activism and service
Susan considers her wide-ranging efforts to develop resources for the field of transgender studies to be a form of intellectual activism that helps change power/knowledge relationships on a topic of vital contemporary concern. She serves on a number of boards and committees related to this work, including the co-editorial team of the book series ASTERISK (gender, trans-, and all that comes after).
She has a persistent interest in harnessing the story of the 1966 Compton’s Cafeteria Riot to ongoing social justice efforts in San Francisco’s Tenderloin and participates in a variety of projects that work to link the legacy of militant trans resistance against oppressive social conditions to contemporary activist concerns.
In recent years, Susan has focused on service activities with historical organizations and museums. She serves as National Co-Chair of the GLBT Historical Society Museum Advisory Committee and is an Advisory Board Member for San Francisco’s Tenderloin Museum, as well as a member of the Scholars Advisory Committee for the Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum. From 2021-2023 she served on the Board of Trustees of the New York-based American LGBTQ+ Museum.