San Francisco is the city with the highest population of out transgender individuals, according to many surveys, with New York, Austin, Portland, Seattle, Boston, New Orleans, Columbus, Salt Lake City, and Atlanta also often mentioned in the top 10. As a beacon for the global transgender community, San Francisco is also a base for world-class transgender leaders.
In this issue of the San Francisco Bay Times highlighting the Transgender Day of Visibility on March 31, 2025, we honor just some of the many transgender leaders who are living out and proud lives and making a positive difference benefiting countless others.
Star Amerasu is a multi-hyphenate force redefining artistry in 2025, seamlessly merging music, film, nightlife, and digital media. She skyrocketed to prominence with her futuristic, camp-infused sketches, earning praise from cultural heavyweights like Lil Nas X and Hari Nef.
She is a talented musician and her critically acclaimed album Never, Really Alone and electrifying DJ sets have cemented her as a nightlife icon, performing at LA Pride, opening for Peaches, and curating high-energy experiences. In film, she debuted I Guess … at Outfest and premiered After Hours, executive produced by Elliott Page, at Frameline and NewFest. Unafraid to innovate across platforms, Amerasu is reshaping the cultural landscape with fearless creativity.
Carlo Gómez Arteaga is an experienced organizer, advocate, fundraiser, and trainer with over 28 years of experience focused on youth equity, LGBTQIA+, and immigrant rights. Currently the Co-Executive Director for the Transgender District in San Francisco, he supports the organization to create an urban environment that fosters the rich history, culture, legacy, and empowerment of transgender people and their deep roots in the southeastern Tenderloin neighborhood of San Francisco.
Arteaga is the Co-Founder of many groups including People United for the Legalization of Students as well as Grupo de Apoyo Fénix. He previously directed an anti-poverty statewide campaign and coordinated donor development with the Dolores Huerta Foundation.
Spring Collins (she/they) is a passionate advocate for the queer and trans community with extensive experience in fundraising, community organizing, and trans-centered programming. She is currently the Senior Individual Giving Associate at the SF LGBT Center. Collins has spent years cultivating connections and supporting LGBTQ+ initiatives. From 2022 to 2024, she served on the SF Pride Board, holding the position of Secretary during their final two years.
She played a key role in the relaunch of the Trans Stage at SF Pride in 2022 and is now a Co-Producer of the Trans Liberation Bloc Party with Lexi Adsit of Peacock Rebellion in partnership with TRANScend Retreat. As a Co-Founder and Program Director of TRANScend Retreat, established in 2017, Collins has been a driving force behind creating spaces that center and uplift trans and gender nonconforming individuals.
Pau Crego (he/him) is an advocate and educator with a passion for advancing equity for transgender, LGBTQI+, and immigrant communities through policy, public health programming, and education. Crego’s social justice and public health work over the past two decades has included direct action, social services, training and education, as well as program and policy design and implementation. He is also a published author and translator in the fields of public health and trans equity.
From 2017–2023, Crego held various leadership roles at the San Francisco Office of Transgender Initiatives, where he led the allocation and implementation of government resources to address equity gaps for trans San Franciscans, developed local and state nondiscrimination policies, and led the creation of San Francisco’s trans equity flagship programs. He is currently a Professor in the Community and Public Health Department at City College of San Francisco, Co-Director of the Foundations Consulting Group, and an executive coach for leaders in public service and nonprofit settings. You can learn more about Crego’s work at https://paucrego.com/
Whit Joaquin Guerrero (he/him) is a housing justice leader, transgender advocate, mediator, facilitator, and capacity coach. He serves as a Commissioner for the Homelessness Oversight Commission for the City and County of San Francisco and was the inaugural director of the first city-funded transgender housing portfolio, Our Trans Home.
Guerrero co-founded the first Transgender Navigation center, the Taimon Booton Navigation Center; co-envisioned the Plan to End Trans Homelessness that was the first initiative to reach effective zero homelessness for trans and gender non-conforming San Franciscans; and has served as an expert witness on transgender issues for the Public Defenders Office of San Francisco. He utilizes his personal experience and the guidance of his transgender elders to implement cultural competence toward the liberation of trans people in San Francisco.
