Theresa Sparks facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Theresa Sparks
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Theresa Sparks in April 2010
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| Born | April 8, 1949 |
| Education | Engineering, Kansas State University |
| Occupation | CEO, Good Vibrations; president, San Francisco Police Commission |
| Spouse(s) | twice divorced |
| Children | one daughter and two sons |
Theresa Sparks is an American transgender woman who has done a lot of important work in San Francisco. She is the Executive Director of the San Francisco Human Rights Commission. This group works to protect everyone's rights. She was also a candidate for a local government position called San Francisco Supervisor.
Theresa Sparks used to be the president of the San Francisco Police Commission. This group helps oversee the police department. She is known as one of San Francisco's most famous transgender women. In 2008, she was a Grand Marshal in the San Francisco Pride Parade, which celebrates LGBTQ+ people.
Sparks is also a member of the board for the Horizons Foundation. This group helps support LGBTQ+ causes. She is a Navy veteran and an engineer.
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Early Life and Journey
Theresa Sparks was born on April 8, 1949, in Kansas City, Kansas. She grew up there. Theresa was born a boy but felt like a girl from a very young age. She tried to hide these feelings as she grew up.
She went to Kansas State University and earned a degree in engineering. After college, she served in the United States Navy. Later, she managed companies that handled waste management and recycling. She even invented two new recycling methods!
Theresa married her first wife in 1971. They had three children: two sons and a daughter. After nine years, Theresa told her wife that she wanted to live as a woman. They later divorced. Theresa married again, but that marriage also ended.
Theresa tried different ways to feel more comfortable with herself. Finally, she decided to embrace her gender identity. She later said, "You discover that the only way to live with it is to transition physically so your physical appearance matches how you feel about yourself." This means she changed her outward appearance to match how she felt inside.
Moving to San Francisco
By 1997, Theresa Sparks moved to San Francisco. She felt this city would be a good place to live as a woman. San Francisco is known for being very welcoming to transgender people.
Even there, Theresa faced challenges. She had 20 years of experience in waste management. But she struggled to find a job as a woman. She applied for over 100 jobs without success. To avoid becoming homeless, she worked as a cab driver, bank teller, and census taker.
Becoming an Activist
Soon after arriving in San Francisco, Theresa became very involved in local politics. She was frustrated by the problems transgender people faced. These included job and housing discrimination, violence, police harassment, and a lack of affordable healthcare.
She helped create a group of transgender activists. They worked to convince the San Francisco Board of Supervisors to make changes. In 1999, they formed the Transgender Political Caucus (TPC). This group worked to elect leaders who would support transgender civil rights.
Theresa became the leader of an activist group called TG Rage. In 1999, she organized the very first Transgender Day of Remembrance. This event remembers transgender people who lost their lives due to violence. It started in San Francisco and is now held around the world every November.
Public Service Roles
In 2000, Theresa's activism led to a new city group. Supervisor Mark Leno created the Transgender Civil Rights Implementation Task Force. Theresa was a founding member. A year later, Theresa and Mark helped create better medical benefits for city workers with Gender dysphoria. This was the first government policy of its kind in the country. It helped cover costs for hormone therapy.
In 2001, Mayor Willie Brown appointed Theresa to lead the LGBT Advisory Committee. This was part of the San Francisco Human Rights Commission. She was the first transgender person ever appointed to this commission. Theresa used her position to push for new training for police officers. This training teaches them how to treat transgender people respectfully. The San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) agreed to this program in 2001. She served on the commission for eight years.
On June 16, 2016, San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee appointed Theresa as a senior advisor. Her role was to help with transgender initiatives.
Police Commission Work
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors was impressed with Theresa's public service. They appointed her as a police commissioner. She was sworn in on April 30, 2004. She served as the commission's vice president for two years.
On May 9, 2007, Theresa Sparks made history again. She was elected president of the San Francisco Police Commission. She won by just one vote! This made her the first transgender person ever to be elected president of any San Francisco commission. She became San Francisco's highest-ranking transgender official.
Cecilia Chung, a leader from the Transgender Law Center, praised Theresa. She said Theresa "defines trailblazer" and that her election was a huge step for transgender people. She noted that Theresa's work opens doors for many others.
Woman of the Year Award
In 2003, Theresa Sparks became the first transgender woman to be named "Woman of the Year" by the California State Assembly. Assemblyman Mark Leno, her friend and fellow activist, chose her for this award. He wanted to honor her work for the LGBT community. He also wanted to help people understand a new civil rights bill.
This bill, Assembly Bill 196, became law later that year. It made it illegal to discriminate against people in jobs or housing because they are transgender. It also protected against discrimination based on stereotypes about gender.
A TV talk show host, Jay Leno, made jokes about Theresa's award. Many people, including the National Transgender Advocacy Coalition (NTAC), were upset. They said his comments were disrespectful. The NTAC also pointed out that he used male pronouns when talking about Theresa.
Later, Jay Leno apologized for his comments to Mark Leno. This situation showed how important it is to use respectful language when talking about people's identities.
Awards and Honors
- Honor Roll of LGBT Elected and Appointed Officials, Horizons Foundation (2004)
- Community Service Award, Alice B. Toklas LGBT Democratic Club (2001)
- Honorary Grand Marshal, San Francisco Pride (2001)
See also
- LGBT culture in San Francisco
- List of transgender public officeholders in the United States
