Victoria Kolakowski is the first openly transgender person to be elected a trial judge in the United States. Bent Alaska presents her story as part of our celebration of LGBT History Month 2011, with thanks to the Equality Forum.

Victoria Kolakowski

“I have been very fortunate to have a successful career as a public servant, and I feel an obligation to serve my community as a role model as well.”

Victoria Kolakowski (born August 29, 1961) is the first openly transgender person to be elected a trial judge in the United States.

Born in Queens, New York, Kolakowski graduated from Stuyvesant High School. She was the first person in her family to attend college. Kolakowski earned master’s degrees in biomedical engineering, electrical engineering, public administration and divinity. She received a law degree from Louisiana State University.

In 1990, Kolakowski moved to Berkeley, California. She served on the Oakland Budget Advisory Committee and was an administrative law judge for the California Public Utilities Commission.

In 1994, the East Bay Lesbian/Gay Democratic Club named her Woman of the Year. In 1995, she received the Outstanding Woman of Berkeley Award.

In 2010, Kolakowski campaigned for a judgeship on the Superior Court of Alameda County, California. She won by 10,000 votes. Her victory was significant, not only for the transgender community, but also for women, who occupy a small percentage of judgeships. She received Equality California’s Equality and Justice Award.

Kolakowski co-chaired the Transgender Law Center, an organization dedicated to the well-being and protection of transgender individuals. She serves on the California Council of Churches and is a volunteer clergy member at the New Spirit Community Church.

In 2004, Kolakowski married Cynthia Laird, editor for the Bay Area Reporter. The couple lives in Oakland, California.

In 2010, while a candidate for the Alameda County Superior Court judgeship she later won, Victoria Kolakowski appeared on Comcast’s Newsmakers show. Watch:

For more about Victoria Kolakowski, visit her biography at Smart Voter, LGBT History Month page, or Wikipedia article.

Photo credit: Victoria Kolakowski. Photo copyright Jane Philomen Cleland; used by license through the Equality Forum (LGBT History Month).