Sister Mary Elizabeth Clark (born 1938 in

Pontiac Pontiac most often refers to: * Pontiac (Odawa leader) ( – 1769), Native American war chief *Pontiac (automobile), a former General Motors brand Pontiac may also refer to: Places and jurisdictions Canada * Pontiac, Quebec, a municipality ** Apo ...

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

) is the main mover of the AIDS Education and Global Information System database, previously a pre-

World Wide Web The World Wide Web (WWW or simply the Web) is an information system that enables Content (media), content sharing over the Internet through user-friendly ways meant to appeal to users beyond Information technology, IT specialists and hobbyis ...

bulletin board system A bulletin board system (BBS), also called a computer bulletin board service (CBBS), is a computer server running list of BBS software, software that allows users to connect to the system using a terminal program. Once logged in, the user perfor ...

Biography

Clark was born in June 1938 in Pontiac, Michigan and assigned male at birth. In 1957, she enlisted in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

and rose to the rank of chief petty officer (E-7), serving as an instructor in

anti-submarine warfare Anti-submarine warfare (ASW, or in the older form A/S) is a branch of underwater warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, submarines, or other platforms, to find, track, and deter, damage, or destroy enemy submarines. Such operations ar ...

. Clark had an 11-year marriage which produced a son, but ended acrimoniously. She married again, and later revealed her gender dysphoria to her second wife, who helped her through self-identifying as female. Upon learning of her psychological evaluations, the Navy discharged her honorably. In 1975, she underwent a

sex reassignment surgery Gender-affirming surgery (GAS) is a surgical procedure, or series of procedures, that alters a person's physical appearance and sexual characteristics to resemble those associated with their gender identity. The phrase is most often associat ...

and took the name Joanna Michelle Clark. A U.S. Army Reserves recruiter who was aware that she was transgender enlisted her as a woman in the Army in 1976. A year and a half later, she was nominated for promotion to

warrant officer Warrant officer (WO) is a Military rank, rank or category of ranks in the armed forces of many countries. Depending on the country, service, or historical context, warrant officers are sometimes classified as the most junior of the commissioned ...

. Her enlistment was voided when her transgender status became known to higher-ups. She brought suit against the Army and won a settlement of $25,000 and an honorable discharge. During the 1970s, she was an activist for the rights of transsexual people and was instrumental in winning the right of

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

ns to have their gender changed on their birth certificates and driver licenses. In 1980, she founded and led the

ACLU The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is an American nonprofit civil rights organization founded in 1920. ACLU affiliates are active in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico. The budget of the ACLU in 2024 was $383 million. ...

Transsexual Rights Committee. She had been raised

Southern Baptist The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), alternatively the Great Commission Baptists (GCB), is a Christian denomination based in the United States. It is the world's largest Baptist organization, the largest Protestantism in the United States, Pr ...

, but left the church due to disillusionment with racism in its congregations. In the 1980s, she felt a religious calling and worked to become an

Episcopal Episcopal may refer to: *Of or relating to a bishop, an overseer in the Christian church *Episcopate, the see of a bishop – a diocese *Episcopal Church (disambiguation), any church with "Episcopal" in its name ** Episcopal Church (United States ...

sister. Conflict with the Episcopal diocese over the validity of the

order Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * A socio-political or established or existing order, e.g. World order, Ancien Regime, Pax Britannica * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood ...

she sought to found led to her leaving the denomination shortly after she took her vows in 1988, and she later became a sister of the American Catholic Church, a small independent Christian denomination following

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

rites. Also in the 1980s she continued the work of the

Erickson Educational Foundation Reed Erickson (October 13, 1917 – January 3, 1992) was an American transgender man and philanthropist who, according to sociology specialist Aaron H. Devor, largely informed "almost every aspect of work being done in the 1960s and 1970s in th ...

, aiding transgender people. In 1990, inspired by meeting an isolated young man with

AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...

in rural

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

, she returned to her family home in

San Juan Capistrano San Juan Capistrano (also known colloquially as San Juan or SJC) is a city in southern Orange County, California, United States. The population was 35,253 at the 2020 Census. Named for Saint John of Capistrano, San Juan Capistrano was founded ...

, taking on the bulletin board system AEGIS begun by Jamie Jemison and eventually building it into the "most definitive – and perhaps the most accessible – source of information on" AIDS.

Awards and recognition

She is the recipient of the Award of Courage from the

American Foundation for AIDS Research amfAR, the Foundation for AIDS Research, known until 2005 as the American Foundation for AIDS Research, is an international nonprofit organization dedicated to the support of AIDS research, HIV prevention, treatment education, and the advocacy of ...

, the Jonathan Mann Award for Health and Human Rights from the International Association of Physicians in AIDS Care,Elton John honoured by IAPAC
. GayLifeUK (2003-05-20). Retrieved on 2015-06-02. the Crystal Heart award from the San Diego GLBT Center and the Joan of Arc award from the Orange County Community Foundation.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clark, Mary Elizabeth 1938 births Living people American LGBTQ military personnel People from Pontiac, Michigan Military personnel from Michigan American HIV/AIDS activists American health activists Transgender Christians People from San Juan Capistrano, California American transgender women Transgender rights activists United States Navy sailors Women in the United States Army 20th-century American Episcopalian nuns Transgender military personnel LGBTQ people from Michigan Activists from California 21st-century American nuns Transgender history in the United States