1

LGBTQ Scholars of Color

Conference

John Jay College of Criminal Justice

City University of New York
New York, New York
April 8-10, 2015
#lgbtqsoc

university-based LGBTQ research center in the

country, and we are dedicated to the study of
historical, cultural, and political issues of vital
concern to LGBTQ individuals and communities. One
of the ways that CLAGS has evolved over the years is
that we are particularly committed to understanding
how intersectionalities affect the lives of LGBTQ
people. The fact that there are over 175 participants
gathered here at this meeting (and many more who
could not attend) is evidence that we need to
continue these conversations about our multiple
identities and change the ways that people think
about diversity.

Kevin L. Nadal, Ph.D.

I am so honored and excited to welcome you all to
our inaugural LGBTQ Scholars of Color
Conference. What started as a mere idea with my
dear colleague Dr. Debra Joy Perez has finally
become a reality, and I am so happy that you are
all here to experience this with us.
The LGBTQ Scholars of Color Conference and
Network was created in response to the
underrepresentation of LGBTQ scholars of color
in advanced research, evaluation and academic
positions. Because of the multiple obstacles that
LGBTQ people of color experience due to their
multiple marginalized identities, we wanted to
gather of group of individuals who could provide
each other support and validation, while also
gaining skill sets that can assist them in their
careers. We wanted to create a safe space where
participants can talk about everything from the
woes of graduate school or the tenure process, to
our strengths and abilities to overcome adversity
in multiple contexts and communities.
It is only fitting that CLAGS: The Center for LGBTQ
Studies is part of this convening. CLAGS is the first

Over the next three days, we will highlight the state

of academia as it relates to LGBTQ scholars of color,
while showcasing exemplar scholars and leaders
who care deeply about issues affecting our
communities. We also will have many opportunities
for fun and entertainment- with excellent food,
music, performances, and dancing. We hope the
networking opportunities during our convening
foster future collaborations and long-term
meaningful relationships.
We are grateful for support of The Annie E. Casey
Foundation, the Arcus Foundation, and the Andrus
Family Fund for their support. We also thank the
CUNY, Graduate Center, and John Jay College
community, as well as our allies, volunteers and
interns for their time and dedication to this
movement.
So on behalf of the Conference Planning Committee, I
welcome you and hope you leave us this conference
feeling rejuvenated, empowered and inspired to
continue your work and achieve all your dreams!
Maraming salamat (many thanks),
Kevin L. Nadal, Ph.D.
Executive Director, CLAGS: Center for LGBTQ Studies
Associate Professor, Psychology
John Jay College of Criminal Justice
Associate Professor, Clinical Psychology and
Critical/Social Personality Psychology
The Graduate Center- City University of New York

WELCOME LETTER
As part of AECFs commitment to diversity we are
always looking for ways to introduce new
researchers and scholars to the Foundations
program priorities. To this end, our Research,
Evaluation, and Learning (REAL) unit launched the
Expanding the Bench initiative led by Dr.
Kantahyanee Murray last year to increase the
number
of historically
under-represented
researchers and evaluators of color through a threepronged approach of strengthening ties, building
capacity and increasing field demand. Along with
celebrating the accomplishments of LGBTQ
researchers of color, you will have a chance to
network with each other and hear the stories of
courage, inspiration, and hope toward a stronger and
vibrant community.

Debra Joy Prez, Ph.D.

Welcome Participants,

We are pleased to support the LGBTQ Scholars of

Color Conference. The Annie E. Casey Foundation
(AECF) has a long-standing commitment to
expanding the diversity of perspectives galvanized
to address inequality and disparities. Our work in
systems reform including investments in child
welfare and juvenile justice has uncovered the
grave disparities that exist and the negative impact
these systems have on communities of color. In a
recent report title: Race for Results we were able
to document the vast disparities that occur
between people of color and white populations in
achieving key milestones along the various stages
of development. As the report states The public
systems designed to help children and families
have functioned in ways that denied opportunity to
people of color and even worked to push them
down the ladder. Throughout much of our history,
laws severely restricted access to jobs, health care
and education. Even today, despite great progress,
opportunities are not equitably distributed to all
Americans. Because of these disparities, we are in
need of diverse scholars who can help find
solutions to these pressing problems.

This conference provides a venue for diverse

scholars to network, strengthen skill sets, and affirm
their commitment to research that impacts the
communities we serve. We are so grateful for the
leadership of and partnership with Dr. Kevin Nadal,
my colleague and Conference Co-Chair and Executive
Director of the Center for LGBTQ Studies (CLAGS) at
the Graduate Center, CUNY (GC) and Associate
Professor of psychology at both John Jay College of
Criminal Justice and GC- CUNY. We also thank the
planning committee, and the many CUNY interns and
volunteers for their tireless work in making this
conference possible. A special thank you to National
Urban Fellow, Ilana Yamin for her incredible
dedication and hard work.
Finally, we are pleased to join Jason McGill of the
Arcus Foundation, Leticia Peguero of The Andrus
Family Fund, CLAGS, CUNY and John Jay College in
supporting this important conference and appreciate
their contributions to this effort. On behalf of our
President and CEO, Patrick McCarthy and myself,
welcome!
To your success,
Debra Joy Prez, Ph.D.
Vice President for Research, Evaluation and Learning
Annie E. Casey Foundation

MAJOR SPONSORS

Developing solutions to build a brighter future for children, families and communities.
www.aecf.org
www.aecf.org

Dedicated to supporting LGBT social justice

and the conservation of great apes.
Push boundaries. Make change.
www.arcusfoundation.org

Fostering just and sustainable change

in the United States. Fostering
connections. Unlocking promise.
www.affund.org

The first university-based LGBTQ research center in the United States committed to nurturing
cutting-edge scholarship, organizing events for examining and affirming LGBT lives, fostering
network-building among academics, artists, activists, policy makers, and community members,
and providing fellowships that promote reflection on queer pasts, presents, and futures.
www.clags.org

SUPPORTERS

ABOUT THE NETWORK

Despite great progress, opportunities are not equitably distributed to all Americans.
Because of these disparities, we are in need of diverse scholars who can help find
solutions to the nations most pressing social problems. Solutions require innovation and
diversity. Unfortunately, todays universities and colleges are far from diverse. Scholars
of color lack representation in research and evaluation thus facing unique challenges in
pursuing their professional and academic goals. These challenges are particularly severe
for LGBTQ scholars of Color from historically under-represented racial and ethnic groups.

Mission:
The purpose of this LGBTQ Scholars of Color network is to provide methodological, social,
and spiritual support to LGBTQ Scholars of Color working to find solutions to social
problems. The following goals and guiding principles are intended to ensure the success
of historically under-represented researchers and evaluators of color through
strengthening ties, building capacity and increasing visibility. This network celebrates the
accomplishments of LGBTQ scholars of color, and highlights their stories of courage,
inspiration, and hope toward a stronger and vibrant community.
Goals and Guiding Principles:
Share ideas and best practices for providing support, building capacity, and
increasing opportunities for LGBTQ scholars of color, regardless of research area or
discipline.
Foster a collaborative network that is self-sustaining and organized without being
owned by any one organization, individual, or group.
Prioritize the needs and interests of historically under-represented scholars of color
while actively considering the importance of intersectionality (e.g., race, gender,
class) and a diversity of identities.
Contributes to just and sustainable change by strengthening the pipeline of LGBTQ
scholars of color.

Wednesday, April 8, 2015

4:30 p.m. 9:00 p.m.
Foyer (Atrium)

Check-in

5:30 p.m. 6:30 p.m.

L61

Conference Welcome Remarks

6:30 p.m. 8:30 p.m.

