Longtime LGBT advocate Allyson Robinson, who was ordained at Calvary Baptist Church in Washington, D.C. in June, is featured in an MSNBC Originals video. Headlining the video as “Is this the most radical preacher in America?” MSNBC writes,
“West Point graduate, master of divinity and trans mother of four, Allyson Robinson thinks it’s her congregation–and not herself–that has the revolutionary message.”
Hayley Miller on the HRC Blog writes, Robinson, a former HRC employee, held several key roles, including Workplace Project Deputy Director for Learning and Development and Associate Director of Diversity, over her five-year tenure. She worked to build transgender cultural competence and helped lead and manage HRC’s broad diversity and inclusion portfolio. Allyson assisted in the development of state and local non-discrimination legislative strategy, and has lobbied many state legislatures for inclusive employment nondiscrimination protections. Allyson also launched HRC’s LGBT cultural competency organizational learning program.
Prior to moving to D.C. and joining HRC, Robinson lived in Texas and attended George W. Truett Theological Seminary and previously was a pastor at a church in Central Texas. She is one of a handful of openly transgender pastors.
“I really believed that I would never find my way back into church leadership and ministry, and it was only after Calvary asked me to step into this role, that I could look back and see what had really happened,” Robinsons explains. “Those doors were closed when God called me away from ministry, but the work that God called me to do as an advocate helped to open those doors again.”
Furthermore, Robinson credits and praises Calvary Baptist Church for their bravery and acceptance. “The real story here is a story about this church and their courage, and their faithfulness to open the doors in radical welcome.”
Robinson, an army veteran, is founder of Warrior Poet Strategies and VP at LGBT Tech Partnership. She previously served as the executive director of OutServe-SLDN, the association of actively-serving LGBT military personnel, and worked at HRC on diversity and inclusion efforts in corporate America.
