Elisa Crespo

Elisa Crespo is an American activist, nonprofit executive, and politician from New York City. She is the former executive director of the New Pride Agenda and current executive director of the Stonewall Community Foundation. Crespo ran in the 2021 New York City Council election.

Early life and education Crespo was born in New York City, and raised in several boroughs of the city by her Puerto Rican mother. During her childhood, her family relied on public benefits such as food stamps, Section 8, and Medicaid. After she met other trans women and understood her own identity, she transitioned when she was 15. She began sex work by age 16, and at 19 was diagnosed with HIV. In November 2012, she was arrested for sex work. During college, she was inspired to become politically active by her coursework and politicians including Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

Career From January through May 2019, Crespo interned with the Assembly Speaker, Carl Heastie (D-Bronx) and then interned for the New York City Council as a legislative intern until August 2019. After her graduation, Crespo worked as the education liaison to the Bronx Borough President, Ruben Diaz Jr., with a focus on advocacy for special education students. She also advocated for racial justice, criminal justice reforms, improvements in public health, and action to address climate change.

In November 2020, the New York Post published an article about her with a headline calling her an "ex-prostitute." In March 2021, parts of the article were included on a flyer that questioned "sex work experience versus public service," and Crespo responded by promoting awareness of violence against trans people.

Crespo was endorsed by the LGBTQ Victory Fund, and Gustavo Rivera. The special election was held on March 23, 2021, On April 6, 2021, Crespo announced she would not run in the Democratic primary in June.

In July 2021, Crespo became the Executive Director of the New Pride Agenda, a statewide LGBTQ advocacy organization, with a focus that includes LGBTQ youth, including advocacy for the Dignity for All Students Act to address anti-LGBTQ bullying; sex workers' rights, including advocacy for the Stop Violence in the Sex Trades Act to decriminalize sex work; and advocacy for PrEP access expansion.