1.85

Conference Welcome Reception & Student Poster Showcase

Kevin L. Nadal, Ph.D. Executive Director, CLAGS: The Center for LGBTQ Studies &
Associate Professor of Psychology at John Jay College of Criminal Justice
Debra Joy Prez, Ph.D., Vice President, Research, Evaluation & Learning at The Annie E.
Casey Foundation

*Poster Presentation Topics and Authors on Page 25

Icebreaker Activity
C. Riley Snorton, Ph.D., Cornell University & CLAGS: The Center for LGBTQ Studies
Spoken Word/Poetry
Alexis Gumbs, Ph.D.

Thursday, April 9, 2015

8:00 a.m. 8:50 a.m.
Room L.61

Check-in & Continental Breakfast

9:00 a.m. 9:15 a.m.

Lecture Hall, L.63

Opening Remarks

9:15 a.m. 10:30 a.m.

Lecture Hall, L.63

Plenary Session

Debra Joy Prez, Ph.D., The Annie E. Casey Foundation

Life in Academia for LGBTQ People of Color: State of the Field

Kevin L. Nadal, Ph.D., John Jay College of Criminal Justice & CLAGS: Center for LGBTQ
Studies
John Paul Snchez, M.D., M.P.H., Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Montefiore
Medical Center
Anneliese Singh, Ph.D., University of Georgia
Moderator: C. Riley Snorton, Ph.D., Cornell University
In response to the underrepresentation of LGBTQ faculty of color in the academy, the
panel highlights the state of the field for LGBTQ Scholars of Color, needs and
opportunities for LGBTQ faculty of color and career pathways to success.

10:30 a.m. 10:45 a.m.

Room L. 61

Morning Break

10:45 a.m. 12:00 p.m.

Lecture Hall, L.63

Plenary Session
Being an LGBTQ Scholar of Color
Beverly Greene, Ph.D., St. Johns University
Sel Hwahng, Ph.D., Mt. Sinai Beth Israel Hospital
Francisco Snchez, Ph.D., University of Wisconsin, Madison
Moderator: Tonia Poteat, Ph.D., Johns Hopkins University
Previous literature has described the difficulty in being a dual minority (i.e., LGBTQ and a
person of color), citing the experiences of historical and present-day marginalization
(e.g., stereotyping, oppression, stigmatization, and negative reactions) by ones racial/
ethnic community, by ones LGBTQ community, and by the general dominant society.
This panel will focus on the personal experiences of LGBTQ scholars of color, focusing on
issues like coming out, navigating various systems and institutions, and addressing
issues like overt discrimination to subtle microaggressions.

12:15 p.m. 1:30 p.m.

Dining Hall (2nd Floor)

Networking Lunch
Welcoming Remarks:
Andrew Spieldenner, Ph.D., Board Chair of CLAGS: The Center for LGBTQ Studies &
Assistant Professor at Hofstra University
Networking Lunch Facilitators:
Tonia Poteat, Ph.D., Johns Hopkins University
Kantahyanee W. Murray, Ph.D., Annie E. Casey Foundation

1:30 p.m. 2:45 p.m.

Lecture Hall, L.63

Keynote Address
David J. Malebranche, M.D., University of Pennsylvania

3:00 p.m. 4:15 p.m.

Breakout Sessions
*Descriptions on Page 27

NB 1.81

Navigating the Tenure Process

Michael Mobley, Ph.D. & Raul Rubio, Ph.D.

NB 1.83

Communications/Media 101: How to Make Your Research Accessible to the Public

andr carrington, Ph.D.

NB 1.85

Difficult Dialogues on Privilege

Mara R. Scharrn-del Ro, Ph.D.

NB 1.87

Research is Personal
Nadine Nakamura, Ph.D. & Edgar Rivera Colon, Ph.D.

NB 1.89

Advanced Quantitative Research Methods

Jose Bauermeister, Ph.D.

4:30 p.m. 5:45 p.m.

Lecture Hall (L63)

PLENARY SESSION
Life in Academia: State of the Field
Y. Barry Chung, Ph.D., Indiana University
Renee M. Johnson, Ph.D., M.P.H., Johns Hopkins University
Jose Nanin, Ph.D., Kingsborough Community College & CUNY School of Public Health
Moderator: India J. Ornelas, Ph.D., M.P.H., University of Washington
Over the past two decades, there has been a growth in literature that has focused on
the experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people of
color, namely Black/African Americans, Latina/os, Asian Americans, Pacific Islanders,
and Native Americans. Most of this research has concentrated on health and mental
disparities of this subgroup, revealing a higher prevalence of substance abuse, HIV/AIDS,
self-esteem issues, emotional trauma, suicidal ideation, and general health disparities
than their LGBTQ White counterparts community, by their LGBTQ community, and by
the general dominant society (Nadal, 2013). This panel will focus on some of the current
trends in research on LGBTQ communities of color in health, social sciences, humanities,
and more.

5:45 p.m. 7:45 p.m.

Room L.61

Networking Reception & Early Career/Student Poster Showcase

*Poster Presentation Topics and Authors on Page 26
Entertainment
J. Mase, Spoken Word Artist
Closing Remarks
Debra Joy Prez, Ph.D., Annie E. Casey Foundation

Friday, April 10, 2015

8:00 a.m. 8:50 a.m.
Foyer (Atrium)
9:00 a.m. 9:15 a.m.
Lecture Hall, L.63

Check-in & Continental Breakfast

9:15 a.m. 10:30 a.m.

Lecture Hall, L.63

PLENARY SESSION
Plenary Session

Opening Remarks
Kevin L. Nadal, Ph.D., John Jay College of Criminal Justice & CLAGS: Center for LGBTQ
Studies

Advocating for Social Justice: Translating Research into Policy & Practice
Osman Ahmed, New York City Anti-Violence Project
Cecilia Gentili, APICHA Community Health Center
Alexis Pauline Gumbs, Ph.D., Brilliance Remastered
Charlotte Tate, Ph.D., San Francisco State University
Moderator: David P. Rivera, Ph.D., William Paterson University
Because of the many issues that affect LGBTQ communities, communities of color, and
LGBTQ communities of color, it becomes crucial for academics, researchers, and
evaluators to use their work to advocate for social justice and change, while also using

10

their work to implement change on systemic and institutional levels. This panel will
focus on the various ways that individuals have used research (either their own research
or others research) to advocate for change in policy, education, and social service.
10:30 a.m. 10:45 a.m.
Room L. 61

Morning Break

10:45 a.m. 12:00 p.m.

Lecture Hall, L.63

Plenary Session
Funding Research on LGBTQ People of Color
Cheryl Anne Boyce, Ph.D., National Institutes of Health
Sophie Dagenais, Annie E. Casey Foundation
Leticia Peguero, Andrus Family Fund & Andrus Family Philanthropy Program
Jose Bauermeister, Ph.D., University of Michigan
Moderator: Kantahyanee W. Murray, Ph.D., Annie E. Casey Foundation
While limited funding is a concern for most scholars, it is particularly concerning for
LGBTQ scholars of color. There will be two purposes for this panel: (1) representatives
from various private and federal funding organizations will discuss their perspectives on
best practices to getting funding and (2) one researcher will describe his process is
successfully attaining funding from various sources.

12:15 p.m. 1:30 p.m.

Dining Hall (2nd Floor)

Networking Lunch

1:30 p.m. 2:45 p.m.

Breakout Sessions

Invited Speaker
Geena Rocero, Founder of Gender Proud

*Descriptions on Page 28
NB 1.69

Diversity Issues in Universities: Best Models & Practices

India J. Ornelas, Ph.D., M.P.H. & Marta E. Esquilin, Ed.D.

NB 1.71

Community-Based Evaluation: Developing Partnerships & Infusing Data into Daily

Operations
Andrew Spieldenner, Ph.D. & Tammy Flemming, Ph.D.

NB 1.73

Our Inclusive Quilt Bagpipe: Using Standpoint Theory as a Framework for Mentoring
Students
John Frederick, Ph.D.

