Photo: autostraddle.com

All eyes will be on Twenty-five-year-old Sarah McBride as she becomes the first openly transgender person to address a major party convention in the United States on Thursday.

Sarah McBride will speak to members of the DNC at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia prior to Democratic Nominee Hillary Clinton taking the stage. She is no stranger to breaking down barriers however. During her last week as student body president at American University, McBride gained international notoriety when she came out as transgender in her college’s student newspaper, The Eagle. In 2012 she was the first openly transgender woman to intern at the white house. She is currently the national press secretary for the Human Rights Campaign.

Excited about her appearance, McBride took to twitter on Sunday:

A native of Delaware, McBride served on the Board of Directors of Equality Delaware. She was instrumental in getting the Gender Identity Nondiscrimination Act passed in the state. Upon signing the legislation, Delaware Governor Jack Markell issued the following statement:

“I especially want to thank my friend Sarah McBride, an intelligent and talented Delawarean who happens to be transgender. She courageously stood before the General Assembly to describe her personal struggles with gender identity and communicate her desire to return home after her college graduation without fear. Her tireless advocacy for passage of this legislation has made a real difference for all transgender people in Delaware.”

In her DNC speech, McBride will be focusing on policy goals including The Equality Act, calling on all LGBT Americans and their allies to support it. She will also be paying tribute to her late husband, Andy Cray. He was a transgender male who was also an advocate in Washington D.C. with a focus on LGBT health issues. Cray had suffered from cancer and believed he had beaten it only to have it return. Having two weeks to live, Cray proposed to McBride and the two were married on the rooftop of their building just a few days before he died. That he only got to live a small portion of his life as himself “underscored the urgency of this fight for me,” McBride told Time Magazine in an interview.

All eyes will be on her as transgender issues take center stage at the Democratic National convention on Thursday.

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