Having a social life is no easy task for longtime transgender activist Cecilia Chung.
So when Pride Week arrives, it is probably appropriate that Chung will be able to mix a little recreation in with business as usual in her role as community grand marshal.
"I have been single since 2002. My busy schedule makes me a less-than-ideal candidate for a relationship," she said. "Hopefully, as more leadership emerges from the community, I will be able to relax more and focus on my personal life such as spending more time with friends and family, whom I love very much," she said.
Her busy life – at work and being an activist – doesn't mean the idea of having a partner is totally out of the question.
"If and when that ever happens, it would probably be love at first sight as I am a hopeless romantic." Until then, the 40-year-old transgender woman is a common face at rallies, political events, and other gatherings promoting issues vital to the LGBT community.
Her involvement left no doubt as to why her name was at the top of the list when the Pride board set about naming community grand marshals.
Yet, despite all of her work and accomplishments, Chung remains humble at her selection.
"I'm flattered. It's really not about whether I would get elected as grand marshal, but to know that I have so much support from the community is the best gift I ever received," she told the Bay Area Reporter.
Chung said she viewed her opportunity to head up the celebration as a chance to represent her community and speak on messages of inclusion. She promised to use the platform to "educate the lesbian, gay and bisexual community about who the transgender community really is."
"Being chosen as a grand marshal is definitely an honor but more importantly, it is an opportunity to educate the LGBTIQQ communities on how diverse we are," Chung said. "I applaud San Francisco Pride, its membership, and the community at large in their continuing effort to support leadership in communities of color, to promote gender parity by selecting grand marshals that reflect some of the current issues faced by all of us."
Along with her battle to fight for transgender rights, Chung, who is HIV-positive, is also in the forefront helping people living with the virus.
Chung is a resident of the Excelsior District where she relocated shortly after arriving with her family from Hong Kong in 1984.
Yes, that makes her an activist for immigrants' rights, especially more so now that the debate has reached a national level of controversy.
When not fighting for a cause, Chung is employed as deputy director of the Transgender Law Center and is a San Francisco Human Rights commissioner.
She was a member of the Transgender Discrimination Task Force in 1994 that led to a groundbreaking report by the HRC. She was elected board president of SF Pride in 2001; was one of the producers of the Trans March, one of San Francisco's largest transgender events; and in 2005 produced the first ever trans stage at Pride.
She points to her years of experience working for various causes close to her and others and her first-hand knowledge and experience as pluses that may point to an optimistic future where total inclusion is a reality instead of a goal.
"It's been a privilege to bring the voices of many disenfranchised communities I identity with to the planning process on all levels – at Pride, on the Human Rights Commission, on the board of API [Asian and Pacific Islander] Wellness Center, in national conferences.
"Being a transsexual woman, and a person of color, an immigrant, a person living with HIV, and a person in recovery means that I have to continue to balance my many identities and to bridge the many communities that I represent. Through my many years of activism and involvements, I am grateful to see how they all come together, not to mention the alliances and friendships I've gained."
Chung is most proud of the trans stage at the Pride festival.
"This year marks the second year of the transgender pavilion and stage at Pride and I believe is one of many fruits that my advocacy bears."
She also sees inclusion as a goal.
"After organizing Trans March for the last two years, I realized that it is just as important to promote inclusion. Separatism such as Trans March and Dyke March serves a purpose. It creates an identity and visibility. But inclusion represents a stronger voice as diverse communities are represented in the movement of equality and human rights," she said.
But with that in mind, Chung said she is aware there is still a long way to go and a lot of work to be done, despite the headway being made here in San Francisco.
"There are many issues faced by the community at large but the root of all issues stems from intolerance and stigma," she said.
"It's been 40 years since the riot at Compton's Cafeteria and 25 years since the first AIDS cases. As a city, we continue to see the same challenges faced by our predecessors – classism, immigration reforms, unemployment and underemployment, disparity in healthcare, and racism, just to name a few."
Her work helps in that effort. TLC is a civil rights organization that advocates for the transgender community and connects transgender people and their families to technically sound and culturally competent legal services. The center provides an outlet to increase the acceptance and enforcement of laws and policies that support California's transgender communities. It strives to change laws and systems that fail to incorporate the needs and experiences of transgender people.
Chung took issue with the current administration in Washington.
"There are conservatives who are waiting patiently to rob our rights and if we continue to allow complacency to consume us, many of our victories will be lost," she said. "Let's not forget that we have an extremely conservative government who only needs one constitutional amendment to take away our many rights."