The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) on
Friday announced that it will honor actress Jamie Clayton at its
upcoming seventh annual Time to THRIVE Conference.
The 42-year-old Clayton, who is
transgender, currently stars as Tess Van Berg on Showtime's The L
Word: Generation Q. She is also known for playing Nomi Marks on
Netflix's Sense8 and Sasha Booker on Designated Survivor.
“Jamie Clayton has been blazing
trails as an openly transgender actress with her exceptional work on
Sense8 and The L Word,” said HRC President Alphonso
David. “Her portrayal of transgender characters has given LGBTQ
youth, especially transgender youth, someone to look up to and aspire
to be. Jamie continues to inspire us through her visibility and
willingness to speak out on behalf of LGBTQ youth everywhere, and we
are proud to honor her at Time to THRIVE.”
Speaking with LGBT
glossy The
Advocate in 2011, Clayton said that she realized she was
“different” at age 19.
HRC will also honor Sam Long, the
co-founder of the Colorado Transgender/Nonbinary Educators Network.
The group works to support transgender and non-binary teachers and
others working in the education system.
Singer-songwriter Shea Diamond will
perform at the event and Democratic Representatives Angie Craig from
Minnesota and Eleanor Holmes Norton from the District of Columbia
will speak.
Earlier, HRC
announced that CNN anchor Don Lemon would be honored at Time to
THRIVE.
The three-day conference opens February
14 at the Renaissance D.C. Downtown Hotel in Washington, D.C.