Sharon Siegel Collection
FULL FINDING AID AND LIST OF MATERIALS
Read the finding aid for the Collection Sharon Siegel processed between 2020-2024.
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Biography
Sharon Siegel (b. April 9, 1943) is a psychotherapist, community organizer and a lifelong advocate for women’s health in the Los Angeles area.
Sharon Siegel was born in Chicago, Illinois. She received a Bachelor of Arts in history from UCLA (1976), a Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology from Goddard College (1977), and a PHD in Clinical Psychology from International College in Los Angeles (1982).
Throughout Sharon’s career, she has worked as an educator, psychologist, bilingual Spanish/English counselor, rehabilitation group facilitator, and consultant for governmental agencies and community service organizations including: the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health; the University of Guanajuato, in Guanajuato, Mexico (1977-78); the Outpatient HIV/AIDS Ward of Martin Luther King Hospital/Drew Medical Center (1994-1998); and the South Central Health and Rehabilitation Program (1999 to 2012).
Sharon has also volunteered with many organizations including United Farmworkers, the Association for Women in Psychology, and the L-Fund, which she helped co-found in 2012.
Sharon was part of a group of lesbian activists led by Del Martínez and Lauren Jardine who co-founded Connexxus Women's Center/Centro de Mujeres, a women-run center in Los Angeles that provided quality and comprehensive services that catered to women, particularly lesbians. In January 1985, Connexxus opened in West Hollywood operating under the non-profit auspices of Southern California Women for Understanding until receiving its own 501(c)(3) non-profit organization status in July 1985. In 1986, they opened Connexxus East / Centro de Mujeres, a satellite location in East Los Angeles. Connexxus offered a variety of services at its two locations including referrals, support groups, Connexxus Business and Professional Women's Alliance (the Alliance), the West Coast Lesbian Collection / June Mazer Lesbian Archive, counseling, therapy services, workshops, social events, and a coffeehouse. When Connexxus opened, it filled the vacuum for a public space for women and lesbians in Los Angeles and paved the way for other lesbian and feminist spaces. In 1990 Connexxus ceased operations.
Sharon was also an active member of The Los Angeles Women’s Community Chorus (LAWCC), which she joined upon its inception. Established in 1976, the chorus intended to raise feminist and political consciousness by presenting choral music of all genres for women, by women, and about women. Its members were committed to combating discrimination based not only on gender, but on sexuality, race, age and disability. Starting from a small group of founding members – Carol Petracca, Joelyn Grippo, Lynn Wilson, Anna Rubin, Silvia Kohan, Faye Haines and Sue Fink – the Chorus eventually grew to between 60 to 100 members. After years of membership with the chorus, Sharon joined the Organizing Committee for the Chorus’ 20th anniversary reunion event in 1997, which brought many of its former members back to Los Angeles for a celebration of the LAWCC’s work and its history of feminist consciousness-raising and community building in Los Angeles through music.
Sharon continues to work as a psychotherapist in Palm Springs, California as well as a committed advocate for human rights and feminism.