NB 1.75

Developing Skills for Social Justice Advocacy

Kalayaan Mendoza

NB 1.76

Self-Care, Intersectionalities, and Social Justice

Marie Miville, Ph.D.

NB 1.77

Action Based Qualitative Research & Intersectionality

Annemarie Vaccaro, Ph.D.

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3:00 p.m. 4:15 p.m.

Lecture Hall, L.63

Keynote Address
Tania Israel, Ph.D., University of California, Santa Barbara

4:30 p.m. 6:00 p.m.

Faculty Dining Room
(2nd Floor)

Speed Mentoring Session

Participants who signed up for and were selected for Speed Mentoring will have an
opportunity to meet three mentors for 10 minute mentoring sessions. You should
receive a schedule for Speed Mentoring during Registration.
Mentors include Drs. Jose Bauermeister, Cheryl Boyce, Barry Chung, Edgar Rivera Coln,
John Frederick, Sel Hwahng, Tania Israel, Renee Johnson, David Malebranche, Marie
Miville, Michael Mobley, Kevin Nadal, Nadine Nakumura, Jose Nann, Debra Joy Prez,
Tonia Poteat, David Rivera, JP Sanchez, Maria Scharron-del Rio, Anneliese Singh, Andrew
Spieldenner, Charlotte Tate, and Annemarie Vaccaro

7:30 p.m. 10:30 p.m.

Dining Hall (2nd Floor)

Dinner & Celebration

Closing Remarks
Kevin L. Nadal, Ph.D. Executive Director, CLAGS: The Center for LGBTQ Studies &
Associate Professor of Psychology at John Jay College of Criminal Justice
Debra Joy Prez, Ph.D., Vice President, Research, Evaluation & Learning at The Annie E.
Casey Foundation
Performance
Karen Jaime, Ph.D.
Music by
Goldie Was Here
www.goldiewashere.com
Photobooth by:
Picsfly
www.picsfly.com

FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK AT
www.facebook.com/LGBTQSOC
Tweet with #lgbtqsoc
.

Thank you!

12

KEYNOTE SPEAKERS BIOGRAPHIES

Tania Israel, Ph.D. is a Professor in the Department of Counseling, Clinical, and
School Psychology at the University of California, Santa Barbara. She received a
Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from Arizona State University and a Masters
degree in Human Sexuality Education and a B.A. in Psychology and Womens
Studies from the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Israel is a Fellow of the
American Psychological Association (APA), Past-President of the Society of
Counseling Psychology (SCP), and recipient of a five-year career development
grant from the National Institute of Mental Health. Her honors include the Asian
and Pacific Islander Heritage Award for Excellence in Mental Health from the
California Asian & Pacific Islander Legislative Caucus, the Emerging Leader
Award from the APA Committee on Women in Psychology, a Shining Star Award
from the National Multicultural Conference and Summit, the SCP Section for the
Advancement of Women 2011 Woman of the Year Award, and the SCP Section
for LGBT Issues Award for Significant Contribution to Social Justice and
Advocacy. Her scholarship focuses on interventions to support the mental
health and well-being of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ)
individuals and communities; privilege and oppression; intersections among
gender, ethnicity, and sexual orientation; and social justice.

David J. Malebranche, MD, MPH is a clinician-researcher with expertise in the

clinical management of HIV and behavioral HIV prevention research with Black
men in the United States. He is currently a primary care physician at the
University of Pennsylvania's Student Health Center in Philadelphia, PA. Dr.
Malebranche is board certified in Internal Medicine and is recognized as an HIV
Specialist from the American Academy of HIV Medicine. He is also an
experienced qualitative HIV behavioral prevention researcher who has
completed several studies on sexual health among Black men of diverse
sexualities. His other areas of expertise are Men's and LGBT health, as well as
the diagnosis and treatment of HIV and Sexually Transmitted Infections (STI).
Dr. Malebranches work has been featured in medical and public health
journals such as The Annals of Internal Medicine, The American Journal of
Public Health, The Journal of General Internal Medicine, Health Affairs, Men
and Masculinities, The Archives of Sexual Behavior and The Journal of the
National Medical Association. He is known as a dynamic speaker nationwide
and has appeared in documentaries on CNN, ABC News Primetime, TV One and
Black Entertainment Television (BET) for his expertise on HIV in the Black
community. Dr. Malebranche also served as a member of the Presidents
Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS (PACHA) from 2006 2008, and was the HIV/AIDS
clinical expert on WebMD from 2010 - 2012.

13

KEYNOTE SPEAKERS BIOGRAPHIES

Geena Rocero is a professional model for fashion and beauty

companies around the world. Originally from the Philippines, she
immigrated to New York to pursue her dream of being a
supermodel. In 2014, she came out as transgender during a Ted
Talk which was viewed over 2 million times in just a few
months. She founded Gender Proud, an advocacy and awareness
organization that brings attention to the need for all transgender
individuals to self-identify with the fewest barriers possible.
She has been featured in notable magazines, including an August
2014 spread in Elle Magazine.

www.genderproud.com

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FEATURED SPEAKERS BIOGRAPHIES

Osman Ahmed is the National Coalition of AntiViolence Programs (NCAVP) Research and Education
Coordinator at the New York City AntiViolence Project. NCAVP works to prevent, respond to, and end all
violence within and against LGBTQ and HIVaffected communities. NCAVP produces two annual national
reports on LGBTQH Hate Violence and LGBTQH Intimate Partner Violence, the only national reports of their
kind. NCAVP uses these reports to document and raise awareness of the prevalence of this violence, advocate
for policy and funding changes that will increase resources to address LGBTQH violence, and recommend
strategies to prevent, respond to, and end this violence.
Jose Bauermeister, PhD is the John G. Searle Assistant Professor of Health Behavior and Health Education
(HBHE), and Director of the Center for Sexuality & Health Disparities (SexLab) at the University of Michigans
School Of Public Health. Originally from San Juan, Puerto Rico, Dr. Bauermeister completed his MPH and PhD
in Public Health from the University of Michigan. Prior to joining the HBHE faculty, Dr. Bauermeister was a NIH
postdoctoral fellow in the HIV Center for Clinical and Behavioral Studies at Columbia University. Dr.
Bauermeister's work explores the role that sexuality and sexual behaviors play in youths' lives, and how those
experiences transform into HIV/AIDS vulnerability. Since 2010, Dr. Bauermeister has led an academiccommunity partnership (UHIP) focused on addressing the structural barriers fueling the HIV/STI disparities
faced by Black and Latino YMSM in the Detroit Metro Area. This work has led to the development of Mfierce,
a 3-year structural intervention project funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and
an online HIV/STI testing intervention for YMSM in Southeast Michigan (Get Connected!). He also serves in the
Editorial Boards of the Journal of Youth & Adolescence, Archives of Sexual Behavior, AIDS and Behavior, and
Health Education & Behavior.

Cheryl Anne Boyce, Ph.D. is currently the Chief of the Behavioral and Brain Development Branch and
Associate Director for Child and Adolescent Research within the Division of Clinical Neuroscience and
Behavioral Research, National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), National Institutes of Health (NIH),
Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). For over a decade, she has collaborated and consulted
on issues of research and policy on the topics of child abuse and neglect, trauma and violence, early
childhood, health disparities, mental health and substance use with agencies, research investigators, those in
clinical practice and the Nations public as a federal health scientist administrator. A native of Washington,
DC, she completed her bachelors degree cum laude at the Catholic University of America with University
Honors in the Social Sciences and completed her doctoral studies in clinical psychology at the University of
North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Building upon clinical and research training and fellowships at the Childrens
National Medical Center and the University of Maryland Department of Psychiatry, she began her Federal
career as a Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD)/American Association for the Advancement of
Science (AAAS) Executive Branch Policy Fellow with a joint appointment to the Administration for Children
and Families and National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH).
andr m. carrington, Ph.D. is Assistant Professor of African-American Literature at Drexel University. He has
contributed to Black Gay Genius: Answering Joseph Beam's Call and Race/Gender/Class/Media 3.0. His first
book, Speculative Blackness: The Future of Race in Science Fiction, will be published by University of Minnesota
Press in 2015. He is on the Board of Directors for CLAGS: The Center for LGBTQ, the nation's oldest
university-based institute for scholarship in the interest of the LGBT community, and has been called on as a
peer reviewer for African American Review, the Journal of Modern Literature, Racial History Review, and the
Journal of Homosexuality.

