Cecilia Chung is a national transgender rights, HIV/AIDS awareness, LGBTQ+ allyship, and social justice activist from Hong Kong who immigrated to California with her family. She later made a home for herself in San Francisco where her service and advocacy amongst various community interest groups.

She has continuously made space for Asian American transgender folks, as well as those who live with HIV/AIDS. Cecilia Chung was the first Asian American on the Board of Directors of the San Francisco Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Celebration, and the first to openly live with HIV with the San Francisco Human Rights Commission. Her extensive work within the LGBTQ+ space has allowed her to amplify the voices of others, as well as educate non-LGBTQ+ folks who are looking to better support their neighbors, family, and friends.

While she has made a positive impact for many in recent years, her positivity was prefaced by struggles for understanding, work discrimination, and other adversities as a direct result of her identity and expression. Over time, she was able to overcome these challenges to become the icon she is today—winning numerous awards for her advocacy, meeting with prominent figures worldwide, and continuing to spread a message of support, understanding, and change.

In this episode of Asian Voices Radio, our host Hula Ramos and co-host Linda Schwartz create a space for Cecilia Chung’s personal experiences and advice for those of the LGBTQ+ communities and its allies. Together they explore Ms. Chung’s work, how to better understand and show up for one another, and what we can do to amplify the voices of our community.

Learn more about Cecilia Chung and her work by visiting her website http://www.ceciliachung.com/.

Did you enjoy this episode? Listen to Episode 2: Chong Kim, a survivor of sex trafficking who has now become a national activist for human trafficking and survivorship.