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Alexis Marie Rivera

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Alexis Marie Rivera was a transgender advocate and the first Case Manager and first Program Director for the Childrens Hospital's transgender youth services program in Los Angeles.[1] Alexis was instrumental in the early development of social services targeting the transgender community in Los Angeles in the 1990's and early 2000's, and later statewide programs in the late 2000's.[1]

Early life

Alexis was born and raised Los Angeles, California, and began working doing street outreach to transgender women as a teen.[2] She was hired at Children's Hospital Los Angeles initially as a general health educator, but began increasingly to focus on transgender youth who came to CHLA's Adolescent Medicine division. As a young woman, Alexis Rivera was also the first winner of Los Angeles long running Quest transgender advocacy pageant in 2002.[3]

Transgender youth advocate

Alexis helped build and grow the US's first transgender youth services program at Children's Hospital Los Angeles from 1999 to 2007. She was also helped coordinate efforts to establish a network of social services for transgender people in Los Angeles, serving as a commissioner of the Los Angeles County HIV/AIDS Commission, a chair of the Transgender Services Provider Network, and a founding board member of FTM Alliance of Los Angeles (later Gender Justice LA), the first transgender led non profit organization in the region.[1]

Statewide advocacy

In 2007, Alexis joined the Transgender Law Center as a Policy Advocate[4]. In this position, Alexis led the organizations statewide Health Care Access Project, which helped open clinics serving transgender people all over California. Alexis also helped train community members for California's first statewide Transgender Advocacy Day in 2010.[5]

Death

Alexis died on March 28, 2012 from complications related to HIV/AIDS. After her death, Alexis was memorialized in a mural in Clarion Alley in San Francisco's Mission District.[6] In Los Angeles, the transgender pride festival has named its award recognizing transgender advocates the "Alexis Rivera Trailblazer Award" [7][8]

References