Surgeon, Engineer, Advocate
Kathryn Rohr is a transgender woman who was featured with her wife, Linda, in National Geographic’s “Gender Revolution: A Journey with Katie Couric.” She retired from clinical practice in 2015 and underwent formal transition from William to Kathryn. Shortly thereafter, she and Linda relocated from California to mid-coast Maine, where they have maintained an 1840s farmhouse as a summer home for many years. She is board certified in orthopedic surgery, is an American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons Fellow and specializes in total joint and hand surgery. Rohr is an instrument and multi-engine rated commercial pilot for fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters, a certified scuba diver, an avid photographer and fly fisherman. In addition to her clinical practice, she has served in numerous leadership and advisory roles throughout the medical world, including special consultant to the Food and Drug Administration, worldwide vice president for research and development at Johnson & Johnson, senior vice president for research and development for Zimmer, Inc., and president of Alvarado Orthopedic Research, Inc. Rohr also has served as a director for numerous academic and professional organizations. She has a portfolio of over 25 patents spanning a wide variety of medical specialties and technology. Rohr continues her advocacy work on behalf of transgender patients, focusing on the depathologization of transgender identity. She feels there is an urgent need for a paradigm shift in the standards of care for transgender individuals in general medical practice and for providing psycho-social support for family members and the community.