Ebony Ava Harper is a first-generation American born to a Jamaican immigrant family. Having come out as a Black trans woman at an early age, Harper began working as an activist in the trans community, emphasizing the importance of the intersectionality between her racial and transgender identity. Over the years, she has transitioned from a trans activist to a human rights activist, making a difference for marginalized communities both locally and nationally.
She is the Executive Director of California TRANScends, a statewide initiative she founded to promote the health and wellness of transgender people throughout the state. Harper continues to push for equality and justice as Chair of the California State Transgender Advisory Council. She also serves on the boards of the Transgender Law Center, Mirror Memoirs, and the Museum of California. Her work has earned her national recognition, including the Stonewall Four Freedoms Award, Equality California’s Community Leadership Award, and multiple honors from the California Legislature.
The story of J Jha is a testament to resilience, identity, and community. As a transgender, gender non-conforming individual, his journey to U.S. citizenship is marked by both triumph and loss, becoming a citizen the same day her father passed away after a 15-year wait. This bittersweet moment reflects the complexity of their path, balancing joy and grief.
As an actor, J explores and amplifies gender diversity through contemporary and ancestral narratives, bridging past and present to foster understanding. Her work highlights the richness of transgender experiences, creating spaces for connection and visibility. They are deeply involved with trans elders in San Francisco, particularly through Openhouse, an organization supporting LGBTQI++ seniors. This intergenerational exchange provides wisdom and solidarity, as he contributes to the well-being of those who paved the way for younger generations. J lives by a philosophy of presence and purpose, striving to leave the world better than they found it.
Honey Mahogany grew up in San Francisco and received her master’s in social welfare from UC Berkeley. She has experience working in government at both the county and statewide level, as well as 20+ years of experience working with LGBTQI2S+ youth, adults, and seniors as a direct service provider, programs director, and advocate.
Her work has earned her recognition from the City and County of San Francisco, the State of California, and awards from numerous organizations including Bay Area Lawyers for Individual Freedom, The GLIDE Center for Social Justice, and the Women’s Foundation of California.
Toni Newman is the Director of The Coalition for Justice and Equality Across Movements and the Acting Director for the Training Center to End the Epidemic at NMAC. She was previously the Interim CEO of the Black AIDS Institute and Interim President of the LYRIC Youth Foundation. She is the Chair of the Board of Directors/Managing Director for TransCanWork, and serves as a Member of the California Black Leadership Council.
Newman was the Interim Director of Employment Services at the SF LGBT Center, Executive Director for St. James Infirmary, and the Director of Development for Maitri Compassionate Care AIDS Hospital. She previously served as the Interim Director of Development and communications at To Help Everyone Health and Wellness Centers and as a Strategic Fundraiser, Volunteer Recruiter, and Legislative Aide for Equality California. Last year she received awards for advocacy from the National Bar Association and The Williams Institute at UCLA. She additionally was awarded the 2024 National Nonprofit Leader of The Year from the Anthem Awards.
Marcel Pardo Ariza (they/he) is a Colombian trans visual artist, educator, and curator. Their work delves into queer and trans kinship through photographs, installations, and public programs developed in close collaboration with performers, artists, educators, policymakers, and organizers. Pardo Ariza’s practice is dedicated to ensuring the dignified presence and visibility of trans people of color and migrants in artistic and cultural spaces.
In 2020, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Pride, they presented Kin Streets, an 18-poster series on Market Street in collaboration with the SFAC and GLBT Historical Society, featuring 60 members of the LGBTQIA+ community. Their project I Am Very Lucky, Very Lucky to Be Trans, created in partnership with 33 trans, intersex, and gender nonconforming leaders from the Bay Area, was recently acquired by SFMOMA’s permanent collection as a significant piece of trans history in San Francisco. Pardo Ariza also curated Juanita MORE!’s 30-year retrospective at the San Francisco Arts Commission Galleries and is currently collaborating with The Transgender District on the HIRE TRANS FOLKS initiative to promote inclusive employment for trans people. Most recently, they organized DRAGFUTURA, SFMOMA’s first drag pageant featuring an all-BIPOC cast of performers. Pardo Ariza also serves on the board of El/La Para Trans Latinas.
