A transgender woman has filed a Title IX complaint after allegedly being denied entry into a Colorado Mesa University tech class, and the Colorado Civil Rights Division has set a date for mediation in the case.

In November 2025, Tammy Powers moved from San Francisco to Grand Junction and at the urging of her son decided to pursue further education. Powers has worked as a mechanic and owned and operated a restaurant, Tammy’s Chicken and Waffles, in California. She decided to take the bakeshop production technical certification course available through CMU Tech.

Powers received an acceptance letter for the class and on Jan. 19 participated in New Mavs Day, where she met her academic counselor, Stephanie Parsons. At New Mavs Day, Powers was also introduced to chef Steve Gould. Parsons told Powers that Gould said she would need a food handlers certificate in order to take the class. Powers said she found that odd. 

“I didn’t think a cake-baking class would need it. It’s an all-day thing to get a food handlers certificate,” said Powers. Powers checked on the class’ website and found that no food-handlers certificate was listed as a requirement.

“But Stephanie told me to go to class early and explain to Chef Steve that I had a California food handlers certificate and it would all be OK,” Powers said.

Powers said that she presented herself early to class on the first day and tried to explain to Gould. Powers alleges that Gould said, “Do you know what this class is?” and then immediately told Powers to follow him to the admissions office, where he instructed the admissions coordinator that “this person has questions for you.”

The admissions coordinator had no answers for Powers, so she walked back to the class and waited by the door. Gould again left the class and walked Powers back to admissions and left her there.

Powers said she was getting upset at this point and asked to speak with Parsons, who she alleges said that Powers was not even signed up for the class. 

“Stephanie said that she’d get back to me within 24 hours,” Powers said, “but she never did. I haven’t heard back from her.

“I only ever heard from Stephanie that I needed a food handler’s certificate.”

It wasn’t until after Powers was contacted by a television reporter that she was alerted to the possibility of filing a Title IX complaint. But Powers found the situation difficult.

“The Title IX coordinator, Stephanie Reubenstein, had a CMU logo on her shirt. It’s hard to accept that I will even get a fair hearing,” Powers said.

Powers also filed a complaint with the Colorado Civil Rights Division. CCRD set a mediation for the Title IX complaint to take place May 14 or May 18.

Haley Hahn, community relations and communications manager at CMU, responded to a request for comment saying, “Because this is an active Title IX complaint, we are unable to supply an interview until the process concludes.”

For her part, Powers said it was a difficult time, because she felt as if no one was listening to her.

“The whole thing makes me so upset,” Powers said. “I just wanted to take a public class. I felt like I was being mistreated. I am usually the only person trans around. It’s easy for people to gang up on me, because I feel like I still look like the former bouncer I used to be.”

According to a Pew Research Center survey, 56% of adults express support for policies protecting transgender people from discrimination in jobs, housing and public spaces. However, a Center for American Progress survey found that 62% of transgender adults reported experiencing discrimination in public spaces; including restaurants, stores, public transportation and restrooms.

Transgender women also face disproportionate violence and harassment, according to the Human Rights Campaign.