San Francisco Creates Position Dedicated to Transgender Issues

San Francisco has become what's believed to be the first city in the country to create a position dedicated to transgender issues.

Mayor Ed Lee announced Thursday morning that Theresa Sparks will be appointed to the newly created post of senior adviser for transgender initiatives.

“We should be adding more protections to prevent discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities in the United States, not taking them away,” Lee said in a statement.

The move comes amid a larger national battle over the rights of transgender individuals.

Several weeks ago, 11 states filed a lawsuit against the Obama administration over its directive that public schools allow students to use the bathroom that corresponds to their gender identity. That came after North Carolina passed a law requiring people to use restrooms that correspond to the gender of their birth certificate.

"San Francisco must lead the fight against this inequity,” Lee said.

Sparks will be charged with creating and implementing policies to help the transgender community in San Francisco.

In an interview she said the new position will help lead the way for transgender rights across the nation.

“It recognizes San Francisco in a leadership role in this community,” Sparks said. “We've been in that position for many years, but this really, really puts it on the front burner.”

Sparks currently serves as the executive director of the city's Human Rights Commission and was previously the president of the city’s Police Commission. In 2010 she lost a bid to become city's first transgender member of the Board of Supervisors.

One of her first tasks will be to look at where the city lacks in services that could help transgender people. Sparks says she wants to expand violence prevention programs and trauma counseling.

“The transgender community, and to a certain extent the LGBT community, are filled with people who are experiencing severe trauma based on violence, based on current events, based on discrimination and based on bias,” Sparks said.

Rebecca Rolfe, the executive director of the city's LGBT Community Center, said Sparks is ready to take on the new job.

“She is very well situated to be able to both understand what the critical needs are and then be able to work within the city system to figure out the most effective and impactful way to get those needs addressed,” Rolfe said.

The position is believed to be the first of its kind, according to the Washington, D.C.-based National Center for Transgender Equality.

Sparks starts her new job on July 1 and will earn around $187,000 a year, the same salary she receives at the Human Rights Commission.