Alex Poon

Last updated
Alex Poon
Born1992
Alma mater Wellesley College, 2014
Known fortransgender advocacy

Alex Poon is an American transgender advocate.

Education and background

Poon graduated from Wellesley College (a women's college) in 2014, where he majored in computer science. [1] [2] He came out as transgender as a sophomore. [3] He was the first out transgender person to win the annual hoop rolling race since it began in 1895. [1] [4] [5] [6] His mother, Helen Poon, also won when she was a senior at Wellesley in 1982. [1] [2] [5]

Contents

Poon is Chinese-American and grew up in Virginia. [3] [7] [8] He attended Holton-Arms School, an all-girls high school, where he was captain of the girls' swim team and the men's water polo team at a local all-boys school. [3] [7]

Career and advocacy

Poon has been interviewed for news stories about transgender students, including trans women and non-binary people, at women's colleges. [3] [7] [9]

Poon works as a product manager at a technology company and does occasional public speaking and interviews about gender in the workplace. [8] [10] [11] He talks about having been perceived as both a man and a woman in the workplace, giving him a unique perspective on discrimination and sexism. [8] [11] In 2019, he said that his work at IBM was undervalued before he transitioned to male, but afterwards, he was given "a seat at the table". [11] He told The Washington Post that after his transition, "People now assume I have logic, advice and seniority. They look at me and assume I know the answer, even when I don't. I've been in meetings where everyone else in the room was a woman and more senior, yet I still got asked, 'Alex, what do you think? We thought you would know.'" [8]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 O'Connell, Scott (May 7, 2014). "History made in Wellesley College's hoop-rolling tradition". The MetroWest Daily News . Retrieved December 18, 2020.
  2. 1 2 "THIS IS HOW WE ROLL". Wellesley News. Wellesley College . Retrieved December 18, 2020.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Padawer, Ruth (October 15, 2014). "When Women Become Men at Wellesley". The New York Times Magazine . Retrieved December 18, 2020.
  4. "Hooprolling". Wellesley College. Retrieved 2019-11-11.
  5. 1 2 Sobel, Zoë (May 23, 2015). "Competitive Hoop Rolling: A Wellesley College Tradition". WBUR-FM . Retrieved December 18, 2020.
  6. "The Honor Roll". 2014-05-04. Retrieved 2019-11-11.
  7. 1 2 3 Waldman, Katy (June 5, 2014). "The Wellesley Man". Slate Magazine. Slate. Retrieved December 18, 2020.
  8. 1 2 3 4 Bahrampour, Tara. "Crossing the divide: Do men really have it easier? These transgender guys found the truth was more complex". Washington Post. Retrieved 2019-11-11.
  9. "Some Colleges Revisiting Admission Policies For Transgender Students". WBEZ Chicago. NPR. November 29, 2014. Retrieved December 18, 2020.
  10. "Poynter Fellowship conversation to answer 'How Do We Fix Work?'". YaleNews. Yale University. April 8, 2019. Retrieved December 18, 2020.
  11. 1 2 3 Fan, Ashley (April 11, 2019). "To create equity, fix the workplace so women share power, panelists say". YaleNews. Yale University . Retrieved December 18, 2020.