Q&A: Josephine Tittsworth, executive director of Texas Transgender Nondiscrimination Summit
Josephine Tittsworth, executive director of the Texas Transgender Nondiscrimination Summit, is one of ten featured on The Signal’s 10 Most Fascinating People of UHCL of 2019 list.
Read The Signal’s Q&A with Tittsworth below and see the complete list here.
Q: Can you tell us a bit about yourself, on both a personal and professional/educational level?
I am Josephine Paulette Tittsworth. I am a social worker licensed in Texas as a master social worker. I graduated with my associate of arts degree at San Jacinto College in 2005, my bachelor degree in social work in 2006 at the University of Houston-Clear Lake, my master degree in social work in 2007 at the University of Houston Graduate College of Social Work, and I started, but did not complete, my Ph.D. at the University of Houston Graduate College of Social Work, 2007-2014.
I have co-published numerous research articles over the years. I am currently working on a research project in conjunction with Rice University. The research is on heterosexual crossdresser’s relationship with a spouse and how that relationship correlates to the heterosexual crossdresser’s life satisfaction. I have a strong interest in research.
I graduated from Sam Rayburn High School in 1969 in Pasadena, Texas – where I grew up. I joined the United States Coast Guard in 1973 and was honorably discharged in 1977. I immediately went to work for IBM as a Customer Engineer in 1977 and retired in 2008 after 31 years. It was before and after retirement I began a path towards my education. I currently live in Baytown, Texas and have custody of my special needs 16-year-young grandson.
I am the founder and executive director for a nonprofit organization titled the Texas Transgender Nondiscrimination Summit. In this organization, we teach and support people who are working towards a fully inclusive policy to protect transgender faculty, staff, and students in higher education and public-school systems. This organization found its birth in 2009 and now, after 11 years, the success is apparent. In 2009, only three universities had inclusive policies: Rice University, the University of Texas at Austin, and South Texas College of Law. Today over 38 university systems have inclusive policies in Texas.
Q: How did your time at UHCL impact where you are today?
A: While at UHCL I enjoyed a fully exciting time in my life. It taught me how to advocate within academic environments. I gained confidence in my efforts to help others. Even today I still count many at UHCL as friends and colleagues. It is here I gained interest in research.
Q: As the executive director of the Texas Transgender Nondiscrimination Summit, what motivates you to do the work you do?
A: The greatest motivation is when someone approaches me and says, “You made a difference in my life.” That is my reward for working towards social justice. To be able to meet and engage with many people across Texas is exciting. Yes, it demands a lot of me but the rewards are outstanding.
Q: What are some achievements or challenges you’ve had this year and how have they impacted you?
A: I have had challenges in getting my research project off the table. It takes a team to make things happen and I am part of a fantastic research team associated with Rice University. I was selected by Rice University Sexuality, Gender, and Women’s Studies as a visiting scholar. Our organization is still working hard to help people to become successful. Our next conference will be at Texas Tech University Aug. 7-8, 2020. There, we will help educate people to use the tools that we have found to be effective in negotiating change.
Q: What is the best piece of advice you have ever been given or would give?
When Dr. [William] Staples was the President of UHCL, he would say that students who get involved in organizations tend to make better grades. I want to add that students should get involved and start networking upward as they socialize horizontally. Students should seek out passions and test them while in college. It is there they will be able to learn. Students should apply what they learn in the classrooms to real life. Finally, never give up, never surrender.
Q: What are some of your favorite hobbies/things to do in your free time?
A: When not doing research, I enjoy movies, coin collecting, my two dogs (a registered Beagle and Labrador), camping, and fishing.
Q: Is there anything you would like our readers to know?
A: Follow your heart. The saying, “The person who enjoys their job never works in their life.”
