Naomi Fontanos is a Filipina transgender rights advocate, educator, writer, and one of the leading voices in the struggle for transgender equality in the Philippines. A graduate of the University of the Philippines Diliman, where she earned a degree in education, she is a licensed teacher who has worked as an education consultant. Her journey into activism led her to become, in 2008, the first transgender co-coordinator of Task Force Pride Philippines, the network of LGBTQ+ organizations responsible for organizing the annual Metro Manila Pride march. In 2011, Naomi joined Juliana Giessel and Rio Moreno in submitting a communication to the United Nations Human Rights Committee, calling attention to the discrimination and difficulties faced by transgender Filipinos. The following year, together with Princess Jimenez, Yasmin Lee, and Seanel Caparas, she co-founded Gender and Development Advocates (GANDA) Filipinas, a transgender-led human rights organization that places gender equality and transgender advocacy within the broader context of social justice, economic development, and the Philippines' cultural and political realities.
As the organization's Executive Director, Naomi has worked to challenge the structures that marginalize transgender people and to build a movement grounded in dignity, community, and equal rights. Her activism has also brought her into the public conversation about gender-based violence and the representation of transgender people in Philippine society. Following the murder of Jennifer Laude in 2014, Naomi wrote a deeply personal article for GMA News Online about the fear of being misidentified and denied dignity even in death. She challenged the tendency to impose traditional Filipino gender labels on transgender women and argued that lasting change requires confronting the patriarchal attitudes, sexism, and machismo that sustain discrimination and violence. Her work has continued to explore the connections between gender, colonial history, feminism, and human rights, including through her writing for Outrage Magazine. Outside her activism, Naomi enjoys languages, fashion, music, art, travel, reading, writing, films, and singing karaoke. Through her public work and personal voice, she continues to call for a society in which transgender Filipinos can live openly, safely, and with the dignity and recognition they deserve.
