Mayor Edwin M. Lee today announced the appointment of Clair Farley as the Mayor’s Senior Advisor on Transgender Initiatives to work directly with the Mayor and City Administrator Naomi Kelly on LGBTQ policies and oversee development of new transgender initiatives.

San Francisco is the first city in the nation to have a position dedicated to advancing the rights, leadership, and policies of the transgender and gender non-conforming community.

“Clair Farley has been an inspirational leader in our City on LGBTQ economic and social rights issues,” said Mayor Lee. “In her new role she will carry on the important work that Theresa Sparks set in motion and will assure that San Francisco continues to pioneer policies and programming that inspire the rest of the country to follow suit. San Francisco has a long-standing commitment to advancing and protecting the rights of the transgender community and with Clair’s leadership we will continue our work to make San Francisco a safer, more diverse, and more equitable city.”

As the Mayor’s Senior Advisor, Farley will advise the Mayor on LGBTQ issues and will lead the City in its work on transgender policy, community engagement, and program management across San Francisco. Farley will oversee City funded projects for the transgender and the broader LGBTQ community, assist other City departments in implementing strong and inclusive community initiatives, and create a gap analysis of transgender resources across housing, violence prevention, youth services, healthcare, employment services, the criminal justice system and community empowerment.

Farley will be convening a transgender advisory committee to inform the Mayor, City departments, and the broader LGBTQ initiatives throughout the City. She will also be supporting new and emerging policy, such as implementing SB179 that will allow a third gender on state identification cards and SB310, the groundbreaking bill that will make it easier for trans inmates to change their identification documents.

Clair Farley is a national community leader and trans advocate. She is currently the Director of Economic Development at the San Francisco LGBT Center where she has served for nearly 11 years. She has worked across the country and internationally to advocate for increased visibility of LGBTQ communities and has co-chaired several local committees including the annual Trans Day of Visibility and Trans Day of Remembrance. Farley was invited to the White House to participate in the inaugural LGBT Innovation Summit, was recognized as a “Soldier of Social Change” in SF Magazine's Annual Women in Power Issue, and received the 2017 Outstanding Voices Award from the San Francisco Business Times.

“I am so honored to follow in the footsteps of Theresa Sparks and all the leaders before us,” said Farley. “This has been a remarkable month despite these challenging times, with over seven transgender candidates winning across the country and the passing of vital trans policy in California. We must stay vigilant and keep investing in building our resilient and diverse communities. I am so grateful to be working for the City that I love and will make sure that no one gets left behind on our path to full equality.”  

Theresa Sparks, who held the role previously, will be retiring from a full-time role in City government to pursue other projects and interests. Farley’s appointment is effective December 4, 2017.

Today, San Francisco also recognizes the annual Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDOR) by lighting up City Hall in the blue, pink and white of the transgender flag. San Francisco was the first city to host TDOR in 1998 to commemorate the people lost to anti-transgender violence.