15

Y. Barry Chung, Ph.D. is a Professor and Director of the counseling psychology doctoral program at Indiana
University Bloomington. He received his Ph.D. in counseling psychology from the University of Illinois at
Urbana-Champaign and has worked at Georgia State University and Northeastern University prior to joining
the faculty at Indiana University in 2012. His research interests include career development; multicultural
counseling; and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender issues. He was President of the National Career
Development Association (2006-07) and Society of Counseling Psychology (2011-12). He also served on the
following Boards of the American Psychological Association: Board of Educational Affairs (2007-09), Board
for the Advancement of Psychology in the Public Interest (2010-12), and Membership Board (2013-15). He is
currently Chair of the APA Membership Board, and a member on the Council of Representatives (Division 17
Rep) of the American Psychological Association (2015-17). He is also a Fellow of the National Career
Development Association, Asian American Psychological Association, and American Psychological
Association (Divisions 17, 44, and 45).
Edgar Rivera Coln, Ph.D. is a lecturer in the Narrative Medicine program teaching qualitative research
methods. Dr. Rivera Coln is a medical anthropologist who trains frontline African American and Latino/a
HIV/AIDS activists in the use of ethnographic research methods in developing community-level interventions.
For the last fifteen years, he has been conducting ethnographic research on New York Citys House Ball
community. He is an expert on Latino gay and bisexual male sexual cultures and HIV and regularly trains
public health professionals in cultural competency in working with Latino/a LGBTQ communities. Recently,
Dr. Rivera Coln published Between the Runway & the Empty Tomb: Bodily Transformation and Christian
Praxis in New York Citys House Ball Community in an edited volume by Dr. Samuel Cruz entitled Christianity
and Culture in the City: A Postcolonial Approach. He is now working on a co-edited volume entitled Queer
Latino/a Theologies and the Churches.

Sophie Dagenais is Director of the Baltimore Civic Site at the Annie E. Casey Foundation. In this capacity,
Ms. Dagenais oversees the Foundation's place-based investment strategies in Baltimore, directs the entire
portfolio of grant making activities in Baltimore, and advises the Foundation's President and senior leadership
team concerning the Foundation's large portfolio of financial investments associated with the East Baltimore
Revitalization Initiative - an ambitious, $1.8B community change initiative in partnership with the City of
Baltimore, State of Maryland, and Johns Hopkins Institutions. Prior to joining the Foundation, Sophie was
Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blakes Chief of Staff. In her role as Chief of Staff, Sophie oversaw a Mayoral
transition, helped to structure and organize the Administrations approach to governing, supervised the Citys
administrative functions, including Finance and HR, and provided leadership support to the Citys complex
portfolio of human and social services agencies. Previously, Sophie was a Partner at Ballard Spahr LLP from
1996 to 2004, and from 2008 to 2010, where she advised a diverse group of public and private sector clients in
a wide range of complex projects and transactions, specializing in finance, energy and real estate. Sophie
has also served as General Counsel and Chief Administrative Officer of Rockwood Realty, a real estate
investment-banking firm in New York City, and is a co-founder of real estate development and investment
company FiveStone Properties, LLC. Sophie was an associate at Ballard Spahr from 1992 to 1996, and at
Frank Bernstein Conaway & Goldman from 1988 to

16

Marta Elena Esquilin is a social justice educator, multicultural affairs administrator, community builder, and
diversity consultant. In addition to her consulting work with the Posse Foundation and various colleges and
universities around the United States, she is currently the Director of Intercultural and Social Justice
Programs within the Office of Multicultural Affairs at Columbia University. She holds a degree in Higher
Education Administration from Teachers college, Columbia University. Martas passion and current work
focuses on creating opportunities for students to have difficult dialogues about issues of social inequity that
create schisms between communities. She is particularly interested in raising awareness about how micro
aggressions manifest to create hostile environments for marginalized identities within work and school
settings. Most recently, she has been developing trainings, assessment tools, and educational opportunities
to address the impacts of microaggressions within educational settings. Through her work, she is most
committed to creating spaces for healing and liberation for communities impacted by oppression, violence,
and marginalization. She was recently appointed as a board member of CLAGS: The Center for LGBTQ
Studies at the CUNY Graduate Center.
Tammi Fleming, Ph.D. CHES, is a Senior Associate at The Annie E. Casey Foundation in Baltimore, MD. Prior
to this position, she was the Director of the Plain Talk National Replication Center at Public Health
Management Corporation in Philadelphia, PA. Her work extends over 20 years and include her roles as
community organizer, program design expert, and program administrator. Dr. Fleming earned her Master of
Public Health from Tulane University with a dual concentration in Maternal Child Health and Health
Education and Communication. Dr. Fleming earned her doctorate in Public Health from Walden University.
Her research interest include, replication of evidence-based programs, implementation fidelity, and
adolescent reproductive health.

Dr. John Frederick is currently the Director of Academic Planning and Assessment at the University of North
Carolina at Charlotte (UNC Charlotte). In this facilitative leadership role, he works with various UNC Charlotte
academic affairs units to plan, implement and sustain their efforts in the assessment of student learning and
strategic planning. Prior to UNC-Charlotte, he served as a faculty member and as an administrator at Miami
Dade College (MDC). Accordingly, he conducted workshops on performance-based assessment design,
building rubrics, writing learning outcomes and closing the assessment loop. In addition to his work in
student learning outcomes assessment, his academic interests include African-American rhetoric,
intercultural communication, nonverbal communication, identity and body politics, and representations of
Black males. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from Brooklyn College, CUNY and his Master of Arts and
Doctor of Philosophy degrees from Howard University in Washington, DC.
Originally from Argentina, Cecilia Gentili has embarked on an incredible journey of transformation,
ultimately turning her into a widely respected advocate for trans rights in New York City. Currently, she
serves as the Trans Health Coordinator for the APICHA Community Health Center, while continuing her work
as a mentor and an advocate within her local community in Jackson Heights, Queens. She was also a
contributor to Trans Bodies,Trans Selves, a 672-page book and resource guide for transgender and gender
non-conforming populations.

