When Yavanté Thomas-Guess walks into a room you know it, full of ideas and a sense of wit and charm, he is a real force with which to be reckoned. He is a co-chair of San Francisco Transgender Empowerment, Advocacy, and Mentorship (SF TEAM), a member of San Francisco’s HIV Prevention Planning Council, where he represents the African American trans community, a seminal member of the Transgender Issues Subcommittee of the UCSF Chancellor's GLBT Committee and a proud Reform Jew.
Thomas-Guess is a driven man with a deep connection with the Divine. Born into a mixed family, he has an African American and Sephardi Jewish mother and a Cherokee and African American father. Of his family he says, "I didn't grow as a mixed race person because my family never used labels to describe who we were or are. Self pride was established from the beginning...we were never forced to go one way or another." This self pride is what carried Thomas-Guess to be come a prolific leader in the trans community. Though the road to leadership was more of a meandering path than a straight line.
Thomas-Guess started his transition from Female-to-Male in the late 1990s, on the job at a local Mission employment agency, but quickly felt uncomfortable with being seen as the "obvious next step in grasping for happiness" of a stone butch. He got a job working at an internet company where, "No one knew anything about me being a female... I didn’t out myself. My goal was to be a man." Eventually, he found his way to working at UCSF with the Center of Excellence for Transgender Health (CoE) where he has thrown open his self imposed closet doors to help people in need.
The dual concepts of L'Dor V'Dor, from generation to generation, and Tikun Olam, repairing the world, drive Yavanté to be the best human being he can, and when asked about his insights on the human condition he stated, "My faith keeps me grounded and invested in making this world better. It reminds me daily that my life is not my own. It belongs to the people that struggled before me, and the ones that will come after I’m gone. I hope their lives will be better because I lived." He grasps the impact that his life affords both the world and the next generation in a truly profound way.
One way his impact has been felt is through SF TEAM's collaborative partnership with Jewish Vocational Services (JVS). the Transgender Law Center (TLC) and the San Francisco LGBT Community Center with their Transgender Economic Empowerment Initiative (TEEI). TEEI was the first ever employment collaborative to assist transgender people in finding sustainable work and economic advancement through trainings, networking, and mentoring. Thomas-Guess started his transgender career, of sorts, working for the collaborative as their Transgender Economic Development Coordinator. From there he went on to become involved with SF TEAM and their mentoring and empowerment projects and became their co-chair.
Through it all he has been the same person that his parents raised. He states simply, "I've realized that the female I was, has helped me to become the man that I am. I contribute many of my personal attributes to my female being and allowing that previous person to influence who I am today." While some Female-to-Male trans people go to great lengths to hide their previous lives as women, Thomas-Guess integrates the many aspects of his journey through gender for a more holistic approach.
When asked about the legacy that he wishes to leave the world, Thomas-Guess responds, "I’m trying to create a legacy of realness and positivity...the concept of 'paying it forward.' I strongly believe that for every blessing you receive, you owe one to someone less fortunate than yourself. This debt can be paid in so many ways, time and effort, monetarily, a smile, kind words, etc..." His positivity is contagious, whether sitting with him in a conference room or at an outdoor cafe he is truly a thoughtful and authentic Jewish man.
Comments