Martin Rawlings-Fein

Martin Rawlings-Fein (pictured between JoAnne Keatley and Lou Sullivan's sister, Maryellen Handley) is at the forefront of the effort to bring jobs to the transgender communities with the Transgender Economic Empowerment Initiative (TEEI). TEEI is the nation's first coordinated, public and private effort to transform the economic health of transgender people and their families. Martin is one of the former organizers of San Francisco Transgender Empowerment and Advocacy (SFTEAM) the all-volunteer project, sponsored by the LGBT Center, that brought disparate parts of the transgender community together to engage in empowerment and mentoring through TEEI.

Martin’s commitment to being a representative for community voices has been as constant as his community service. In 2002, he was one of the newly elected board members of FTM International that assisted in the creation, editing and distribution of Assessing the Needs of Female-to-Male Transgendered People of Color and their Partners. In 2006, Martin was appointed to the San Francisco Human Rights Commission's LGBT Advisory Committee and during his three successive terms led the Native American Issues Work Group to the publication of Discrimination by Omission: Issues of Concern for Native Americans in San Francisco in August of 2007 and is leading the Bisexual Invisibility Work Group to the eventual publication of a similar report. As a member, his work has supported policy that affects all San Franciscans regardless of age, race or ability.

In 2006, Martin spearheaded the founding of the Lou Sullivan Society, an organization that strives to keep the life and spirit of Louis Graydon Sullivan alive in the hearts and minds of transgender, transsexual and genderqueer men through providing information, support, community building, education and advocacy for Female to Male persons and their loved ones. In early 2007, with his two-year-old in tow, Martin joined the Mamas and Papas, an LGBTQ parenting support group, and led the organization to a merger with Our Family Coalition the largest local lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) family organization in the country.

In 2008, Martin created a media production company called A Fein Mess, and through his media work strives to bring a voice to the communities that he has been a part of and worked with for many years. Through his film, web and television work Martin has advocated for human rights through the sharing of stories and insights that can only come from the heart.

Clocked: An Oral History

The film Clocked: An Oral History is the story of transgender life through personal insights, stories and reflections on the meaning of community and being trans. Clocked grew out of a conversation with a friend about taking oral histories from transgender elders. Once filming started, the project quickly gained a life of its own.Eventually the film was shown at the Lou Sullivan Society, Congregation Sha'ar Zahav, on AccesSF and in other local outlets.

"What a wonderful, moving story of their individual triumph of simply "becoming who they were" in an otherwise intolerant world."
- Randolfe Wicker, Filmmaker

Ger: Choosing to be Chosen

Ger (Hebrew for "stranger" or "proselyte") is the examination of those who are converts to Judaism and identify as LGBT or queer. The participants of this project come from across the boundaries of familial, socioeconomic, ethnic, and racial backgrounds and traditional movements to give insight into the process of conversion. Ger takes a look into the lives of LGBT Jews by Choice to find the intersection between Jewish and queer identity.

Agency

Agency is a broadcast interview show that focuses on personal stories and reflections about enacting change through spiritual, political, literary or cultural agency. From the San Francisco Human Rights Commission's LGBT Advisory Committee to the personal journey of a local gay Jew by Choice, the options for cultural change and agency are endless. Watch Agency on AccesSF, cable channel 29, the third Sunday of the month at 8:30 PM.

Etz Chaim

Etz Chaim (or Tree of Life) is an interview show that focuses on personal stories and reflections about Judaism, its intersections with queer community, and the organizations that serve both Jewish and queer communities. The show airs at 6:00 pm on the second and fourth Sunday of the month on AccesSF.

AccesSF is the dba of San Francisco Community Television Corporation (SFCTC), which currently has 300+ producer members submit 225+ regular series for playback each month. Annually, the station cablecasts 5,000+ hours of original local programming on Cable Channel 29, which reaches into 217,000+ households across all neighborhoods on both Comcast and RCN cable.