'This is who I am': Allison Chris Myers set to become first openly transgender NJ Cabinet member

TRENTON — Allison Chris Myers used to apply makeup and change her clothes in her car after work, hoping her co-workers wouldn't catch her with mascara in hand. In her office, she wore masculine clothes, and colleagues saw her as a man.

But when the COVID-19 pandemic struck, forcing people to work from home, Myers felt a new freedom. She had to go to the office every day with a few others, so she decided to wear makeup and feminine clothes. Those few people met Allison, and soon she came out to more and more colleagues. Eventually, she told her two sons the truth and stopped hiding in her car. Without concealing her identity, and the exhaustion that comes with it, she feels like "a better person this way."

Nearly three years later, Myers will become the first known transgender Cabinet member in New Jersey after Gov. Phil Murphy named her acting chair and CEO of the state's Civil Service Commission in December. She took office this month and awaits confirmation from the state Senate.

Myers felt "floored" at first when her predecessor, Deirdré Webster Cobb, brought her on as deputy chair. Then her emotions shifted to hesitancy as the time drew near for Cobb to retire, when she would recommend to the governor that Myers take over. She listed some recent media stories about transgender people to explain why — anti-trans legislation and transphobic violence plagued the community nationwide for the past several years. Being in a higher-ranking, more prolific position comes with exposure to the not-always-friendly world.

Being transgender "shouldn't prohibit me from living my life. That's why I came out," Myers said. "This is who I am, and it's always been who I am. It's just really a piece of the puzzle."

Myers' priority in her new role as chair focuses on sharing the message with others that she told herself while considering taking the position: It's not about what one looks like, "it's about what you're good at and how you can serve the greater good." She plans to ensure that people are evaluated and appointed based on "merit and fitness."

Supporting the "greater good" led Myers to pursue a career in human resources. She served as a personnel officer in the Navy before she landed at the New Jersey Civil Service Commission 22 years ago. Earlier in her life, while working at factories and businesses, she saw colleagues “getting taken advantage of,” and that inspired her desire to support workers. When she later became the director of the Civil Service Commission's legal arm, she learned more about flaws in the system that affected government employees. All the while, she imagined solutions that she can now help implement.

“It became very important to me to protect employees’ rights,” Myers said. “What was nice about ultimately landing this type of position is you can be part of the solution to help people and give them a fair process and give them an ear to listen.”

Myers joins a list of other LGBTQ trailblazers in leadership positions. Rachel Levine made history when the U.S. Senate confirmed her as U.S. assistant secretary of health — the highest-ranking position held by an openly transgender person in the nation’s history — in 2021. The next year, a record-breaking number of LGBTQ candidates were elected to offices across the country, according to the LGBTQ Victory Fund. That included a second-term victory for Taylor Small, Vermont’s first openly transgender legislator.

It's important that state leadership "reflects the communities we serve," Gov. Phil Murphy said in a release at the time of Myers' announcement. Murphy also praised Myers, calling her a "career public servant," and said he couldn’t think of a better candidate to replace Cobb.

Myers made history, but she said she’s “just a girl from down Jersey" who drives 72 miles to work each day from her hobby farm in Cumberland County.

“I kind of hope that this position shows that no matter what your background is, no matter what your sex, your race, your religion, how you look … it’s the content of your character [that matters],” Myers said. “Being transgender is really just a piece of the puzzle.”

CORRECTION Jan. 27, 10:48 a.m.: This story has been updated to clarify Allison Chris Myers is acting Civil Service Commission Chair. She awaits confirmation from the New Jersey Senate.

Sammy Gibbons is a culture reporter for the USA TODAY Network's Atlantic Region How We Live team.

Email: sgibbons@gannett.com; Twitter: @sammykgibbons 

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Phil Murphy names first out transgender NJ Cabinet member