Eli Erlick
“For me, becoming an organizer wasn’t a choice,” says Eli Erlick, who revealed she was both trans and queer at eight. “I was facing a lot of violence in my rural hometown [Willits, California] and couldn’t attend school without harassment or threats. I had to do something.” That “something” was, at 16, co-founding Trans Student Educational Resources (TSER), a national organization devoted to changing the educational experience for transgender students. “I used this platform to help build a network of young trans activists, create educational material, and institute policy locally, statewide and across the country,” Erlick says. She has also written (and been the subject of) trans-related articles, and was instrumental in getting California’s School Success and Opportunity Act passed. Since January 1, 2014, the Act has been helping schools provide a positive educational environment for trans students. “Often, trans leaders are scared to express our queerness due to the politics of respectability,” Erlick says. “However, I hope that through my own openness about my identities, I can inspire others to have critical conversations around our community and gender expressions.” Next month, TSER will host its second annual Trans Youth Leadership Summit. Learn more at www.transstudent.org/tyls. —GH
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