Aria Sa’id
Work & Services
“I feel most happy when I am empowered. When I’m surrounded by people that I love. When I hear the stories of transgender women elders who know of a different era, and a different world than what we live in today. When I am loved in the ways that I desire- by my family, friends, and the sisterhood of transgender women- there’s something so magical that happens when we come together. I feel beautiful when I am embraced, seen, and respected.”
What I do
Services
Aria Sa’id is a thought leader, public speaker, and trainer, available for bookings across a variety of topics.
Services Offered:
Thought Leadership on Transgender Cultural and Social Empowerment (Speaker)
Trainings:
Transgender & Gender Non Conforming Sensitivity & Inclusion
Racial Equity in the Workplace
View Biography
Aria Sa’id is a transgender advocate and award winning political strategist based in San Francisco Bay Area. She is a founder and the Executive Director of the Compton’s Transgender Cultural District- the world’s first transgender district, celebrating the resilience, culture, and presence of transgender people in San Francisco’s famed Tenderloin neighborhood. She is the founder of Kween Culture Initiative- a social and cultural empowerment project for Black transgender women.
In addition to her efforts in community development, Ms. Sa’id has written and/or led numerous public policy efforts both in the City and County of San Francisco and at the California state legislature; most notably co-creating the United States’ first sex worker protection law, Prioritizing Safety for Sex Workers (San Francisco), and The Name and Dignity Act for Incarcerated Transgender People (Atkins- California). She has also supported legislation, such as SCR 110 (California) the first legislation in U.S. history to name the harms of non-consensual medical interventions on intersex people. She has also led and/or provided strategy to San Francisco legislation supporting cultural districts, access to gender neutral restrooms, and transgender latina violence prevention- and political strategy support to California state legislature policies that reduce barriers for transgender and non-binary individuals seeking affirming gender markers on state issued documents.
Ms. Sa’id is the former appointed LGBT Policy Advisor to the San Francisco Human Rights Commission, a municipal agency of the City and County of San Francisco. She is a 2016-2017 Policy Fellow alum of the Women’s Foundation of California, and 2016-2017 Sojourner Truth Leadership Fellow of the Auburn Theological Seminary in New York.
Workshop Clients
SYPartners
Kaiser Permanente
Race Forward
Oakland Museum of California
Bayer Pharmaceuticals
Women’s Foundation of California
Episcopal Community Services
University of California, San Francisco
The California Endowment
Alliance Health Project
Transgender Advocates for Justice & Accountability Coalition
Women of Color Network
Asian Women’s Shelter
Keynote Clients
Commonwealth Club of California
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
San Francisco Public Library
French Consulate of San Francisco
Sonoma State University
University of California, Santa Cruz
Women’s Foundation of California
University of San Francisco
Mills College Graduate School of Public Policy
National Transgender Health Summit
Grassroots Institute for Fundraising & Training (GIFT) Conference
United States Conference on AIDS
Merritt College
San Francisco State University
EFNIKS
Women Sound Off Festival 2019
leadership
current Work
Transgender Cultural District
Co-Founder & Executive Director
Recognition
Awards & Honors

Civil Rights Award for the Compton's Transgender Cultural District
Alliance for a Better District 6
2019

Emerging Leader Award
San Francisco Transgender Day of Visibility
2017

Certificate of Honor
San Francisco Board of Supervisors
2018

2007 Scholar Award
Pride Foundation
2007

Certificate of Honor
California State Legislature Assembly
2018

Award for Public Service
Bank of America Neighborhood Excellence Initiative
2007

Heritage of Pride Award
San Francisco Pride
2018
Contact Me
Get In Touch
View more about Aria by exploring the site, or get in touch for bookings, workshops, or to contact The Transgender District.