our community feels safe."

Eventually, it will lead to more advanced courses for specialists that she's developing called, you guessed it, Transgender 102 and Transgender 103.

Always knew

Chung grew up in Hong Kong and said she always knew the girl she was inside didn't match her boy's body. She was flamboyant and effeminate, had a high voice and was so androgynous looking, people would mistake her for a girl.

Her family moved to Los Angeles in 1984, and Chung moved to San Francisco to attend City College a year later. She tried to fit into the gay community but "failed miserably." She had a discussion with her mom about her feelings that she was really a woman, but her mom said coming out would devastate her father.

"She said, 'Can't you dothat after your dad goes to bed?' " Chung said with a laugh. "She thought I just wanted to dress up and go out. I told her that wouldn't be honest to myself and that I was living a double life."

She graduated from Golden Gate University in 1987 with a degree in international management and went to work as a court interpreter in Santa Clara County. Eventually, she decided to take control of her own decisions and live as a woman - but at first, rejection from her family and lack of money made it difficult.

"My parents didn't know how to deal with someone like me - having a gay son was difficult enough and having a transgender daughter, I can only imagine," she said. "There's no how-to