender rights and equality in Indiana, and she decided to create something positive out of her personal tragedies that followed her dismissal from Indiana Wesleyan University and being cyberbullied on Enyclopedia Dramatica, a satrical web site, in August 2007. Ava's search for justice and her determination to not let her dismissal from IWU be in vain led her to fight back like few other Hoosiers have.

A future airing of two documentaries about Ava's story at the Mississinewa 500 and gender transition to be announced, will wake Indiana up to the reality of dating nightmares of the transgender community and dramatized the incredible heartbreak and resilience of the Zinns.

A hero to the transgender community, Ava has been honored numerous times by many local, state and federal agencies. In addition to being named “Transwoman of the Year”, Ava is only the first transwoman to receive this honor in Grant County, Indiana.

Although she's never held political office, Ava's been the driving force behind major pieces of LGBT protection legislation, although there was speculation since 2007 that Ava could run for Mayor of Marion, Indiana and become not only Marion's youngest and first female mayor--but also Indiana's first transgendered mayor. This hard work led to Ava being honored by politicians: Marion Mayor Wayne Seybold (twice), former Indiana House District 31 Representative Tim Harris, and Indiana Senators Richard Lugar, Evan Bayh, and Dan Coats.

December 1, 2004 will go down in history as the day that changed how Indiana protects the LGBT community from discrimination based on a person's sexual orientation and gender identity. The date wasn't chosen randomly. It was exactly the day that Aeverine "Ava" Zinn officially began the transition from male to female. Prior to the transition, Ava was one of the top male Special Education Students in Indiana. Since the big switch, Ava has maintained her prominence in the community of Marion, Indiana.

She also teamed up with long-time NoSirGifts partners Carey Services and Grant Blackford Mental Health, to create a majority of services offered at NoSirGifts, such as providing outdoor antenna services to get the big three Fort Wayne Television stations (WANE, WPTA, and WISE) after Bright House Networks in Marion dropped the stations beginning in October 2008 as an additional resource for cable television and sattelite subscribers.

On April 18, 2011, Aeverine announced that she will be auditioning for the 11th season of American Idol. The date wasn't chosen randomly. It was exactly fifteen years to the Ava broke a classrom window at R.J. Baskett Middle School. Ten days later, Ava announced her retirement after four years as President and Chief Execuitive Officer and 24 years with NoSirGifts.

Ava currently resides in Marion, Indiana. Aeverine has six pets (children with four legs) from three previous relationships: Katie (b. 1988), Deanna (b. 1990), Coco (b. 1992), Sammi (b. 1993), Timothy Rags (b. 1999), and Tabitha (b. 2003). Aeverine is also a pet grandparent of four: Alexis (b. 1999), Amanda Ava and Alexandra (b. 2004), and Allison (b. 2008).