ABOUT REBECCA KLING

FOCUSED & DRIVEN

READY FOR A CHALLENGE

Rebecca Kling is an educator, community organizer, storyteller, and advocate for transgender rights. She is co-founder of Better World Collaborative, a social impact consulting firm working to combat the recent flood of anti-LGBTQ legislation, and co-author of The Advocate Educator’s Handbook: Creating Schools Where Transgender and Non-Binary Students Thrive. In 2024, Rebecca received a Lambda Literary Award for her inclusion in the anthology 2 Trans 2 Furious: An extremely serious journal of Transgender Street Racing Studies.

Rebecca Kling

Rebecca Kling 08

Rebecca Kling

1/5

Rebecca pursues a multidisciplinary approach to advocacy. She works with community organizations, civil rights groups, and elected representatives to elevate the experiences of transgender people, and to bring transgender issues into discussions of public education and policy.

Rebecca began her career working as a touring educator and performance artist, exploring gender and identity through solo stage pieces and interactive workshops. Her genre-bending productions - which incorporated conversational storytelling, personal narrative, and comedic vignettes - took her all across the United States to interact with a wide variety of audiences.

Over the past fifteen years, Rebecca has presented and performed at conferences and festivals including the Philadelphia Trans Health Conference and the Minnesota Fringe Festival, nonprofits including Planned Parenthood and the ACLU, businesses including Salesforce and Estée Lauder, and colleges and universities including Smith and UCLA.

In 2013, Rebecca was recognized for her artistic work when she was named as part of the inaugural Trans 100, a list celebrating excellence in the transgender community.

From 2016 through 2019, Rebecca worked with the National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE) in Washington D.C., first serving as their Community Storytelling Advocate, before becoming the organization's Education Program Director. From 2019 through early 2022, Rebecca was part of the Beyond Coal campaign at the Sierra Club, working to end the use of fossil fuels in the United States. Rebecca is also on the leadership team of Harbor Camps, a summer camp for transgender and non-binary youth.

Rebecca firmly believes that understanding combats bigotry, and that everyone has the ability to push for a more just and equitable world.

PRESS & PUBLICATIONS

SELECT INTERVIEWS & ARTICLES

Press & Publications

INTERVIEWS, FEATURES & QUOTES IN PRESS

Windy City Times: Combining creativity with consulting, trans-rights activists launch Better World Collaborative (November 2021)
Washington Post: Arrested by Capitol Police at peaceful protests? You’re not alone. (January 2020)
Refinery 29: Why Trans People Don’t Always Have Good, Pleasurable Sex—At First (June 2019)

Kenyon Collegian: Activist’s talk focuses on trans representation in media (Feb 2019)

USA Today: Activists vow transgender Americans #WontBeErased by Trump administration (Oct 2018)

Washington Post: Among thousands of LGBTQ teens, a survey finds anxiety and fears about safety (May 2018).

Washington Blade: D.C., Rehoboth officials misgender trans women (July 2017)

Freedom for all Americans: LGBT-U Apprentice Q&A: Rebecca Kling in Washington, D.C. (Aug 2016)

NBC 5 Chicago: Transgender Chicago Artist, Educator Tells Her Story (Aug 2015)

New Times: Performance artist Rebecca Kling explores issues of transgender identity at Cal Poly (Jan 2015)

The Killjoys List: Excellent plays by trans-identified and trans-ally-identified playwrights (July 2014)

Glaad: First-ever Trans 100 list released by We Happy Trans and This is H.O.W. (April 2013)

Chicago Reader: Rebecca Kling's busy time: new gender, new book (June 2012)

Windy City Times: T in the Life: Rebecca Kling (Feb 2012)

Windy City Times: The Kling's the thing: Trans performer talks (Dec 2009)

Chicago Reader: Charged Bodies introduces emerging solo artists (Nov 2008)

ARTICLES BY REBECCA KLING

LGBTQ Nation: Adults have a duty to help trans youth feel safe. These activists show us where to start. (March 2024)
Truthout: It’s Up to All of Us to Create a Better World for Trans Students (March 2024)
ASBJ: Equity: Making School a Safe Place for All Students (Jan 2024)
Medium: Changing Hearts and Minds in Massachusetts, One Doorstep at a Time (May 2018)

The Guardian: Don't call trans people 'brave' – we're just trying to live in a prejudiced society (Oct 2015)

Women's Health: How I Decided to Have Sex Reassignment Surgery - and What It Was Like (May 2015)

PODCASTS & RECORDED INTERVIEWS

Chicago Public Radio: Rebecca Kling and Vanessa Ford discuss their book, The Advocate Educator's Handbook: Creating Schools Where Transgender and Nonbinary Students Thrive. (June 2024)
Allyship is a Verb: Rebecca Kling shares experiences making summer camp more inclusive for LGBTQ+ youth, as well as when it's time to disrupt things to push for positive change, (May 2023
Northwestern Intersections: Rebecca Kling speaks with Northwestern University's alumni podcast to discuss storytelling, advocacy, and her time as an NU undergrad, (June 2022)
Campfires and Color Wars: Rebecca Kling shares her childhood summer camp experiences and talks about her work with Camp Aranu'tiq, a camp for transgender youth. (April 2022)
Gender Reveal: Rebecca Kling critiques the recent Washington Post op-ed “What I wish I’d known when I was 19 and had sex reassignment surgery.” (April 2022)
Science Vs: Rebecca Kling consulted on (but is not featured in) this episode on misinformation about transgender youth and trans athletes. (March 2022)
Gender Euphoria: Rebecca Kling talks being a teacher, an artist, and putting on the trans educator top hat. (March 2022)
Talatera: Rebecca Kling talks about storytelling as a tool for advocacy and social change. (October 2021)
Making An Artist: Rebecca Kling talks about creating art, cultivating empathy, and more. (March 2020)
Confession Radio: Rebecca Kling talks about discovering her trans identity, and answers questions about being queer. (March 2019)
Encyclopodia: Rebecca Kling talks about storytelling as advocacy. Human connection is always going to be more powerful than dry facts or figures and stories have the unique power to hit someone in their heart. (March 2019)

Not About You: Rebecca Kling talks about issues surrounding gender, bathroom use and anti trans activism. Rebecca also unpacks the idea of reciprocity and whether someone is or isn't obligated to teach about their identity (June 2017)

Beyond Gender: Interview with immigration defense attorney, activist, and entrepreneur Caleb Arring (Aug 2016)

General Admission: This week we interview transgender performance artist Rebecca Kling on her art, her identity, and how the two come together. (Oct 2014)

Chicago Fringe: Vinnie Lacey, Co-founder and Executive Director of the Chicago Fringe Festival, joins forces with a 5 year veteran of the Chicago Fringe Festival, a transgender artist and educator. Rebecca Kling (June 2013)