Sheila Lopez
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Sheila Lopez (born c. 1974) is an American electrical engineer and LGBT rights advocate. She cofounded and serves as president of the Native American PFLAG chapter in Phoenix, Arizona.
Life[edit]
Lopez was born c. 1974 in Winslow, Arizona to a Navajo mother from Greasewood, Arizona and a Mexican father from Winslow.[1][2] Her maternal grandfather was a medicine man.[1] Lopez was pregnant in high school before starting college.[3] She completed an undergraduate degree in electrical engineering from Northern Arizona University.[3] After graduation, Lopez joined HP Inc. as a manufacturing engineer.[3] She worked in software testing, validation, and semiconductor fabrication.[3] She joined Intel where she serves as the veterans and LGBTQ program manager.[3]
Lopez joined PFLAG in 2009 after her two oldest children came out.[4] In June 2011, she cofounded and serves as president of the Native PFLAG group supporting tribes in the Arizona area.[4] In 2015, Lopez received a VH1 Trailblazer Honor for her LGBT rights activism.[5] In 2019, she organized the first pow wow for the Phoenix Native LGBT and two-spirit community.[6] She won the 2019 American Indian Science and Engineering Society Blazing Fame award.[3]
References[edit]
- ^ a b Bencomo Lobaco, Julia (2022). "Sheila Lopez Becomes LGBTQ Advocate in Navajo Community". AARP. Retrieved 2022-12-21.
- ^ Davis-Young, Katherine (2019-03-30). "For many Native Americans, embracing LGBT members is a return to the past". Alton Telegraph. Retrieved 2022-12-21.
- ^ a b c d e f Warren, Chris (October 9, 2019). "Sheila Lopez: 2019 Blazing Flame Awardee / Navajo". Winds of Change. American Indian Science and Engineering Society. Retrieved 2022-12-22.
- ^ a b Philip, KJ (October 20, 2016). "Sheila Lopez Inducted Into Echo Magazine's Hall of Fame". Echo Magazine. Archived from the original on 2017-05-18.
- ^ "Dennis And Judy Shepard, PFLAG Parents, Accept Honor At Logo Trailblazer Honors". NewNowNext. June 23, 2015. Retrieved 2022-12-21.
- ^ Curtis, Chelsea (February 29, 2020). "'It's just easier to tell your truth and to dance your truth': 2nd annual Two Spirit Powwow in Phoenix a haven for Native LGBTQ community". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved 2022-12-21.