Amy Nelson, Director of Legal Services for Whitman-Walker Health, has spent her career working for justice and improving the lives of low-income people and those impacted by structural barriers. Amy has invested her time, skills, and heart into improving access to justice and breaking down systemic barriers – often working intersectionally to combat underlying racism, sexism, homophobia and transphobia, ageism, and xenophobia, among other forms of discrimination targeting specific identities.

For the past 16 years, Amy has served in leadership roles – first as Supervising Attorney and then for the past almost 10 years as the Director of Legal Services for Whitman-Walker Health.  In her roles in the oldest medical-legal partnership in the country, Amy has pioneered the concept of serving clients where they are – working collaboratively to tackle the structural barriers to care caused by stigma, discrimination, and health-harming legal issues. Every day, Amy’s lifesaving work touches a client population that is one of the most diverse of any organization.

Amy has worked relentlessly to expand and improve access to culturally competent legal services for transgender and nonbinary people, including creating a national model for name change clinics, and training pro bono attorneys, judges, and court staff on cultural humility when serving gender-diverse people. A prime example is Whitman-Walker’s Name Change Clinic. In 2011, Amy identified a legal need that was critical to all aspects of general life for transgender and nonbinary people – identity documents that aligned with their chosen name and gender identity.  What is the first thing someone asks you when you go to many public places, a healthcare appointment, a bar, check-in for any kind of hotel or transportation-related service – “May I see your ID?”  What if your ID shows someone with a male name and male gender marker and a picture of someone with short hair, typically in masculine clothing?  But the person presenting the ID registered with a female name, female gender identity, and is wearing feminine clothing.  It would likely result in questioning the person’s identity – that may be done discreetly and respectfully or suspiciously and very publicly – either way, it would be stressful.  This is a major issue and everyday reality for anyone who is gender expansive.  While Amy immediately saw the interest for this service, we soon realized how even as the LGBTQ+ focused organization in the area, we were likely not connecting with a whole segment of our target population because they did not seek services or know that the services existed.  They were focusing on trying to live under the radar and avoid being outed.  In advertising this service and making it free, Amy connected with a largely unknown and unserved population.  While transgender and nonbinary people were getting help with updating their name and gender marker on their identity documents – drivers’ license, Social Security card, birth certificate, Passport, health insurance card — we would offer them connection, free pizza and snacks, and connections to our medical, mental health, and dental services.  Some clients told Amy that this was the first time they had been welcomed somewhere with their chosen name, the first time they felt affirmed and accepted, or the first time they had been in a room with other gender expansive individuals.  Amy created more than a legal name change clinic. She built a hub to welcome transgender and nonbinary people into a community with broader resources and to connect them to care.  Typically, people think healthcare and social services are a gateway to identifying folx who need legal help.  This important legal service was a gateway to connecting unserved LGBTQ+ individuals to critical healthcare services.

Since the inception of our Name Change Legal Clinic in June of 2012, the WWH Legal Services Team has provided court order name and gender change along with other identity document update services to over 2,600 unique clients; we have trained hundreds of pro bono volunteers; and coordinated almost 100 clinics for this very specific service area. In 2011, WWH had around 250 transgender and nonbinary patients in care.  Today, we have over 3,000 and much of that tracks directly to clients served through the Name and Gender Change Clinic.

Amy also created a training for judges and court staff on LGBTQ+ cultural humility to make courts more accessible and welcoming for LGBTQ+ parties. The training’s purpose was to make clerk’s offices and courtrooms an accessible, affirming, and safe space for LGBTQ+ people. Amy thoughtfully presented this skill-building training to both DC Superior Court and Maryland Circuit Court judges and court staff. An integral part of the training was that Amy created a nonjudgmental space for judges and court staff to talk through delicate scenarios and practice affirming language. This hands-on, practical approach was well received and applauded by judges and court staff who walked away with skills and tips to integrate into their job functions.

Amy deeply cares about people – her clients, her team, all relationships. She leads with humanity and enthusiasm.  She centers everyone’s unique needs and feelings as she works to lead, support her team, reduce structural barriers, and improve access by truly seeing the person. Colleagues use words like kind, brilliant, and persistent. Amy is a deeply respected leader in our community who always seeks ways to increase access to justice for marginalized individuals. She is a mentor, supporter, collaborator and innovator. Most importantly she is tireless in pursuing justice for her clients and building networks to multiply her impact. For these reasons and more, we are pleased to honor Amy Nelson with the 2024 Justice Impact Awards Legal Services award.

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