ABOUT ME
Megan Rohrer (he/dr), PhD and DMin, is a San Francisco-based community leader, historian, artist, and advocate whose work has focused for more than two decades on supporting vulnerable communities, amplifying marginalized voices, and building bridges across faith, civic, and LGBTQ spaces.
A nationally recognized advocate for unhoused people and LGBTQ communities, Megan currently serves as the Policy Director at Compass Family Services, San Francisco’s largest provider of services for homeless families. His work focuses on housing justice, racial equity, immigrant support, and strengthening services for families experiencing homelessness. Through advocacy, coalition building, and public policy work, he has helped elevate issues impacting families living in vehicles, LGBTQ youth, and historically underserved communities.
Megan has spent much of his career working at the intersection of compassionate service, storytelling, and social justice. As Executive Director of Welcome for twelve years, he helped build programs supporting San Francisco’s LGBTQ unhoused community through food access, HIV support services, urban farming projects, and national advocacy efforts for LGBTQ youth experiencing homelessness.
In San Francisco civic life, Megan has served as co-chair of the city’s Local Homeless Coordinating Board, helping guide Coordinated Entry redesign efforts that reduced barriers and bias in shelter and housing systems while supporting the distribution of more than $70 million annually in federal housing resources. He also served as Community Chaplain Coordinator for the San Francisco Police Department, helping create community-centered responses to grief and crisis during the COVID-19 pandemic and supporting efforts to address historic harms against LGBTQ communities.
Megan’s work in faith communities has helped shape national conversations around LGBTQ inclusion and spiritual leadership. In 2006, he became one of the first openly transgender Lutheran pastors ordained through ecclesiastical disobedience before denominational rules changed. In 2021, he became the first openly transgender bishop elected in a mainline Christian denomination. Throughout his ministry, Megan has advocated for inclusion, accountability,
racial justice, and the full participation of LGBTQ people in faith communities.
An accomplished author, historian, filmmaker, and artist, Megan has written more than 50 books focused on intersectional storytelling, LGBTQ history, spirituality, and social change. His book for Arcadia Publishing’s Images of America series documenting the history of San Francisco’s Transgender District became a #1 New Release on Amazon. His historical and artistic work has been featured by the GLBT Historical Society, the National Queer Arts Festival, and publications including Briarpatch Magazine. Megan was also a finalist for the Lambda Literary Award and received international recognition for the documentary Zanderology.
Through Wilgefortis Press, Megan has helped more than 50 authors bring stories from historically marginalized communities to wider audiences. His work as a photographer, printmaker, painter, and musician continues to explore themes of resilience, spirituality, urban life, and collective care.
At Glide Memorial Church Megan collaborated with community leaders, artists, organizers, and public officials throughout San Francisco, including the Rev. Cecil Williams, Joan Baez, Michael Franti, and many others committed to justice and compassionate community building.
Grounded in a lifelong commitment to service, Megan continues to teach, preach, create art, support community storytelling, and advocate for a more just and compassionate world. He lives in San Francisco’s Bernal Heights neighborhood with his wife Laurel, their children, two cats, and one deacon.