Flying Under the Radar?

Photo by Ryan Pfluger 

Connie passed this Amanda Simpson story along:  "The past few months have seen some big moments for transgender rights — from the State of the Union to the Emmys. But, outside the spotlight, there's a quieter progress being made. Hard-working, successful trans leaders are rising in the ranks of government and business — with less fanfare than their celebrity counterparts, but perhaps with even greater impact.
One such person is Amanda Simpson. In 2010, she made history as the first openly trans woman to be appointed by the Obama (or any) administration. Today, she’s the executive director of the U.S. Army Office of Energy Initiatives, where she works to build large-scale renewable energy projects to power Army installations.

It's an interesting place for a transgender woman to work: Simpson is a civilian appointee, but she works for the Army, which, like the entire Department of Defense, bans trans people from serving in uniform. Recently, there have been some inklings that this may change: Ashton Carter, the new Defense Secretary, said last week that he supports allowing transgender people to serve in the military, and the President’s Press Secretary said Obama had an “open mind” about it."

Thanks Connie!!!!