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Shane Ortega

Shane Ortega

The US Army's First Openly Trans Soldier

Shane Ortega is the first openly serving transgender military service member. He was featured in the HBO documentary “The Trans List” and on the History Channel’s “History Now”. Ortega is a mixed-race American Indian, a retired disabled combat Veteran (Marines and Army) of over 11 years, and a Two-spirit (Transgender) man.

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Bio

Full Bio

Shane Ortega is the first openly serving transgender military service member. He was featured in the HBO documentary “The Trans List” and on the History Channel’s “History Now”. Ortega is a mixed-race American Indian, a retired disabled combat Veteran (Marines and Army) of over 11 years, and a Two-spirit (Transgender) man.

He has a 12+ year record of championing human rights legislation and policy as an advocate, consultant, author, speaker, and educator in topics such as LGBTQ equity, indigenous rights, disabled veterans’ rights, MMIW, two-spirit education, land sovereignty, and colonial/tribal law relationship.

Ortega is most commonly known for his work repealing the transgender military ban, and co-founding the non-profit organization Spart*a. He also assisted with education for the “Road Home Program” at Howard Brown Health in Chicago. Ortega continues to give keynote speeches at universities, hospitals, and corporations like Apple and Bloomberg News. He has also been featured in modeling campaigns for companies like Belvedere Vodka with Janelle Monae and 2xist.

Ortega is the recipient of several military and civilian awards; the most recent being the Icon Award from Harper’s Bazaar, as one of the three most influential champions of human rights for people of color in America. Continuously learning, he is currently pursuing a Master of Legal Studies – Indigenous Peoples Law.

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An Evening with Shane Ortega

Videos

Videos

Transgender veteran Shane Ortega discusses Trump's military ban
Shane Ortega, First Openly Transgender Soldier, Reacts To President Donald Trump’s Ban | MSNBC
Interview with Shane Ortega: The First Trans Person to Serve Openly in the Military | LGBTQ&A

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