With a nationwide rise in anti-transgender sentiment and a federal government stoking the flames, local leaders say supporting the LGBTQ+ community is more necessary than ever.
The federal administration has targeted the LGBTQ+ community, issuing orders against transgender athletes and gender affirming care, and suggesting same-sex marriage could be overturned. Amid the unrest, the Santa Clara County Office of LGBTQ Affairs has cultivated support and empowerment for residents from inside the county government. The office opened January 2016 and was the brainchild of Ken Yeager, former San Jose councilmember and Santa Clara County supervisor and the city and county’s first openly gay elected official.
Manager Sera Fernando said the office provides leadership and support for the county’s LGBTQ+ communities by advising on policies, researching for reports on the community, connecting people with resources and other forms of outreach.
“We’re here when you need us, but we’re also here when your friends and family need us, we’re also here when your coworkers need us,” Fernando told San José Spotlight.
She said her office partners with service providers, compiles recommendations and advocates for LGBTQ+ services. The office advised in the creation of Valley Medical Center’s Gender Health Center, which provides specialized, gender affirming health care for county residents.
Representatives from the LGBTQ affairs office plan to attend and host dozens of community events in the near future, such as an upcoming symposium on LGBTQ+ immigrants. June and August are especially busy for Fernando and her team, as they attend as many Pride events as possible.
The office is hosting its LGBTQ+ Summit in October, and Fernando said this year’s theme is “Together We Rise,” to inspire the next generation of leaders.
“We need more LGBTQ+ leaders, we need more storytellers, we need more advocates,” she told San José Spotlight. “As LGBTQ+ people, we will never be erased, we are not going back.”
Yeager said the office’s impact has been broader than he expected when it was formed. A video on Queer Silicon Valley memorializes the emotional moment when Yeager motioned for the office’s creation.
“Before the office was created, there was not a single person and certainly no department that was responsible for dealing with LGBTQ issues,” Yeager told San José Spotlight. “All of the programs they’ve been able to start, all of the activities, all of the literature, all the interventions that the office has done for the last 10 years, is really quite remarkable.”
Yeager said the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors and executive leadership fully support the office, which has helped it expand from a team of two people to four — and has allowed them to gather more feedback across the county. That’s visible through the local government’s actions, as the Mercury News reported Wednesday that County Executive Director James Williams recommended carving out $1.27 million from the county budget for the Gender Health Center amid federal cuts to gender-affirming care.
County officials created the office following a 2013 LGBTQ+ community health assessment, which found stark disparities and showed the need for targeted support. The office has since spearheaded reports on the transgender community, older adults and youth.
Fernando said they’re planning another study on the LGBTQ+ community’s status and needs compared to the 2013 report.
“New data is always good and this is why we want to do an evaluation to make sure people have the resources they need,” Fernando said. “2013? Totally different environment to where we are in 2025.”
Dozens of attendees at Bill Wilson Center’s Trans Pride event on Wednesday stopped by the LGBTQ+ affairs office’s table to learn more about its work and resources available for LGBTQ+ people in Santa Clara County. Jeffery Thomas, president of the Foothill College Gay Straight Alliance, said he connected with the county’s Q Corner behavioral health program through the office’s recommendation.
“They have so many resources available to just use,” Thomas told San José Spotlight. “I think at every level, there needs to be some kind of resources.”
Dana TherActivist Johnson, an LGBTQ+ activist and LGBTQ+ commissioner for San Mateo County, has known about and worked alongside the office since it launched in 2016. They said the team’s growth gave them the bandwidth to engage with more of the community.
Johnson said it’s “amazing” how the office has driven support for the community, noting the progress pride flag and transgender flag fly over the county building every day of the year.
“For someone who does identify as trans and nonbinary, being able to know I’m going to be seen and heard as who I am is affirming, in front of people who are trying to erase me,” Johnson told San José Spotlight. “Something as simple as seeing the flag, it’s amazing.”
Contact B. Sakura Cannestra at [email protected] or @SakuCannestra on X.
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