Champion of Pride: An individual who has demonstrated outstanding leadership in the LGBT community over an extended period of years with consideration to service to San Diego Pride.
Bixby Marino-Kibbee is a queer, non-binary trans person and a licensed clinical social worker. They are the Program Director for the Center for Gender-Affirming Care at Rady Children’s Hospital. They have also worked in mental healthcare for the past fifteen years. Bixby was born and raised in San Diego but spent ten years living and working on the East Coast in Virginia and in Boston before moving back to San Diego in 2011. As a mental health clinician, Bixby has worked with individuals across the lifespan in a variety of settings.
Bixby spent five years working with youth and families impacted by systems of care, including child welfare and juvenile probation through community-based wraparound services before joining the San Diego LGBT Community Center as the Director of Behavioral Health Services in 2015. At The Center, Bixby led a team of clinicians providing outpatient therapy to LGBTQIA people and to individuals impacted by HIV/AIDS. Through this role, Bixby focused on addressing the needs of trans and non-binary youth and adults, including increasing access to gender-affirming mental health services, helping transgender and non-binary individuals navigate healthcare systems and decreasing gatekeeping. Bixby is currently a member of the Board of Directors for The San Diego LGBT Community Center.
In 2019, Bixby joined Rady Children’s Hospital as the first program director for the Center for Gender-Affirming Care. In this role, Bixby has worked to expand services including the opening of a new multidisciplinary clinic, providing a continuum of care for trans and non-binary youth and young adults and implementing a gender-affirming training program across the health care system. Bixby’s areas of clinical interests include reducing health disparities and ensuring that all transgender and non-binary people have access to healthcare that is safe and affirming, regardless of geographic location and/or financial resources.
Bixby lives in North County with their partner, child, and dog.
Bixby will be honored at the virtual Spirit of Stonewall Rally on Friday, July 17. Learn more about the rally, the other awardees, and the virtual event here.
We’ll also have a conversation with Bixby that will be livestreamed on our Facebook, YouTube, and website. Learn more about our livestreamed content here.
San Diego Pride raises funds primarily through festival ticket and beverage sales, and through sponsorships, and exhibitor fees. These funds support San Diego Pride’s community philanthropy which has distributed more than $2.5 million in advancement of its mission to foster pride, equality, and respect for all lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender communities locally, nationally, and globally.
