Gayle Roberts (she/her)

Born in England in 1940, Gayle Roberts taught high school science for thirty years and holds a master’s in physics from the University of Victoria. During her teaching career, Gayle taught at Gladstone Secondary and Lord Byng Secondary in Vancouver.

Gayle’s childhood feelings and memories were predominately of wishing she was a girl. As she grew older, her feelings intensified culminating in a sense of intense shame during her fifties. By then, Gayle’s self-awareness and understanding of gender dysphoria caused her to recognize that transitioning from male to female was the only way she could achieve peace of mind. Gayle was fifty-six when she transitioned.

In 1996, Gayle became the first teacher in the Vancouver School Board to transition on the job. Her transition in the workplace was a very positive experience. She then began devoting her time to delivering workshops to employers and school districts throughout the Lower Mainland about creating safe and welcoming working and learning environments for transgender and transsexual students.

Gayle’s proudest moments as a trans advocate include co-authoring Supporting Transgender and Transsexual Students in K-12 Schools: A Guide for Educators (2012) and shepherding the passage of a Canadian Professional Association for Transgender Health (2010) policy statement declaring gender to be an issue of identity rather than pathology.