Jupiter Peraza is a transgender advocate, community organizer, policymaker, SFSU alum, and DACA recipient. She began community organizing in 2018, focusing on civic engagement and social justice. In 2020, she launched a national virtual phone bank to help defeat Donald Trump, mobilizing hundreds of volunteers. As Director of Social Justice at The Transgender District in 2021, she authored the proclamation declaring August as Transgender History Month in San Francisco. In 2023, she collaborated on HR57 with Assemblymember Matt Haney, Honey Mahogany, and Dr. Susan Stryker, making it official statewide.
In 2022, she wrote the initiation ordinance to landmark the Turk & Taylor streets intersection with San Francisco’s Historic Preservation Commission. She is a Women’s Foundation of California Dr. Solis Policy Institute fellow, she was Senate District 11’s 2022 Woman of the Year, and served on the SF Democratic County Central Committee. She currently sits on OTI’s Transgender Advisory Council and works with California’s Department of Aging, UCSF School of Medicine, and UC Berkeley’s CITRIS Research Institute as Manager of Statewide Coalition at Openhouse, leading California’s first study on the aging experience of LGBTQIA+ older adults. She sits on San Francisco Pride’s Board of Directors, and was recently elected as a delegate to the California Democratic Party representing Assembly District 17.
Maceo Persson is a powerhouse of passion, advocacy, and policy expertise, dedicated to making real change where it matters most. His journey began in Oregon with Basic Rights Oregon, where he played a key role in securing LGBTQ+ inclusive nondiscrimination protections and domestic partnership laws—proof that grassroots power and policy change go hand in hand. After eight years of movement-building in Oregon, he took his talents to California, joining the Transgender Law Center to champion trans-inclusive healthcare policies and strengthen state nondiscrimination laws. Next stop? City Hall. As Director of Communications and External Affairs for San Francisco’s Office of Transgender Initiatives, Persson worked to ensure TGNC voices were not just included but centered in city policies and programs.
Now, Persson continues his mission at the Department of Disability and Aging Services, where he leads special projects that support programs and services for LGBTQ+ older adults and disability communities—ensuring that inclusion and accessibility remain top priorities in San Francisco. Beyond his government work, he served six years as a board member and co-chair of the SF LGBT Center, being the first trans co-chair of the organization. He currently is the Vice President of San Francisco Pride, working hard to ensure that we have a space to educate the world, commemorate our heritage, celebrate our culture, and liberate our people!
Anjali Rimi is a pioneering transgender leader, immigrant rights advocate, and equity champion whose work has transformed countless lives. A proud Kinnar Hindu woman born in India, blossomed in Canada, and belonging in the U.S., she has dedicated her life to uplifting marginalized communities and ensuring dignity, safety, and opportunities for all. As President of the Center for Immigrant Protection, home to The LGBT Asylum Project and ParivarBayArea, Rimi leads groundbreaking efforts to provide legal services and social integration for LGBTQIA+ asylum seekers. She also holds responsibilities as an Equity Officer at San Francisco’s Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing.
Rimi has made history as California’s first transgender Indian civil service officer and the first Indian transgender person recognized at the California State Capitol. She founded the world’s largest trans entrepreneurship program and spearheaded one of the largest global LGBTQIA+ COVID relief efforts, including the SF LGBTQIA+ COVID Relief Coalition. A survivor of violence, hate crimes, and homelessness, Rimi’s journey is one of resilience. Despite facing immense challenges, she earned an MBA and built a 20-year career spanning technology, social services, food & beverage, and fashion. Her leadership and advocacy have earned her numerous accolades, including being named Woman of the Year by the U.S. Congress in 2023.
Jessy Ruiz is a transgender immigrant who was born in Morelia, Michoacán, Mexico. She experienced discrimination there and then lived for 14 years in North Carolina, where the LGBTQ+ community at the time lacked access to support services. In 2017, she arrived in San Francisco, fleeing violence again. Here she found likeminded others as well as organizations and groups with members who saw her potential.
She now works for the Mission Neighborhood Health Center, an organization that provides services to the homeless. She has been a Commissioner on the Immigrant Rights Commission for the past four years and has held leadership roles in organizing marches and rallies. In January 2025, she started the nonprofit Voces Trans Latinx, which works to provide services to the trans and LGBTQ+ communities. Her life and work are deeply connected to the LGBTQ+ community of San Francisco and she continues to fight for a more inclusive and just future.
Honoring Bay Area Transgender Leaders
Published on March 27, 2025
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