Hello everyone,

That's "in State" as in the U.S. Department of State.  I've been on MtF HRT for over a year and full-time since November 2011.  My workplace, however, is not your usual American workplace.  You see, I'm a Foreign Service Officer posted to the U.S. Embassy in Bucharest, Romania.  If you are at all interested what it is like for a USG employee to transition overseas in an embassy environment, you may enjoy my web journal by the same name as this post, Transgender in State, at http://attitude-analyst.blogspot.com.

Happy July 22 to all!
Robyn

welcome from australia 

Welcome to Susan's Robyn!

You bring a perspective of being a Federal Employee, being that the United States Government states in its EO statement that it does not discriminate on basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.

Hope to read more of your journey!

SJ

Hi Robyn,

A  big Aussie welcome to Susan's family. You have a mighty task ahead of yourself, and you appear to have it all under control. Congratulations. No easy feat by any means.

Hope to hear more of your story in time to come, but in the meantime, be safe, well and happy.

Lotsa huggs
Catherine

Hi Robyn,

Welcome to our little family. Over 7601  strong. That would be one heck of a family reunion.

Feel free to post your successes/failures, Hopes/dreams.  Ask questions and seek answers. Give and receive advice.

But remember we are family here, your family now. And it is always nice to have another sister.

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Janet 

Thank you everyone for such warm words of welcome, many of them from Down Under!

Things have changed mightily in the U.S. federal government over the past decade.  To my mind, it all started with the 2008 decision in the Schroer vs. Library of Congress case.  Gender Identity was added to the Statement on Discriminatory and Sexual Harassment at the Department of State in the summer of 2010, and I was the first to take advantage of it by transitioning right here at post in Romania.  The support has been tremendous, and having one's own friend in the Consular Section press the YES button for your new passport is quite a plus .  Needless to say, none of this would have happened without President Obama and Secretary Clinton.

I also do a fair amount of official State Dept. reporting on LGBT issues in Romania, including one report specifically on the transgender community.  During Pride Month I went to Albania with two Romanian activists to the first-ever regional LGBT conference organized by a U.S. Embassy.  If you are interested, you can see more about the workshop and most of the presentations including my own at http://www.lgbt2012embassytirana.org/.

Thanks again for the warm welcome!  Don't know why I wasn't on Susan's ages ago.

Best from Bucharest,
Robyn

Hi Robyn, welcome to Susans! I live near Boston. Glad to hear about your experiences. See you around the site, hugs, Devlyn

Hi Devlyn,

Thanks for the welcome!  Believe it or not, I'll be passing through Boston in a couple of weeks.  I'm heading to the US on R&R and will be both in DC and up in Maine.  On the way from Maine back to DC, I'll be taking the train with a few hours to kill in Boston.  That will be on the evening of Sunday, Aug. 18.  Let me know if that evening will find you anywhere around North or Back Bay stations.

Best from Bucharest,
Robyn