** Current as of April 2023 **
Bree Fram served for eight years in SPARTA leadership roles, culminating as President and Board Chair from April 2021 to April 2023. SPARTA, an organization that advocates and educates about transgender military service, is dedicated to the support and professional development of over 1800 transgender service members. A member of SPARTA since 2014, Bree focused on policy and advocacy work. Additionally, she provided educational briefings on transgender and diversity issues to military and civilian audiences.
Bree is an active duty Lieutenant Colonel in the US Space Force and resides in Northern Virginia. She is an astronautical engineer by education and has experience in program management, research and development, policy, strategic planning, international affairs, and congressional affairs.
Lt Col Fram came out as transgender on the day the transgender ban in the military was dropped in 2016. She is currently one of the highest ranking out transgender officers in the US military.
Bree has been married for 18 years to Peg Fram and they have two kids, age 14 and 10. Her writing has been featured in the Washington Post, Military Times, Inkstick, and LGBTQ Nation. She is the author of the forthcoming Forging Queer Leaders: How the LGBTQIA+ Community Creates Impact from Adversity, a forthcoming work on LGBTQ+ Leadership Development from Jessica Kingsley Publishers and co-editor of With Honor and Integrity: Transgender Troops in Their Own Words from NYU Press which released in November 2021.
Contact:
b.fram@spartapride.org
Connect with Bree:
Website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn
Pronouns:
She/her
Service Locations:
2021 - Present Pentagon, Washington DC
2020 - 2021 Naval Station Newport
2018 - 2020 Rome, NY
2015 - 2018 Pentagon, Washington DC
2014 - 2015 United States Capitol, Washington DC
2011 - 2014 Buckley AFB, CO
2007 - 2011 Los Angeles AFB, CA
2005 - 2007 Wright Patterson AFB, OH
2004 Operation Iraqi Freedom Deployment - Iraq/Qatar
2003 - 2005 Kirtland AFB, NM
Education:
MA, National Security and Strategic Studies, Naval War College, 2021
Graduate Certificate in Leadership and Ethics, Naval War College, 2021
MS, Astronautical Engineering, Air Force Institute of Technology, 2007
Graduate Certificate in Systems Engineering, Air Force Institute of Technology, 2007
BS, Aerospace Engineering, University of Minnesota, 2001
Decorations:
Defense Meritorious Service Medal
Meritorious Service Medal with Two Oak Leaf Clusters
Air Force Commendation Medal
Air Force Achievement Medal
Global War on Terrorism – Expeditionary Medal
Global War on Terrorism Medal
Bree's Writing
November 2021, NYU Press, With Honor and Integrity: Transgender Troops in Their Own Words
January 2021 Military Times Editorial "Transgender service members passed the test"
June 2020 Inkstick Media "A Command Transition" (Lessons learned from transition)
Feb 2019 Washington Post Editorial "The Defense Department needs transgender service members"
Feb 2018 LGBTQ Nation Editorial "Should the Secretary of Defense threaten to resign over trans military service?"
Selected Media:
Dec 2021 With Honor and Integrity Interview - NPR's 1A
Nov 2021 LGBTQ military leaders to salute on Veterans Day - NBC News
Jun 2021 The White House Convening on Transgender Equality - YouTube
Apr 2012 Transgender Officer Speaks About New Policy
Jan 2021 "Biden Ends Ban On Trans People Serving Openly In The Military" NPR
Oct 2020 "New Pentagon handbook adds confusion and frustration for transgender troops, critics say" ABC News
April 2020 "Trans service members fight COVID-19 under ongoing ban" Washington Blade
Feb 2020 "Kelly's Quest - An Interview During a Round of Disc Golf" YouTube
Jun 2019 "Feeling the impact of Trump’s transgender troop ban" Yahoo News Video and Article
April 2019 "How The Trump Administration's Transgender Troop Ban Is Affecting One Military Family" NPR Article and Audio
April 2019 "Some Troops Rushed To See Doctors Before The Military's New Transgender Policy Took Effect" American Homefront Article and Audio
March 2019 "These Transgender Troops Need a Gender Dysphoria Diagnosis to Keep Their Jobs" Daily Beast Article
March 2018 "Transgender Air Force Officer On Trump's Ban And His Supportive Fellow Troops" NPR Article and Audio