Steps Toward Tolerance

CityOnAHillPress.com – By Natalie Orozco

Lee Morento, 28, sits at his desk, checking his PalmPilot to see who is scheduled for his next appointment. As he spins side-to-side in his rotating desk chair, Morento answers e-mails and phone calls from busy students and co-workers asking for his advice. He is the program manager and advisor at the Student Organization and Advising Resource (SOAR) office at UC Santa Cruz.

Outside of work, Morento promotes activism and education through the Santa Cruz campus and community as an educator for transgender and transsexual (trans) issues, a subject he is very passionate about.

The reason for his dedication to the transgender community: Lee Morento was born a female.