“Orange is the New Black” star Laverne Cox will be coming to Syracuse University as the keynote speaker for the LGBT Resource Center’s Coming Out Month on October 29.

Coming Out Month is the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Resource Center’s month-long celebration of support for the LGBT community.  Previous keynote speakers include Emi Koyama of eminism.org and Kenyon Farrow, the former executive director of Queers for Economic Justice.

This year’s keynote speech will take place in Goldstein Auditorium and free tickets will be available starting mid-October. Cox will be addressing the intersection of complex identities during her keynote speech.

Cox has gained recognition and acclaim for playing Sophia Burset, a trans* inmate and hairdresser, on the hit Netflix program “Orange is the New Black” and for being the first openly trans* actor nominated for an Emmy. She is also the first trans* woman to appear on the VH1 show, “I Wanna Work for Diddy.”

Off-screen, Cox is an activist and advocate for trans* issues. She was named one of Out Magazine’s “Out 100” and the Huffington Post named her one of the top 50 trans* icons.

Chase Catalano, director of the LGBT Resource Center, said in an email that Cox is an exciting speaker whose pop culture appeal will allow the center to reach a wider audience.

“We chose Laverne Cox as our keynote for her inspiring insights on justice and community building,” he said. “We believe Ms. Cox will be a speaker who will encourage more students to engage in conversations about marginalized genders and sexualities at SU and help continue to transform our campus into a more inclusive space.”