As part of the Los Angeles Gay Pride celebration, Trans activist Masen Davis will be honored with the Berman/Schaffer Award.
SOURCE: By Jacob Anderson-Minshall | 6/05/2008 for GayWired
Recognizing his leadership skills in inspiring self-esteem and building strategic partnerships that further the LGBT movement was the reason Davis recieved the award.
Davis, the Executive Director of the San Francisco-based Transgender Law Center, California’s statewide transgender civil rights organization, identifies as a “queer trans guy who wants to get stuff done.” He maintains, the trans community has, “some brilliant people in our community who’ve… done some amazing community work… and have been great at creating support systems… and social spaces.”
“Like most transgender activists,” Davis jokes, “I fell into a lot of the work I’ve
done—because I showed up.” The LGBT activist originally got his start in Chicago in the early 1990s, when he provided crisis counseling for queer survivors of domestic violence and helped victims of discrimination go through civil or administrative proceedings. “I was there for about two and a half years and absolutely loved it, because it was a great opportunity to meet a lot of people and impact lives. It was a dynamic time and a great introduction to the LGBT movement.”
In 2002 he co-founded FTM Alliance of Los Angeles, a nonprofit advocacy organization where Davis served as president of the board and launched the Transgender Leadership Academy and the Community Clinic Campaign, an L.A. initiative to increase health care access for transgender adults
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