Dr. Jamison Green Presents at Bill Smith Memorial Lecture

Dr. Jamison Green spoke on law, medicine, and the transgender community at the 13th Annual Bill F. Smith Memorial Lecture on October 9. Sponsored by the Lambda Law Students, the event also included the presentation of the organization's Faculty/Professor of the Year award to King Hall's Assistant Dean of Admission and Financial Aid Kristen Mercado. David Canela '16 was honored with the Bill Smith Memorial Public Interest Fellowship.

The Bill Smith lecture honors the memory of Bill Smith '98, who died in 2001.  While at King Hall, Smith was the president of the Lambda Law Students, won the Martin Luther King, Jr. Service Award, and worked on behalf of LGBT and disability-oriented civil rights.  Upon graduation, he practiced employment and family law. As part of this year's event, Holly S. Cooper, Associate Director of the UC Davis School of Law Immigration Law Clinic and a member of the King Hall Class of 1998, shared memories of Smith.

Dr. Green, a leader in the transgender rights movement, spoke about his transition during the 1980s, and the effect that this had on his political and person life. He discussed the influences of medicine and law on the transgender community, stating that these fields must first "get on board" with the transgender movement in order for the rest of society to truly become comfortable with it. He spoke about access to healthcare for transgender individuals, his involvement and work with LGBT organizations within the Bay Area, and what role medicine and law are playing in the lives of transgender people at this point

Attendees at the event included UC Davis School of Law Professors Courtney Joslin and Lisa Ikemoto.