"Stigma" is a simple two-syllable word, yet carries the weight of negative and often unfair beliefs that we hold about each other. Perhaps most tragically, stigmas lock people into stereotyped boxes and deny us all the right to be our authentic and whole selves. We all have the tendency to sit high and look low while proclaiming how progressive we've become. However, the reality is that we both perpetuate and experience the burden of stigma in our public and private lives every day.

Informed by decades of in-the-trenches experience,...