17

Dr. Beverly Greene received her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the Derner Institute of Adelphi University,
and was a Doctoral Fellow in Mental Retardation at the Mental Retardation Institute of New York Medical
College in Valhalla, New York. She has served on the editorial boards of numerous scholarly journals and is
the author of nearly 100 publications in the psychological literature. Nine of those publications have received
national awards as significant contributions to the psychological literature on women, women of color, sexual
minorities, African American women and families. She is the founding co-editor of the APA Div. 44 book
series Psychological Perspectives on Lesbian, Gay & Bisexual Issues. She is also the recipient of numerous
national awards that include the 1996 Outstanding Leadership Award from the APA Committee on Lesbian,
Gay and Bisexual Concerns; 2000 APA Society for the Psychology of Women Heritage Award; 2003 APA
Committee on Women in Psychology Distinguished Leadership Award;2004 Award for Distinguished Senior
Career Contributions to Ethnic Minority Research (APA Division 45); 2005 Stanley Sue Award for
Distinguished Professional Contributions to Diversity in Clinical Psychology (APA Division 12); 2006 Helms
Award for Scholarship and Mentoring (TC, Columbia Univ Cross Cultural Roundtable); 2006 Florence Halpern
Award for Distinguished Professional Contributions to Clinical Psychology(APA Division 12); 2007
Distinguished Scientific Contributions to LGB Psychology Award (APA Division 44); 2007 Distinguished
Career Award (Assn for Women in Psych); 2008 Carolyn Wood Sherif Award(APA Division 35); 2009
Distinguished Contributions to Psychology in the Public Interest Senior Career Award(APA).
Alexis Pauline Gumbs, Ph.D. is a queer black troublemaker, a black feminist love evangelist and a prayer
poet priestess. Alexis has a PhD in English, African and African American Studies and Women and Gender
Studies from Duke University. Alexis was the first scholar to research the Audre Lorde Papers at Spelman
College, the June Jordan Papers at Harvard University, and the Lucille Clifton Papers at Emory University, and
she is currently on tour with her interactive oracle project The Lorde Concordance, a series of ritual
mobilizing the life and work of Audre Lorde as a dynamic sacred text. Alexis has also published widely on
Caribbean Womens Literature with a special interest in Dionne Brand. Her scholarly work is published in
Obsidian, Symbiosis, Macomere, The Routledge Companion to Anglophone Literature, SIGNS, Feminist
Collections, The Black Imagination, Mothering and Hip Hop Culture, The Business of Black Power and more.
Alexis is the author of an acclaimed collections of poems 101 Things That Are Not True About the Most Famous
Black Women Alive and Good Hair Gone Forever. Her poetic work is published in Kweli, Vinyl, Backbone,
Everyday Genius, Turning Wheel, UNFold, Makeshift and more. She has several books in progress including
Blue Airmail Letter a scholarly monograph on black feminism in diaspora, a prose experiment called Spill and
an educational resource called the School of Our Lorde. She is also the co-editor of a forthcoming edited
collection on legacies of radical mothering called Revolutionary Mothering: Love on the Frontlines. Alexis is the
founder of Brilliance Remastered, a service to help visionary underrepresented graduate students stay
connected to purpose, passion, and community, co-founder of the Mobile Homecoming Project, a national
experiential archive amplifying generations of Black LGBTQ Brilliance, and the community school Eternal
Summer of the Black Feminist Mind. Alexis has received many honors for her creative community
accountable intellectual work including being one of UTNE Reader's 50 Visionaries Transforming the World,
Advocate Magazine's 40 under 40, Go Magazines 100 Women We Love and she is the proud recipient of a
Too-Sexy for 501c3 trophy.

18

Sel J. Hwahng, Ph.D. is a Co-Investigator at the Baron Edmond de Rothschild Chemical Dependency
Institute, Mount Sinai Beth Israel, and an Adjunct Professor at the Center for the Study of Ethnicity and Race,
Columbia University. Sel has received numerous grants, awards, and fellowships from such
organizations/institutions as the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), the National Institutes of Health,
the American Public Health Association, the International AIDS Society, and the Association for Women in
Psychology. Sel has participated as a Research Investigator on studies funded by institutions/organizations
such as NIDA, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, New York State AIDS Institute,
and the Keith Haring Foundation. Publications include over 25 sole-, first-, and co-authored articles and book
chapters in peer-reviewed journals and edited volumes as well as first-author on multiple public health
reports and advisor for edited volumes, reports, and health resource guides. Sel is Program Chair of the
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Caucus of the American Public Health Association.
Renee M. Johnson, PhD, MPH, is an Assistant Professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public
Health, in the Department of Mental Health. She also co-directs the NIDA-funded Drug Dependence
Epidemiology Training Program at Johns Hopkins; the program currently has 22 pre- and post-doctoral
trainees. Originally from Philadelphia, PA, she completed her MPH and PhD in Public Health from the UNC
Gillings School of Global Public Health. She was an Alonzo Smythe Yerby Post-Doctoral Fellow at Harvard
School of Public Health, and worked at the Harvard Youth Violence Prevention Center. Dr. Johnson is a social
scientist who studies violence and substance use among low-income, urban adolescents and emerging adults.
She is particularly interested in the experiences of youth of color, LGBT youth, and immigrant youth.
Relevant to LGBT youth, she examines the role of family support, school support, and peer violence in wellbeing. She served on the Executive Committee of the Massachusetts Commission on LGBT Youth from 20102012, and, as part of that committee, made recommendations to the governor of Massachusetts for
protecting LGBT youth in their schools and communities. Dr. Johnsons work has been featured in medical
and public health journals such as JAMA, American Journal of Preventive Medicine, and the Journal of
Interpersonal Violence. She is on the editorial board of the Journal of School Violence.
Kalayaan Mendoza has spent his 15year activist career working for various issues ranging from Queer
rights to Tibetan independence to antiracist organizing and beyond. He is currently serving as Amnesty
International USA's Western Regional Field Organizer, coordinating with human rights activists in Southern
California, Colorado, Idaho and Wyoming. His charge as a Field Organizer is to empower activists with the
tools, training and materials needed to positively impact human rights in the US and abroad. Prior to working
at Amnesty International USA he was the Grassroots Coordinator for Students for a Free Tibet International
during the Beijing 2008 Olympics campaign. In his role as Grassroots Coordinator Kalayaan launched and
coordinated numerous social networkbased campaigns globally, utilizing social media platforms ranging
from Facebook to Twitter to Youtube. Kalayaan was part of a team Tibet activists who were detained,
interrogated and ejected from China for protesting human rights abuses in Beijing during the Opening
Ceremonies of the 2008 Olympic Games. Outside of his human rights organizing, Kalayaan facilitates a
multitude of workshops for community groups, high school and university students. These info-shares
include everything from Non-violent Direct Action Organizing to Decolonizing the Mind to Social Media
Strategy For Activists.

19

Marie Miville, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor and Department Chair in the Department of Counseling and
Clinical Psychology at Teachers College, Columbia University. Professor Miville has conducted research and
developed workshops exploring the impact of oppression and privilege as based on various aspects of
identity, including race, culture, and gender, among populations of color. Dr. Miville is the editor of two
books, Multicultural Gender Roles (Wiley) and, with Angela Ferguson, Handbook of Race-Ethnicity and Gender
in Psychology (Springer), and the author of over 60 journal articles and book chapters dealing with
multicultural issues in counseling and psychology. Dr. Miville also served as Chair of the Council of Counseling
Psychology Training Programs (CCPTP) and Co-Chair of the joint Division 17/CCPTP Special Task Group that
developed the Integrative Training Model, a competency-based model integrating multiple aspects of
diversity. Dr. Miville also helped to develop the Counseling Psychology Model Training Values Statement
Addressing Diversity (http://www.ccptp.org/trainingdirectorpage6.html), and was among a group of authors
who won the "2009 Major Contribution Award" for a series of articles about the statement published in The
Counseling Psychologist. She is the 2015 President of the National Latina/o Psychology Association, the VicePresident for Education and Training for American Psychological Association (APA) Division 17, the Book
Series Editor for APA Division 44, and is an APA Fellow (Division 17 and 45).
Michael Mobley, Ph.D. received his doctorate in Counseling Psychology from The Pennsylvania State
University. He is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at Salem State University and
Graduate Program Coordinator of the M.S. Counseling program. His research interests include multicultural
counseling competencies, perfectionism, scale development, risks & protective factors among culturally
diverse adolescents, and racial/ethnic and gay & lesbian identity development models. As the current
President of the Society of Counseling Psychology (SCP), Division 17 of the American Psychological
Association, his presidential initiatives have focused on Engagement, Empowering Youth, and Integrative
Behavioral Mental Health. He has served as SCP Treasurer and 2013 National Multicultural Conference and
Summit Coordinator, as co-founding chair of Give Back: Stepping Up to the Plate initiative (now, Community
Engagement Committee), and as Chair/Past Chair of the Section for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender
Issues. He was also a chair and member of the APA Committee on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender
Concerns.
Kantahyanee W. Murray, PhD is a Senior Research Associate in the Research, Evaluation and Learning
(REAL) Unit at the Annie E. Casey Foundation. She commissions and monitors research and evaluation
projects in collaboration with AECFs Center for Systems Innovation, particularly in the areas of child welfare
and evidence-based practice. In addition, Dr. Murray directs AECFs Expanding the Bench initiative, a core
strategy of REAL to increase the number of historically underrepresented evaluators of color in the evaluation
field. Current Expanding the Bench initiatives for underrepresented evaluators of color include a Call for
Qualifications, an evaluation pipeline development program for PhD level researchers, and launch of the
LGBTQ Scholars of Color Network. In prior work, Dr. Murray conducted a wide range of community-based,
state and federally funded evaluation and research studies in the areas of child welfare and youth violence
prevention as research faculty.

