'They/Them/Turtle': Oregon mental health advisory board includes member who identifies as terrapin species
JD Holt helps make policy recommendations for mental health services in Oregon
By Alec Schemmel Fox News
Published March 12, 2025 6:52pm EDT
A member of a state panel advising the director of Oregon's Health Authority (OHA) on best practices and policies in mental health identifies as a "turtle."
JD Holt, who also goes by "JD Terrapin" on Facebook, is one of roughly two dozen "consumers" on the OHA's Consumer Advisory Council (OCAC). The council, established by administrative statute, is appointed by OHA Director Dr. Sejal Hathi, who was appointed by Gov. Tina Kotek, a Democrat.
The purpose of the OCAC is to advise Hathi on the state's provision of mental health services, including through investigations and reviews of current practices.
"Hello everybody, it's JD. I use they, them and turtle for my pronouns. I'm in the Springfield-Eugene area and I get to be part of the council," Holt said during a Dec. 20 virtual OCAC meeting. Gender Wiki, a website that documents the list of non-binary genders, describes "turtlegender," sometimes called "tortoisegender," as "a xenogender identity in which one feels a gendered connection to turtles."
"One may feel their gender is replaced by a 'turtle,' or their gender is best described with the use of turtles," the site reads.
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