Transgender Awareness Week

November 13 – November 19

Every year between November 13-19, Transgender Awareness Week is observed and celebrated to promote visibility for the transgender community, and call attention to the experiences and lives of our transgender brothers, sisters and siblings.

Christopher Street West / LA Pride is proud to have three transgender Board of Directors members, and they each have a message to the LGBTQ+ community.

Sharon-Franklin Brown is the first Black transgender person to be named president of LA Pride’s Board of Directors. She is a national speaker on transgender rights, activist, and Chief Human Resources Officer for the Los Angeles LGBT Center and its nearly 800 employees. A longtime advocate for gender expression and identity, she has spoken out for anti-discrimination policies in education since being terminated from Fayetteville State University, a historically Black university, for being a transwoman. Sharon is the recipient of the Leadership Award from the Employment Roundtable of Southern California and Los Angeles for her contributions to furthering civil rights in workplace diversity.

Board Secretary, Mistress Cyan St. James has been a supporter of LA Pride since 2007 when she was named as an Honoree and recipient of The Connie Norman Award. She has been named Woman of The Year three times, and Fundraiser of The Year twice, as well as Mentor of The Year. The LA Weekly named her “The Most Respected Dominatrix in Los Angeles”, and she has been a guest speaker at Stanford University, UCLA, Occidental College and California State Universities Los Angeles, Long Beach and Northridge. She is currently the President/CEO of Sanctuary Studios, Inc., and Executive Producer of DomCon Los Angeles and New Orleans.

Johanna Padilla, a.k.a. La Sirena, Los Angeles’ “UnTucked Burlesque Mermaid,” showcases the beauty of trans bodies while embodying prime Hollywood glamour and the mermaid fantasy through her groundbreaking performances. Johanna is also an advocate for LGBTQ+ rights, and an out, proud, and visible trans queer womxn of color who is constantly creating positive impact and change for the LGBTQ+ community through her work in the nonprofit sector, while pursuing her dreams in the fashion and entertainment industry as an actor, model and designer. As a CSW Board member, Johanna focuses on inclusive programming for the trans, POC, Black, and sober communities.

Click the images below to see their video messages.