20

Kevin L. Nadal, Ph.D. is an award-winning professor, psychologist, performer, activist, and author, who
received his doctorate in counseling psychology from Columbia University in New York City. Currently, he is
the Executive Director of the CLAGS: The Center for LGBTQ Studies at the Graduate Center (GC) at the City
University of New York (CUNY), as well as an Associate Professor of psychology at both John Jay College of
Criminal Justice and GC- CUNY. He is one of the leading researchers in understanding the impacts of
microaggressions , or subtle forms of discrimination, on the mental and physical health of people of color,
lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people, and other marginalized groups. He has published over
50 works on multicultural issues in the fields of psychology and education. A California-bred New Yorker,
Kevin is also a part-time comedian and spoken word artist who has performed across the United States since
2000. He was named one of People Magazine's hottest bachelors in 2006; he once won an argument with Bill
O'Reilly on Fox News Channel's "The O'Reilly Factor"; he has been featured on The Filipino Channel, PBS, the
Weather Channel, the History Channel, HGTV, Philippine News, and Filipinas Magazine; and he was even
once a Hot Topic on ABC's "The View". He is the author of the books Filipino American Psychology: A
Handbook of Theory, Research, and Clinical Practice (2011, John Wiley and Sons) and Filipino American
Psychology: A Collection of Personal Narratives (2010, Author House), a co-editor of Women and Mental
Disorders (2011, Praeger), and the author of That's So Gay: Microaggressions and the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual,
and Transgender Community (2013, APA Books). He is the President-Elect of the Asian American
Psychological Association, a National Trustee of the Filipino American National Historical Society (FANHS), a
grantee of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and a co-founder of the LGBTQ Scholars of Color Network.
In 2011, he received the Early Career Award for Contributions to Excellence by the Asian American
Psychological Association and in 2012, he received the Emerging Professional Award for Research from the
American Psychological Association Division 45.

Nadine Nakamura, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor of Psychology at the University of La Verne. She attained
her doctorate in clinical psychology from George Washington University in 2007. Her research interests relate
to multiculturalism and intersectionality and include immigration, HIV and ethnic and sexual minority health
and mental health. Her current research focuses on sexual minority immigrants. She is conducting several
studies on same-sex binational couples (with one partner who is a U.S. citizen and one who is not). One study
focuses on same-sex binational couples who are living in the U.S., but faced an uncertain future before DOMA
was struck down. A second study explores the experiences of same-sex binational couples who have
immigrated to other countries in order to remain together. She was awarded grant funding from the Society
for the Psychological Study of Social Issues for her project Love exiles: Same-sex binational couples living
outside of the United States. Nakamura was a member of the APA Presidential Task Force on Immigration
and was a guest editor of a special issue on "Immigration for Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority
Psychology," as well as a guest editor of a special issue on "LGBT Immigration" for the Journal of LGBT Issues
in Counseling.

21

Dr. Jose Nann is Full Professor and Co-director in the Community Health Program of the Department of
Health, Physical Education, and Recreation at Kingsborough Community College of the City University of
New York (CUNY), as well as a member of the doctoral faculty of the CUNY School of Public Health.. He
teaches in and directs a program which offers associates degrees focusing on health education, health
service administration, and gerontology. He has been lead investigator or co-investigator on several
federally-funded studies for reducing HIV transmission and enhancing sexual health among communities of
color, LGBTQ communities, and other disenfranchised populations. Dr. Nann is also a Master Certified
Health Education Specialist (MCHES) as well as a Certified Sexuality Educator (CSE). Furthermore, he has a
wealth of experience in HIV prevention/sexual health education and research, having worked at Gay Mens
Health Crisis, the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, and the Center for HIV Educational Studies
and Training at Hunter College. He also has managerial experience in governmental health agencies as well as
health maintenance organizations. His current interests include mentorship and professional development of
emerging public health professionals as well as the development of a public health academic and professional
track from community college to graduate school at CUNY.
Tavia Nyongo, Ph.D. is Associate Professor of Performance Studies at New York University. His areas of
interest include black studies, queer studies, critical theory, popular music studies and cultural critique. His
first book, The Amalgamation Waltz: Race, Performance, and the Ruses of Memory (Minnesota, 2009), won the
Errol Hill Award for best book in African American theatre and performance studies. Nyongo has published in
venues such as Radical History Review, Criticism, TDR: The Journal of Performance Studies, Women &
Performance: A Journal of Feminist Theory, Women Studies Quarterly, The Nation, and n+1. He is co-editor of
the journal Social Text.

India J. Ornelas, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor of Health Services at the University of Washington. She
attained her doctorate in Health Behavior and Health Education from the University of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill, a M.P.H. from the University of Washington and an A.B. in Health and Society from Brown
University. She was a postdoctoral fellow in the Biobehavioral Cancer Prevention Training and Control
Program at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and University of Washington. Her research focuses
on how social and cultural factors influence health, as well as developing interventions to address
racial/ethnic health disparities.
Leticia Peguero is the Executive Director for the Andrus Family Fund (AFF) and the Andrus Family
Philanthropy Program (AFPP), effective February 18, 2013. Ms. Peguero comes to AFF and AFPP with over 18
years of experience in social justice programming and philanthropy work. She most recently served as
Regional Vice President of the Posse Foundation, where she managed the organization's sites in Los Angeles,
Boston, New Orleans and Houston.

22

Debra Joy Prez, Ph.D. is Vice President for Research, Evaluation and Learning at the Annie E. Casey
Foundation, directs and manages program performance measurement, evaluation, policy research, data
development, knowledge management and organizational learning. She also promotes the sharing of
knowledge and learning from research and evaluations and drives a broad learning agenda for the
Foundation and the field. Prior to joining Casey, Prez was the assistant vice president for research and
evaluation for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, where she focused on public health and disparities in
health care and played a critical role in helping the foundation and its grantees represent greater diversity
while also managing its National Urban Fellows program, which mentors under-represented mid-career
professionals. She earned a bachelors in communication from Douglass College; a masters in social science
and womens studies from the University of Kent in Canterbury, England; a master of public administration
from Baruch College, City University of New York; and a PhD in health policy from Harvard University. Among
numerous honors, Prez was named a 2010 Latino Trendsetter by Latino Trends magazine and awarded the
Opening Doors Award by the Institute of Wonderful Working Women, a nonprofit in her hometown of
Trenton, N.J., that supports low-income African-American women pursuing nursing careers. Prez is a trustee
of the Princeton Area Community Foundation and a donor advisor for its Twenty-five dollar fund, which she
helped establish to support low-income high school students applying for college.
David P. Rivera, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor of Psychology at William Paterson University and Instructor
in the Student Affairs and Higher Education Program at Colorado State University. A counseling psychologist
by training, he also practices in college counseling centers and consults with institutions on climate issues
affecting marginalized groups. Dr. Rivera holds degrees from Teachers College, Columbia University, Johns
Hopkins University, and the University of Wyoming. His research focuses on issues impacting the well-being
of marginalized people, focusing on race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and gender identity. He is currently on
the executive committee of the American Psychological Associations Society for the Psychological Study of
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Issues; is a consulting editor of the journal Psychology of Sexual
Orientation and Gender Diversity; and is a Board Member of CLAGS: The Center for LGBTQ Studies at the
CUNY Graduate Center.
Raul Rubio, Ph.D. is Associate Professor of Modern Languages & Literatures and an affiliated faculty
member of the Gender Studies Program at John Jay College, CUNY. Professor Rubio received a doctorate in
Latin American Literature and Cultural Studies from Tulane University in New Orleans and earned a Masters
degree in Spanish from Middlebury College of Vermont. He is a Cuba Project Fellow of the Bildner Center for
Western Hemisphere Studies at The Graduate Center of the City University of New York. He recently
completed a four-year term (2010-2014) on the Board of Directors of the National Association for Ethnic
Studies (NAES). Before arriving at John Jay College (CUNY) in 2008, Professor Rubio held research and
teaching positions at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, and at Wellesley College in
Massachusetts.

