Post-Doctoral Scholar
Affiliated with UCSF since 2004, Jae is committed to collaborative and innovative research in pursuit of the elimination of health disparities experienced by transgender communities and the improvement of medical and social treatment of transgender people.
What she likes about working at UCSF
I enjoy the collaborative spirit and the passion and support of my colleagues and mentors. I am proud of UCSF’s commitment to diversity and the development of future leaders, and that UC has taken progressive steps in ensuring opportunity and equality for transgender staff and faculty. |
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Center for AIDS Prevention Studies
School of Medicine
jae.sevelius@ucsf.edu
Work Address:
50 Beale Street, Suite 1300
San Francisco CA 94105
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How Jae is OUT, IN the UCSF Community
I am very out as a genderqueer person, someone who experiences myself as both masculine and feminine, sometimes simultaneously, sometimes alternately, and I always feel most seen by people who can comfortably recognize me as both and use both sets of pronouns to address me. I often find myself serving as a bridge between various communities, connecting trans people in the community to resources and connecting co-workers and faculty to information about trans people and issues faced by trans communities.
How Jae is OUT, IN the community
I perform as a drag king at various community events and benefits for local organizations, such as SF TEAM (Transgender Empowerment, Advocacy, and Mentorship) and United Genders of the Universe, as well as benefits to support the work of local queer filmmakers and performance artists. As my drag king persona, Jay Walker, I am known for performing a wide range of queer masculinities, as I think it is important and affirming to explore and pay homage to diversity in expressions of gender and sexuality in performance art generated by and for queer communities.
How she defines community
A community is a group of people with common interests, goals, experiences, values, and/or beliefs. A strong community has enough solidarity to allow its members the freedom to question those shared beliefs and values, and evolves along with the inquiries and inspirations of its members.
Communities with which Jae identifies
Trans, genderqueer, queer, drag, performance artists, academics, and Buddhists.
What she considers her most OUTstanding, INcredible achievement:
I am still in awe that somehow I have been able to manifest my dream job: writing and thinking about the issues that I am most passionate about, working with people who are brilliant and inspiring, at a university world-renowned for its leadership and vision.
Her role models
JoAnne Keatley, for her undying passion and dedication to advocating for her communities, and her ability to do it all with a sense of humor and camaraderie. Alice Dreger for her brilliant insights regarding medical and social treatment of socially challenging bodies. Cheryl Chase for taking a personal struggle and channeling it into a revolution for many intersex people who have historically been silenced, shamed, and mistreated.
How Jae would change UCSF to improve the quality of life for LGBT people
I would advocate for more resources and education around intersex issues. I feel if we are going to include the ‘I’ in our vision of our community, this should not be simple lip-service or an effort to be politically correct. To be truly inclusive, we need to start examining how UCSF truly supports and advocates for intersex people and the proper medical management of intersex conditions.
How she would change the LGBT community
I would encourage the people with privilege in our community, the not-yet disabled, those not of color, the ones that have not experienced poverty or violence, to step out of their comfort zone and truly take interest and learn about those in our community that are different from themselves. Too often I see transgender people and queer people of color being treated as an afterthought, even a burden to queer people with the privilege of money and social status.
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