By Karen Gullo
“OUT TO LEAD: Pride 2021” by IGNITE is a virtual event celebrating LGBTQIA+ leaders, activists, and more. The event on June 22, at 3pm PT, is open to all. Register at: https://hubs.la/H0PmFrH0
Shay Franco-Clausen, West Coast Region Program Director at IGNITE, is an activist and political organizer with a passion for ensuring that disenfranchised people are heard, empowered, and respected. As a long-time champion for women and girls, people of color, LGBTQ+ rights, and marginalized communities, Franco-Clausen’s mission has been to be a voice for those experiencing the challenges she herself had growing up in San Jose: homelessness, incarceration, and a struggle to be seen and heard when no one wanted to listen. She is a powerhouse who has earned a decision-making seat at the table of many boards and commissions, where she is a fierce advocate for those following in her footsteps. In January she joined IGNITE, which works in communities across the country to train and mentor young women to run for office and build a new generation of female political leaders.
Shay Franco-Clausen, West Coast Region Program Director at IGNITE
Franco-Clausen has fought discrimination and prejudice against women based on race and gender in the areas of housing, employment, education, and community services. She has served in leadership positions at the Association of California Commissions for Women, Silicon Valley PRIDE, Women’s March San Jose, the Santa Clara County Human Trafficking Commission, the Santa Clara County Democratic Party, and the Santa Clara County Commission on the Status of Women. In addition to serving at IGNITE, Franco-Clausen is the vice chair of the board at the Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority. In 2020, she led the successful grassroots “Yes on Prop 17” advocacy campaign, which restored voting rights for over 70,000 Californians on parole. She lives in San Jose with her wife and their five children.
Seismic Sisters sat down with Franco-Clausen to talk about PRIDE Month and her activism.
Tell us a bit about your career/life before joining the IGNITE team.
I am a community and political strategist, as well as a mother, elected official, and community healer. Life before IGNITE was running political campaigns, working in partisan groups, preparing women to run for office, and empowering and advocating for more youth voices and people with lived experience in places of power for change. Last year, before joining IGNITE, I ran the historic California Prop 17 campaign, changing the California Constitution to restore the voting rights of over 70,000 people on parole. This year, I’m working to remove slavery from our constitution with ACA 3 (Assembly Constitutional Amendment 3, the California Abolition Act, which will amend the state constitution to end involuntary servitude, or forced labor, of incarcerated people).
How do you commemorate/celebrate Pride Month with friends, family, and personally?
I love celebrating PRIDE month. I celebrate all the brave and courageous souls who have fought for me to be free to love who I want. I usually attend all the PRIDE celebrations—I’m a DJ, so many times I am spinning, or just dancing and loving on my friends. I always host "OUTdoors with PRIDE" hikes with other LGBTQ organizations and I do get a lot of speaking engagements. With my wife of 14 years, we cook dinner for our family and close friends to express gratitude that we can love freely.
What LGBTQ+ programming can we expect to see coming from IGNITE throughout this month?
I am really excited to host IGNITE's first LGBTQ event on Tuesday, June 22nd, at 3pm PST, which includes a fireside chat with Congressmember Sharice Davids of Kansas, and an LGBTQ panel of political operatives, including Georgia state Representative Park Cannon, Victory Institute Director of Domestic Programs Sarah Pope, and influencer and activist Amber Whittington. I am having a DJ set and ending with a "Queer Call to Action,” advocating for the Equality Act! (H.R. 5 prohibits discrimination based on sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity in areas including public accommodations and facilities, education, federal funding, employment, housing, credit, and the jury system. The bill defines and includes sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity among the prohibited categories of discrimination or segregation.)
What change does IGNITE hope to affect through Pride Month programming?
I love the work that IGNITE does and have always been a friend of the organization. But this being the first time we are hosting an LGBTQ event, I hope it lets everyone know that we support all leaders who identify as women. Just in hosting this event, several young women reached out and shared with me who they are, and that's important. I always say representation matters—you never know who might be inspired to action if they see someone like them doing the work.
How does IGNITE perpetuate an inclusive and equal opportunity approach to politics, year-round?
IGNITE is dedicated to bringing many voices and experiences into leadership, bringing in young women who we train and mentor. I felt that hiring me was a statement of change and bringing more community-focused members to the IGNITE team. The IGNITE members are organizers and very unapologetic as they bring all young women's voices to the decision-making table. I feel IGNITE is keeping its ears to the ground and fingers on the pulse, so that we are meeting the current needs of many communities and creating diverse partnerships with a community-focused approach.
What are some of the legislative initiatives that you're a part of that are representative of the LGBTQ+ community?
IGNITE will be advocating for U.S. House bill H.R. 5—the Equality Act, at our upcoming event. As a representative of the community myself, a few weeks back I created, with the Open Space Authority Board, where I’m vice chair, a resolution acknowledging June as PRIDE Month. In honor of Natalia Smut, an Afro-Latina trans woman who lost her life to a senseless act of violence, we also will be putting LGBTQ signs throughout our preserves, so everyone knows that our spaces are for everyone. And, as part of Measures I and J, which I worked on, we’re helping to support the Foothill-De Anza Community College District—with the leadership of President Thuy Nguyen, Professor Scott Lankford, and members of the Gay/Straight Alliance—to create more gender-neutral restrooms on campus.
Shay Franco-Clausen with her wife and youngest son Joshua after speaking at a San Jose graduation ceremony. Also pictured are the youth they supported and mentored at Job Corps in San Jose that ran their FREE Nice Play Nice Basketball camp. Find out more about Play Nice Productions here.
What event or experiences in your life led you to be such a strong advocate for the LGBTQ+ community?
I have had so many, but when I met my wife and experienced more visible discrimination and lack of access, it really forced me down a different path. When I finally came out, and when Proposition 8 was on the ballot, it really opened my eyes. I was so driven to find ways to make change at the legislative level. It became the impetus for my advocacy. I left my job, enrolled in college since I had never gone and became engulfed in politics and community organizing. With that, I have been successful with many campaigns, legislation, and ballot measures, and with training the next generation how to carry this work forward.
As a mom, what are some important early lessons, viewpoints, and values that you believe are important to teach your children?
I have been raising kids and teenagers for most of my life, coming from a large family of brothers and raising my own and other kids we have taken in. Honestly, a hard work ethic and determination to succeed is what we model for our kids.
If you could share a message with the LGBTQ+ community fighting for respect and their rightful place in society, what would it be?
You deserve the same as anyone else. Who you love has nothing to do with how you show up, the work you do, and how you serve. Life will bring challenges and trust me, it's hard. But be authentically you, just smile and keep pushing. They don't determine your happiness.
Karen Gullo is a freelance writer.