LGBTQ2+ ally honors daughter with planned gift to support students

Her name was Ali and she was an ally.

Allison Murphy was a passionate and tireless advocate for the LGBTQ2+ community — particularly for those who are transgender — in honor of her daughter, Chloe Anne Lacey, who took her own life in 2010 after struggling for years with her gender identity.

After Lacey’s death, Murphy made it her life’s work to create a better world for transgender and gender-expansive people. She attended and participated in LGBTQ events like Fresno Reel Pride Film Festival, the Fresno Rainbow Pride Parade, Trans-E-Motion and wherever else she could to support and to share Lacey’s story.

It was through her advocacy that she met Robin McGehee, a nationally-recognized LGBTQ rights advocate and Fresno State alumna; Dr. Peter Robertson, development director at Fresno State; and Dr. Katherine Fobear, professor and coordinator of the LGBTQ2+ Studies minor in the Department of Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies at Fresno State. 

They bonded throughout the years. And, together with other allies and friends, they became the founding funders of the first LGBTQ2+ Studies Endowed Scholarship at Fresno State in 2023. But Murphy wanted to do more to provide security, support and opportunity for students like her daughter. 

Diagnosed with Stage 4 terminal breast cancer eight years ago, Murphy decided to include a provision in her estate plans to establish the Allison Murphy and Chloe Anne Lacey Scholarship Fund. The endowed memorial scholarship fund will support Fresno State students with a declared minor in LGBTQ2+ studies. 

“She’s dying the way she lived, which is a beautiful thing,” said McGehee, who first met Murphy 10 years ago at the screening of “Trans,” a documentary about transgender lives that included Lacey’s story and Murphy’s devotion to fight for her daughter’s dignity. “[Ali’s] thinking about the livelihood of queer youth. She saw what was happening at Fresno State, and wanted to endorse that effort by giving of her time and work, but also financially.” 

Murphy died on Oct. 21. 

“It’s a huge honor and kind of overwhelming because of the legacy that Ali and Chloe both provide to this scholarship,” Fobear said. “We really want to make sure to honor that legacy and to carry forth. Having that financial support through a scholarship helps students with graduation requirements, but it’s also a way to affirm that what they’re doing and who they are is so powerful.” 

Fobear met Murphy at a fundraiser to kick off the official launch of the LGBTQ2+ Studies minor last year. She was an enthusiastic supporter of the program and was especially excited about the new transgender studies class this fall, Fobear said. The upper division writing course has students enrolled from majors all across campus, she said. 

“What’s really cool about LGBTQ 2+ studies is that we have a blend of students who identify in that community, who want to see themselves in the curriculum because there’s just not a lot of opportunities to learn about their community,” Fobear said. “We also have a huge cohort of students who take the minor, not because they identify as a member of that community, but they want to better serve that community.” 

Robertson met Murphy at the Fresno Reel Pride Film Festival many years ago and remembers her as being joyful, welcoming and embracing — a true ally and advocate. He is a co-founder of the festival, but also researched allyship for his doctoral dissertation. 

“A good ally is standing with someone you know,” Robertson said, “but a great ally is standing for people you don’t know.” 

Memorial donations can be made at the Allison Murphy and Chloe Ann Lacey Scholarship Fund. For more information on additional ways to make an impact on LGBTQ2+ studies, contact Dr. Peter Robertson at probertson@mail.fresnostate.edu or 559.278.4669.

(Portrait by artist Arien Reed.)