Transgender Law Center Staff/Board

Staff
	Masen Davis Executive Director (415) 865-0176 x 301 Masen Davis is a native Midwesterner who has lived the California Dream since 1995. He currently serves as Executive Director of the Transgender Law Center, a civil rights organization advocating for transgender communities. Prior to coming to TLC in 2007, Masen spent six years at United Way of Greater Los Angeles where he managed allocations for 194 agencies, oversaw education/youth grantmaking; and raised more than $5.8 million through foundation and corporate giving. Masen has been an activist in the movement for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality since 1990. His experience includes advocating for LGBT survivors of hate crimes, domestic violence and police misconduct; consulting with education and social service providers to help develop and implement best practice standards for transgender youth; and presenting diversity trainings for police departments in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Chicago. In 2002, Masen co-founded FTM Alliance of Los Angeles, the first Southern California nonprofit dedicated to advocacy within the female-to-male transgender community. He has served in leadership roles for many organizations, including FTM Alliance (Board President, 2002-07); City of West Hollywood’s Transgender Task Force (Vice Chair, 2001-03); National Center for Transgender Equality (Vice Chair, 2005-2007), and Funders for Lesbian and Gay Issues (Board Member, 2007-Present). His work on behalf of transgender equality has earned him awards from the National Association of Social Workers, International Foundation for Gender Education, and UCLA. Masen received his Masters of Social Welfare with a concentration in Nonprofit Management from UCLA, and Bachelor of Arts from Northwestern University.

	Mila Pavlin Operations Manager (415) 865-0176 x 300 Mila is a trans-identified lesbian, who relocated to the bay area with her wife to better connect with the LGBT community. When Mila moved to San Francisco to attend college, she immediately fell in love with the culture and openness the city provided. She brings to the Transgender Law Center a diverse background of skills in business administration, network engineering, digital art and creative “New Media”. Prior to working for TLC, Mila provided office administration to a nonprofit organization that provides services for artists who are developmentally disabled. Working for a nonprofit inspired her and her partner to start their own online media company Trans-Ponder, and provide assistance to members of the transgender community in need of information and support. As a dedicated activist, Mila spends her free time working with local transgender support groups and media allies to provide a positive perspective on the transgender community. She is the co-creator of OCITY for Full Draw Studios, and a member of Prisim Comics. Her illustrative work can be seen on genopunk.com.
	Maceo Persson Community Organizing Consultant (415) 865-0176 Maceo Persson is a queer identified Latino Transman who moved back to California after residing in Oregon for the last 8 years. Before Oregon, Maceo grew up in Sweden and Orange County, CA. Maceo comes to the Transgender Law Center with a background in community and electoral organizing. From 2003-2006, Maceo worked as a staff person at Community Alliance of Lane County organizing specifically on Transgender, Immigrant and Racial justice. From 2006-2008, Maceo worked as a field organizer with Basic Rights Oregon (BRO). Together, with a tremendously skillful team at BRO, he worked to elect fair-minded candidates into the Oregon state government and pass statewide non-discrimination and domestic partnership laws. After his time at BRO, Maceo worked as a field organizer with the No on 8 Campaign, the largest GLBT campaign in the country.
	Alexis Rivera Community Advocate (415) 865-0176 x 304 Alexis Rivera, a proud queer trans-identified woman, was born and raised in Los Angeles. Alexis has been involved in the Transgender community for the past 12 years. She has participated as a Commissioner for the Los Angeles County Commission on HIV/AIDS; was on the founding board of the Female-to-Male Alliance of Los Angeles; and, for the past 5 years, chaired the Transgender Service Provider Network. Alexis is an Alpha member of the League of Trans Unified Sisters (LOTUS). And she has participated and graduated from the HIV Prevention Leadership Internship with The Center of Disease Control (CDC) in Atlanta. She recently has moved to San Francisco to join TLC. Due to her many affiliations, Alexis has received several awards, including: the Trailblazer Award; the Latino Caucus on HIV Prevention Leadership Award; the Spirit Award; and was named Miss Quest, 2002. In describing her commitment and passion for her community, she states, “My activism is rooted from love.”
	Morgan Weinert Policy Intern (415) 865-0176 x 305 Morgan Weinert is a genderqueer social justice activist from Seattle, WA. He is in his fourth and final year at UC Berkeley where he majors in Latin American Studies. His extracurricular activities include teaching a class on Female Sexuality, facilitating the transgender group on campus, and acting as social manager at his co-op. In his spare time, Morgan is a photographer (nakedeyephotography.com), performs as a drag king, and enjoys music and art. In his internship at TLC, Morgan will be assisting with safe bathroom and school access, transgender leadership development, and planning for the 2009 Leadership Summit. He plans on making social justice activism into a career and dedicating his life to creating an inclusive, equitable society for all.
	Kristina Wertz Legal Director (415) 865-0176 x 302 As Legal Director Kristina provides legal counsel to transgender people and their families throughout California as well as providing technical assistance to lawyers assisting transgender clients. Kristina oversees many of TLC’s public policy advocacy programs, including, leadership development, health care access, economic empowerment, student safety, and bathroom access. She conducts trainings for community members, employers, attorneys, social service providers, health care providers and other institutions. Prior to her role at TLC, Kristina practiced as a civil rights litigator at the Epstein Group in San Francisco. During her time there, she focused on employment discrimination and housing rights for a diverse clientele. As an attorney, Kristina has worked as a legal advocate for people with disabilities, workers, victims of domestic violence, renters and recipients of public benefits. Kristina has a B.A. from New York University and a J.D. from Brooklyn Law School. During her law school years, Kristina was awarded an Edward V. Sparer Public Interest Fellowship and a fellowship from the Brooklyn Law Students for the Public Interest and served as the chairperson of Outlaws, Brooklyn Law School's LGBT student organization.
	Matt Wood Staff Attorney (415) 865-0135 x 303 Matt Wood joined the Transgender Law Center as Staff Attorney in April 2009. Prior to working at TLC, Matt was an associate at a small civil litigation firm in San Francisco that served the LGBT community, and worked in development for the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission. Matt received his J.D. from Golden Gate University School of Law in 2007, and holds a B.A. from Tufts University, an M.A. from the College of William and Mary, and Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota in American Studies. Matt is currently on the Board of Directors for Bay Area Lawyers for Individual Freedom (BALIF), the Bay Area LGBT bar association. Matt is a past board member of the LGBT Historical Society of Northern California, the San Francisco Human Rights Commission LGBT Advisory Committee, and the California State Bar Committee on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Discrimination. Matt is an avid hiker, yogi, and passionate baseball fan.