We had the good fortune of connecting with Daphney Poyser and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Daphney, let’s start by talking about what inspires you?
The thing that I am most inspired by is the courage that younger people have to live their truth out loud and to be their authentic selves. Being in my mid 50s it brings me joy to see the openness of how young people express themselves. If there was one thing that I wish the older generation would adopt from the newer generations is their ability to unapologetically love who and how they please, regardless of what social norms say about the issue.

What should our readers know about your business?
I own Fern Connections LLC, which is a Black-Female owned Matchmaking business that makes non-traditional connections for people within the LGBTQIA+ community. I believe everyone deserves to find love, intimacy, and happiness, and when I first got into the Matchmaking industry it became very clear to me just how underrepresented the LGBTQIA+ community was; especially the Trans community. I am very proud of all the work my team and I do, but I am always very excited when I can help someone within the Trans community find the connections they’ve been looking for and frankly deserve. Unfortunately even in 2021 there is still an unhealthy amount of homophobia and transphobia in the world, and it’s not always easy for me–and especially not for my clients–to find people who are worthy of their time, respect, and kindness, but that’s why I’m here. My job is to alleviate some of the stress, the heartache, and the fear of dating in the Queer community, and to give my clients what they’ve always wanted: promising connections to spend time with in this world. I tell my clients everyday that I can’t promise them happily ever after–I can’t even promise that for myself–but I can find you someone who is right for you, and for where you are at this moment in your life. I can’t guarantee perfect, but we can try and get as damn near close to it as we can.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I love going to Klyde Warren Park, especially as the weather starts to warm up. It’s such a beautiful venue, and being in the heart of the city you get a great view of the Dallas skyline. I also love the Nasher, and the Friday night movie/concert series they do; I can’t wait to be able to attend more of those events in the future!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
We worked with a new young artist and illustrator, Natalie Kreidler, to design our now logo and branded image for our company Fern Connections. They were one of the first people we worked with as we were starting to build our company image, and we cannot be thankful enough for their assistance during that time.

Website: Fernconnections.com

Instagram: Instagram.com/fernconnections

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/fernconnections

Twitter: twitter.com/fernconnections

Facebook: Facebook.com/fernconnectionsmatchmaking

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutDFW is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.