San Francisco Mayor London Breed has named Honey Mahogany as the new director of the city’s Office of Transgender Initiatives (OTI).
“Right now, across the country, our Transgender and LGBTQ+ culture and community is under attack, but in San Francisco we continue to embrace and celebrate the amazing individuals and organizations who through their advocacy and art have contributed to our history around social justice and equity,” Breed said.
Mahogany, a San Francisco native, has spent more than two decades advocating for justice and equity for LGBTQ+ community members, according to the mayor. After receiving her master’s in social work from UC Berkeley, Mahogany advocated for initiatives to benefit the needs of HIV positive residents, people of color, youth, and the unhoused population. She was also instrumental in bringing the city’s Transgender District to fruition as a co-founder and served as its first executive director.
“Honey Mahogany is a proven champion and in her new role will work to advance San Francisco’s values of inclusion that will inspire communities everywhere and future generations,” Breed said. “I look forward to partnering with Honey to ensure our City continues to be a place of acceptance, fairness, and opportunities for all.”
Mahogany is also a founding queen of Drag Story Hour, co-organized the Drag Up!, Fight Back! March in 2023, and played a critical role in saving San Francisco gay bar The Stud, according to the mayor’s office. She is a co-owner of The Stud, a co-founder of the Stud Collective and a member of its board. She also competed on Season 5 of “RuPaul’s Drag Race.”
“I am grateful to Mayor Breed for the opportunity to take on this role in this first of its kind office, and to fight for my community at this pivotal time in our nation’s history.” Honey Mahogany, Office of Transgender Initiatives director
“I am grateful to Mayor Breed for the opportunity to take on this role in this first of its kind office, and to fight for my community at this pivotal time in our nation’s history,” said Mahogany in a statement released by the mayor’s office. “After two decades of community-based work and legislative experience, I look forward to leveraging all I have learned over the years in service of this office and the entire transgender, gender non-conforming, intersex, and 2-spirit (TGNCI2S) community.”
Mahogany previously worked as the community mental health director at Contra Costa County’s Rainbow Community Center, as an outreach and residential counselor for Larkin Street Youth Services, and as district director and chief of staff for state Assemblymember Matt Haney when he was a San Francisco supervisor. She was also the chair of the San Francisco Democratic Party.
Her advocacy work earned her commendations from the city and county of San Francisco and the state of California, as well as earning her awards from organizations like Bay Area Lawyers for Individual Freedom, GLIDE, Harvey Milk Democratic Club, San Francisco PRIDE, the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, and the Women’s Foundation of California, among other groups.