Taylor Small (born March 26, 1994) is an American politician. Small was a member of the

Vermont House of Representatives The Vermont House of Representatives is the lower house of the Vermont General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Vermont. The House comprises 150 members, with each member representing around 4,100 citizens. Representatives a ...

from 2021 until 2025. She was the first openly

transgender A transgender (often shortened to trans) person has a gender identity different from that typically associated with the sex they were sex assignment, assigned at birth. The opposite of ''transgender'' is ''cisgender'', which describes perso ...

legislator elected in Vermont and the 5th elected in the United States.

Early life

Small was born in

Portland, Maine Portland is the List of municipalities in Maine, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine and the county seat, seat of Cumberland County, Maine, Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 at the 2020 census. The Portland metropolit ...

to Canadian parents. Small lived in

Johnson, Vermont Johnson is a town in Lamoille County, Vermont, United States. The population was 3,491 at the 2020 census. The town is home to Northern Vermont University-Johnson, a part the Vermont State Colleges system. The Vermont Studio Center is loc ...

, and then

Western Massachusetts Western Massachusetts, known colloquially as "western Mass," is a region in Massachusetts, one of the six U.S. states that make up the New England region of the United States. Western Massachusetts has diverse topography; 22 colleges and univ ...

as a child. After Small’s parents divorced, Small returned to Vermont and attended Colchester High School and Burlington Technical Center. Small then went on to graduate from the

University of Vermont The University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, commonly referred to as the University of Vermont (UVM), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Burlington, Vermont, United States. Foun ...

in 2016 with a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

in Human Development and Family Studies with a minor in Sexuality and Gender Identity Studies.

Career

Small was elected to the

in the 2020 general election after the incumbent Diana Gonzalez retired and is the state's first openly transgender legislator, and the fifth in the nation. Small ran on both the Democratic ticket and Vermont Progressive Party ticket and won with 41% of the vote. Small is the education manager (and former director of the Health and Wellness program) at Pride Center of Vermont and has worked with the Vermont Department of Health. Prior to that, Small worked in mental health at Howard Center and Northwestern Counseling and Support Services and supported homeless and runaway youth with Spectrum Youth and Family Services. Through a drag persona, Nikki Champagne, along with colleague Emoji Nightmare, Small has promoted local libraries and youth literacy and hosted fundraisers to help support Vermont’s non-profit organizations. Small was named a 2022 Politician of Year by One Young World, receiving the award in

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

, England in September 2022 alongside four other young politicians from around the world.

Personal life

Small lives in Winooski with her partner, Carsen, and their dogs, Theobroma and Charlie.

Electoral history

2020

2022

References

External links

Vermont General Assembly profile
Living people 1994 births American drag queens American people of Canadian descent LGBTQ state legislators in Vermont Mental health activists People from Johnson, Vermont American transgender women Transgender women politicians Transgender drag performers University of Vermont alumni Vermont Democrats Vermont Progressive Party politicians American transgender politicians 21st-century members of the Vermont General Assembly {{Vermont-politician-stub