San Francisco continued setting standards in equality and inclusivity Thursday by becoming the first big city to appoint a senior adviser for transgender initiatives.
Mayor Ed Lee announced that former police commissioner and longtime executive director of the Human Rights Commission, Theresa Sparks, will take the position as the city puts a greater emphasis on transgender equality issues.
"A lot of it will be overseeing and coordinating existing programs that we have and making sure they're effective and doing a gap analysis to see what we’re missing," Sparks said.
Lee said that with the issues surfacing in North Carolina and Mississippi over basic rights such as toilet use, his office felt an adviser offering guidance on equality for the LGBTQ community on such issues was the right move.
"I think this is approproriate for Pride month," Lee said.
Said Sparks: "Even before this appointment came out but since Sunday, we have been contacted by a number of jurisdictions."
Sparks begins work in her new position on July 1.
