Sarah Elizabeth McBride was born on August 9, 1990, in Wilmington, Delaware, to David and Sally McBride. Her father worked as a lawyer, while her mother was a high school guidance counselor and co-founder of the Cab Calloway School of the Arts, where Sarah later graduated in 2009. Sarah pursued her higher education at American University in Washington, D.C., earning a bachelor's degree in 2013. While at AU, she quickly became involved in student government and advocacy. Elected to the undergraduate senate in 2010, she worked on issues ranging from arts funding to ethical sourcing of campus materials. In 2011, she was elected president of the student body. During her presidency, Sarah began publicly advocating for LGBTQ+ equality. In a powerful and widely publicized letter published in The Eagle during her final week in office in 2012, she came out as a transgender woman.
Her courageous announcement garnered national attention and support, including from Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden, who called to express his pride and affection, and from Vice President Joe Biden. In 2012, McBride became the first openly transgender woman to intern at the White House, working in the Office of Public Engagement and Intergovernmental Affairs on LGBTQ+ issues. The following year, she joined the board of Equality Delaware and became a leading voice in the fight for transgender rights in the state. Working closely with her family, Governor Jack Markell, and Beau Biden, she helped secure the passage of Delaware’s landmark 2013 anti-discrimination law protecting gender identity in employment, housing, insurance, and public accommodations. Governor Markell credited Sarah’s tireless advocacy and personal testimony as instrumental to the bill’s passage.