23

Francisco Cisco J. Snchez, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor of Counseling Psychology at the University of
Wisconsin - Madison. He is also a staff counselor at the University Health Services; a faculty affiliate with the
Department of Psychology (Developmental Area); and an Assistant Research Scientist of Human Genetics at
the UCLA School of Medicine in Los Angeles. He received his B.S. in Psychology from Texas A&M University
and his Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from the University of Iowa. His primary research projects focus on
the effect of traditional masculine norms on gay men and quality-of-life issues among transgender people
and people with intersex conditions. He is also a co-investigator on The Neurological and Genetic Basis of
Transsexualism; the "Genetic Studies of Sexual Orientation, and the "Genetic Studies of Disorders of Sexual
and Reproductive Development.
John Paul Sanchez, MD, MPH has focused his research on the health needs of the LGBT community in the
areas of medical education and health disparities, in particular sexually transmitted infections and smoking
cessation. He is a founding Board Member of the Bronx Lesbian and Gay Health Resource Consortium
(currently the Bronx Community Pride Center). He currently serves as the Chairperson of the Einstein LGBT
Steering Committee of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and is charged with building a supportive
institutional climate to support the personal and professional development of students. Clinically, he
practices emergency medicine at Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, NY.
Mara R. Scharrn-del Ro, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor and the Program and Clinical Coordinator of the
School Counseling Program in the Department of School Psychology, Counseling, and Leadership (SPCL) at
Brooklyn College City University of New York. She received her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the
University of Puerto Rico, and completed her clinical internship at the Harvard Medical School in Boston.
After moving to New York City, she worked with children, adolescents, and families at the Washington
Heights Family Health Center, a primary-care clinic that serves a predominantly Latino/a immigrant
community. She is an active leader in GLARE (GLBTQ Advocacy in Research and Education) since joining the
Brooklyn College faculty in 2006. She is committed to the development of multicultural competencies in
counselors, psychologists, and educators using experiential and affective educational approaches. Her
research, scholarship, and advocacy focuses on ethnic and cultural minority psychology and education,
including multicultural competencies, LGBTQ issues, gender variance, mental health disparities, spirituality,
resilience, and well-being.
Anneliese A. Singh, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor at The University of Georgia and co-founder of the
Georgia Safe Schools Coalition and Trans Resilience Project. Her research, practice, and advocacy has
centered on the resilience of trans* youth and people of color, survivors of trauma, and social justice and
empowerment training. She has worked on several national competencies and guidelines projects for the
American Counseling Association and American Psychological Association (e.g., APA Transgender and
Gender Nonconforming Guidelines, ACA Transgender Counseling Competencies, APA Prevention
Guidelines). As a Sikh American, she passionately works for and believes in justice for all sentient beings.
C. Riley Snorton, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor of Black Queer Studies at Cornell University. Snorton's
research focuses on black cultural politics, theories of gender and transgender, and sexual epistemologies.
Snorton's first book, Nobody is Supposed to Know: Black Sexuality on the Down Low (UMinn Press, 2014)
traces the emergence and circulation of the down low in news and popular culture.

24

Andrew Spieldenner, Ph.D. earned his doctorate in Communication & Culture from Howard University with
an emphasis on health. Dr. Spieldenner has held positions at the NYC Department of Health, Black AIDS
Institute, the Latino Commission on AIDS and the National Association of People with AIDS. He is currently
Assistant Professor in the Department of Speech Communication, Rhetoric and Performance Studies at
Hofstra University. Dr. Spieldenner is openly living with HIV and a long-time community advocate with
twenty years serving high-risk populations including racial/ethnic minorities, gay men and people living with
HIV/AIDS. His research focuses on HIV stigma and disclosure, intercultural communication, health
communication, cultural studies and sexuality. He is also the board chair of CLAGS: The Center for LGBTQ
Studies at the CUNY Graduate Center.
Tonia Poteat, PhD, PA-C, MPH is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Epidemiology at Johns
Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health where she teaches Introduction to Sexual Orientation, Gender
Identity, and Public Health. Her research, teaching, and practice focus on HIV and LGBT health with
particular attention to transgender health disparities. She sits on the editorial board of LGBT Health as well
as the Education Committee of the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association. Dr. Poteat completed her doctoral
dissertation on stigma and access to health care for transgender adults in Baltimore, co-authored a recent
meta-analysis examining the burden of HIV among transgender women worldwide, and is lead author of an
article on HIV among transgender sex workers in The Lancet HIV and Sex Workers series.
Dr. Charlotte Tate is currently an Assistant Professor at San Francisco State University. She received her
Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree summa cum laude from Loyola University Chicago. She received both her
Master's of Science (M.S.) and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degrees in Social/Personality Psychology at the
University of Oregon. Dr. Tate is a butch-presenting lesbian and openly trans woman. She conducts research
in two primary domains: (a) social perception and (b) attitudes. Within the social perception domain, she
focuses on how individuals understand themselves (viz. self-identity) and others. Current work explores how
adults maintain a gender-self categorization whether they have a cisgender or trans* profile. Other work in
this area explores how people define social categories such as "race/ethnicity" and "sexual orientation" to
understand and navigate the social world. Within the attitudes domain, Dr. Tate focuses on prejudice and
discrimination toward ethnic, gender, and sexual orientation groups in the U.S. specifically, with an emphasis
on identifying the factors that both support and lessen bias toward these groups. She publishes under a
variety of names (e.g., Charlotte Chucky Tate, Chuck Tate) to have different forms of gender and sexual
orientation visibility.
Annemarie Vaccaro, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor in the Department of Human Development and Family
Studies at the University of Rhode Island. For twenty years, she has taught and advised queer students in
multiple university settings. As a scholar, she uses qualitative methods to explore intersectionality, campus
climate, leadership, family dynamics, and identity development. Annemarie's research on queer students,
faculty, staff, and families can be found in: The Journal of LGBT Youth, The Journal of GLBT Family Studies, and
The Journal of Gay and Lesbian Mental Health, and The Journal of Student Affairs Research and Practice. In
2012, she co-authored Safe Spaces: Making Schools and Communities Welcoming to LGBT Youth with Gerri
August and Megan Kennedy. Annemarie is committed to social change through action research. She uses
data to design programs and workshops aimed at making collegiate curriculum and student services inclusive
for queer people.

