Peter Tchoryk

Peter Tchoryk has been a public advocate for transgender rights since 2016 — work that grew out of raising his own transgender son. In the decade since, he has spoken at state hearings, schools, faith communities, school boards, and conferences across Michigan and nationally, with advocacy work alongside the Human Rights Campaign.

His essays on fatherhood, faith, and science have appeared in HuffPost and regional op-eds, and he has been interviewed on public radio and in regional and national press. Hello, World. I'm the Dad of a Trans Kid is his first book — part memoir, part argument for curiosity over manufactured certainty, and the companion to the podcast series of the same name.

By training, Peter is an electrical engineer, with degrees from Kettering University and the University of Michigan. He is the CEO of Michigan Aerospace Corporation, a University of Michigan research spin-off, and has led aerospace and environmental research and development for more than three decades — work that has supported NASA, NOAA, the Department of Energy, the Department of Defense, commercial space programs, and aerospace prime contractors. He is currently developing technology for biomedical diagnostics.

He also founded Springmatter — an incubator for founders trying to "start something meaningful" by bringing overlooked, smaller-market products to life — in partnership with the University of Michigan and regional entrepreneurial networks. Peter lives in Dexter, Michigan, with his family.