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!!!!

Trans In Fighting in the Pentagon

From the Dallas Voice.Com:


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When “don’t ask, don’t tell” was repealed, gays, lesbians and bisexuals became eligible to serve openly in the military. Transgender people still cannot. But since 2011, trans woman Amanda Simpson (above) has served as special assistant to the assistant secretary of the Army. In 2009, when President Barack Obama named Simpson to a position in the Commerce Department, she became the first trans presidential appointee. While some accused Obama of filling quotas, those Simpson had worked with during her career at Raytheon touted her experience as a test pilot, an engineer and as deputy director in the company’s advanced missiles and unmanned systems product line. But it’s Simpson’s work on trans issues and her care for the LGBT community that endeared her to her Raytheon co-workers. Louise Young, who founded Raytheon’s LGBT employee resource group, credited Simpson with getting gender identity and expression added to the company’s equal opportunity policy. “It’s a delightful irony she’s working with the Army,” Young said. “Amanda is a real trailblazer in many ways.”

For more go here.