It is a pretty big day for Jennifer Lydon.
Lydon, 48, is a senior account executive at Metro US — a free daily newspaper with readership in New York, Philadelphia and Boston — and, while she’s been with the publication for years, today marks yet another turning point.
Lydon, a Fox Chase native, came out as a transgender woman to her office in March and, today, she is gearing up to pay a visit to a client of hers who hasn’t seen her since her transition.
As we slide into the car, Lydon masks her nerves with a natural sense of humor, making jokes while she guides her car out of a Center City parking lot. Today, she will travel to Northeast Philadelphia to introduce her true self to a longtime client.
But before we leave the office, Lydon leads me to her boss, executive sales director Jennifer Clark. She embraces Clark, saying, “Without this woman here, none of this would have been possible,” waving her hands to signify the welcoming environment that was created for her.
Lydon is a recent Fishtown transplant who has also lived in Lansdale and Hatfield. She is a Cardinal Dougherty High School graduate who quickly climbed her way up the sales ladder after graduating.
She has been with Metro US for 14 years. Before starting with the paper in 2000, she worked as a regional telemarketing manager for a number of years.
“I started doing telemarketing to make some money but soon rose up and was a regional manager and learned I was pretty good at sales,” she said. “My brother worked for Metro in the editorial staff. He got me an interview. Sales is sales to me and, especially if you believe in what you are selling, which I do, it is a great career. I believe Metro works well for a lot of people.”
What didn’t work well for Lydon was living a double life at the office.
“I was figuring myself out all along, but I kinda knew who I was,” she said. “I’ve been on hormone replacement for four years since Oct. 1. I felt great at first but I was living a double life, going out all weekend long, partying and just having to turn into Brian on Monday. It was the most depressing thing.”
Lydon’s face drops a little as she thinks about her past life but revives again when the subject of her boss, Clark, is brought up.
“When Jennifer came, I saw something in her. I respected her right off the bat,” she said. “It isn’t that I didn’t respect my other managers but she’s a good salesperson and I think she cares about the people she works with. She’s very good at what she does, so I guess when she came, it was kind of like a Godsend because I was reaching my end. I was very depressed — calling out on Mondays a lot and I couldn’t get out of bed; it was getting that bad. I knew I had to do something.”
That’s when Lydon made a decision that would change her life forever.
“Jen wanted to meet me because she was sort of a new manager and wanted to get to know all her reps. We talked about doing lunch together one time. I had it in my head that I would use that time to tell her who I was, so I told her I needed to tell her something.”
In August 2013, Lydon met with Clark on a Friday at Good Dog, a local bar and restaurant.
“I looked at her and asked, ‘Am I talking to Jennifer my manager or Jennifer my friend?’ And she smiled and said, ‘Jennifer your friend.’ And I just spit it out and said I am transgender and I have been hiding it for a long time and I need you to know that.”
Lydon said Clark reacted in the perfect way, with a hug and reassurance. They discussed a plan to slowly introduce Jennifer to the Metro US staff.
“She’s amazing and I think in some ways maybe she saved my life,” Lydon said.
But the next several months were rough, only being out to her boss.
“I was moody, struggling and it felt good to tell her but I was still faking it. I was playing this role,” she said. “Months went by and a pretty close friend of mine committed suicide in September. She was working as a male and living as female. That woke me up. I called my manager and said I needed to talk to HR and I needed to know what my options were.”
Lydon said the Human Resources department was gracious and supportive of her. She went to California for a week to think things through before returning and eventually coming out to the office.
“We do a staff meeting every month and, when I came back from vacation, I was determined I was going to tell everyone and human resources came down and was going to talk about diversity,” she said. “I was so scared the whole day.”
Lydon sat, heart beating fast, in the meeting, waiting for her turn to talk about her identity. With shaking legs, Lydon was asked to speak.
“All the women were crying and all the men were comforting them. I don’t want to sugarcoat everything, but that is the way it turned out. Since then I’ve had no issues,” she said. “I became more comfortable with myself, spending time with friends, my boyfriend, and my parents. I continued to work even though I was given leave of absence. I took time to see clients with [Clark] and put on no make up, pulled my hair back in a ponytail and played Brian. It isn’t easy, though, because it took a lot of courage.”
Lydon had been married to her ex-wife, Debbie, since they were in their 20s. They have two children together. Debbie has become her biggest cheerleader, she said.
“My ex-wife is a very good friend of mine. We are actually good friends now, my kids are great. My parents were shocked but they were great and all my siblings were good,” she said. “I am really happier than I’ve ever been before. Each step I take in this transition, it is just like weight’s coming off.”
Lydon and her boyfriend, Tony, are celebrating their three-year anniversary this month.
“I saw him at the bar and we started talking and became friends first before I asked him out. He is a sweetheart and such a nice guy,” she said.
Lydon has accumulated a wealth of clients during her 14 years at Metro US. Coming out to them in the past few months has gotten easier, she said.
“I am kind of coming out every day still. It is new people all the time, a few that don’t know yet, but I am almost through my list.”
The intensity of Lydon’s workload varies as the weekly deadline approaches, but she’s tasked with consistently staying on top of her accounts and working to build new client relationships.
“We are a daily newspaper, so we have deadline and it is times five. It can get really nuts and you are expected to keep selling and making phone calls and keeping up on clients,” she said. “I make about 30 phone calls a day and I schedule as many appointments as possible and most are in town. Days that aren’t busy, I make myself busy.”
Her attitude toward her daily routine, has improved dramatically since her coming-out.
“I was such a fake, a lost person. Now I don’t think there are anymore steps for me.”