POSTER PRESENTATIONS

25

WEDNESDAY POSTER SESSIONS:

The Voices of Bisexual Women of the African Diaspora: Experiences Related to Identity and Disclosure in
Social Support Networks and Health Care Settings, in the US and UK
Kristin Brown
Doctoral Student in Social Work
Florida State University
Structural Violence: The United States healthcare systems oppression of the LGBT community from the
1980s to 2015
David Camacho
Doctoral Student in Social Work
Columbia University
The Role of Sexual Minority Status and Link to Religious Community in the Acculturation of Latina/o and
Asian Immigrants
Siu Kwan "Eddie" Chong
Doctoral Student in Counseling Psychology
University of Maryland, College Park
Conflicts in Allegiances among Black LGB Individuals: Prevalence, Correlates, and Future Directions
Skyler Jackson
Doctoral Student in Counseling Psychology
University of Maryland, College Park
Deep Community Engagement in the Development of a New Culturally-Based HIV Prevention Intervention
for Young Black MSM and Transwomen
Darrin K. Johnson
Doctoral Student in Social Work/ Project Director
The University of North Carolina at Charlotte
From Minority Stress to Minority Growth: How Stigma Facilitates Psychological Growth among LGBTQ People
Nadav Antebi-Gruszka,
Department of Sociomedical Sciences,
Columbia University

26

THURSDAY POSTER SESSIONS:

The Intersection of Gender and Sexuality: Differences in mental health, alcohol use, and substance use
among young sexual minority transgender women
Sean Arayasikyul
Ph.D. Student, Social & Behavioral Science
University of California San Francisco
Hard to Swallow, Y Que?: Homombre L.A. and the making of Queer Utopian Chicanismos
Jesus Estrada Perez
Living with Discrimination and Stigmatization: Minority Stress and Coping among Gay Men of Colour in
Canada
Sulaimon Giwa
Doctoral Candidate of Social Work
York University
Born in the Wrong Body: The Reification of Hegemonic Binary Gender Norms in U.S. Trans* Narratives
Andrs Lpez
MA Student in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
Oregon State University

Experiences of HIV Stigma, Coping and Behavior Among Ghanaian and African American MSM: A CrossNational Study
Rose Pulliam
Assistant Professor of Social Work
Texas State University
We Are Expected to Work as if We Are Not Who We Are: Reflections on Working with Queer Black Youth
Marie-Jolie Rwigema
Doctoral Student in Social Work
University of Toronto

27

BREAKOUT SESSIONS
THURSDAY SESSION DESCRIPTIONS (3:00 4:15pm)
Navigating the Tenure Process
In support of LGBTQ scholars of color across disciplines and throughout a wide-range of institutions, this
session provides an overview of strategies and recommendations based on first-hand personal experiences.
Participants will have the opportunity to engage with the session organizers and fellow participants in order to
exchange anecdotes, experiences and strategize about future organizing related to the tenure process.

Communications/Media 101: How to Make Your Research Accessible to the Public

This session will provide an opportunity to discuss how we share our research with non-specialists, how we
define the audiences for our work, and how we explain the importance of our expertise as LGBTQ scholars of
color within and beyond academic institutions. Whatever your field, bring your questions and experiences to
share.
Advanced Quantitative Research Methods
This session will focus on multilevel modeling, an advanced regression technique used to understand and
work with nested data in the social sciences. The goal of the session is to acquire a working knowledge
regarding how to interpret studies that examine how organizational effects (e.g., community, agency, or
neighborhood characteristics) are associated with individual-level outcomes.
Research is Personal
This session will focus on the benefits and challenges associated with researching ones own community. How
do researchers walk the line between scientific empiricism and insider knowledge? In addition, presenters will
discuss how research is shaped by the identity of the researcher, as well as how the researcher is shaped by
research. Participants will be encouraged to share their personal experiences as well.
Demystifying Academic Writing: How to Get Published
This session will focus on multilevel modeling, an advanced regression technique used to understand and
work with nested data in the social sciences. The goal of the session is to acquire a working knowledge
regarding how to interpret studies that examine how organizational effects (e.g., community, agency, or
neighborhood characteristics) are associated with individual-level outcomes.

28

FRIDAY SESSION DESCRIPTIONS (1:30- 2:45pm)

Diversity Issues in Universities Best Models and Practices
This session will examine challenges related to diversity in higher education, particularly within Faculty and
Student Affairs. Presenters will share best practices for faculty search committees in order to recruit diverse
applicant pools, while also discussing how groups like Women Investigating Race, Ethnicity and Difference
(WIRED), can help support diverse faculty. Presenters will describe how campus climate issues and
microaggressions impact mental health, academic performance, and overall student success, as well as ways
to approach hostile campus climates. Participants will also be invited to share their own best practices at their
own academic institutions.
Community-Based Evaluation: Developing Partnerships and Infusing Data into Daily Operations
This session will focus on building the knowledge and skills needed to effectively conduct evaluation in
community-based settings. The session activities will be framed around two central themes; 1) Getting
community-based organizations to view evaluation as a tool to tell a better story of their work, and 2)
Demystifying evaluation for CBOs by promoting the use of evaluation principles into the day-to-day operations
of CBOs. Participants will discuss various perspectives that impede the relationship building process and
develop strategies to successfully navigate the culture of community-based organizations as an evaluator.
Our Inclusive Quilt Bagpipe: Using Standpoint Theory as a Framework for Mentoring Students
LGBTQ students often look for mentors who are supportive, reflect their identity and can provide safe spaces
to develop personally and professionally. This session provides practical applications of fundamental tenets of
standpoint theory to the mentoring of LGBTQ students. Participants will engage in interactive discussions that
interrogate how intersectionality, power relations, lived experiences, and reflexivity can serve as gateways to
effective mentoring.
Developing Skills for Social Justice Advocacy
In the struggle for social justice, nonviolent direct action has been used as an effective tool to unmask the
brutality of governments, hold corporations accountable and to shine a light on human rights abuses
worldwide. Activists, scholars, researchers, and community leaders have taken a stand against injustice using
strategic nonviolence. From the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee to the Serbian youth movement
Otpor, direct action has been used to creatively highlight egregious violations. In this session we will discuss
proven nonviolent direct action tactics like banner hangs, guerilla theatre and projection actions along with
de-escalation tactics and activist street med.
Action Based Qualitative Research & Intersectionality
Drawing examples from a qualitative study with queer college students of color, the presenter will highlight
how key elements of qualitative design (e.g., depth, complexity, holistic accounts, emergent themes, flexible
design, naturalistic settings, voice, agency) can be used to delve deeply into complicated issues of
intersectionality for queer people of color. Attendees will also explore how qualitative research can be used to
inspire socially-just action.
Self-Care, Intersectionalities, and Social Justice
Dr. Laura Brown, feminist psychologist, recently declared that self-care is a social justice issue! This session will
focus on how/why understanding self care within a social justice framework is important for LBGTQ scholars
of color to consider. Participants will discuss barriers, both socially and individually, that prevent us from
embracing a wellness approach to our lives, especially as we seek to help others improve their lives. A
discussion of best practices for developing a genuine self-care framework will round out the session.

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PLANNING COMMITTEE
Co-Chairs:
Kevin L. Nadal, Ph.D., Executive Director, CLAGS: The Center for LGBTQ Studies and Associate Professor of
Psychology - City University of New York
Debra Joy Prez, Ph.D., Vice President for Research, Evaluation and
Learning, Annie E. Casey Foundation
Programming Committee:
India Ornelas, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Health Services, University of Washington
David P. Rivera, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Psychology, William Paterson University
Registration Committee:
Andrew Spieldenner, Ph.D., Board Chair, CLAGS: The Center for LGBTQ Studies and Assistant Professor of
Communication - Hofstra University
Ilana Yamin, MSW, National Urban Fellow, MPA Candidate 2015, Research, Evaluation and Learning (REAL),
Annie E. Casey Foundation
LGBTQ Scholars of Color Network Committee:
Tonia Poteat, Ph.D., Assistant Professor at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
Kantahyanee W. Murray, Ph.D., Senior Research Associate in the Research, Evaluation and Learning (REAL)
Unit at the Annie E. Casey Foundation
Logistics Committee:
Marta Esquilin, Ed.M., Director of Intercultural and Social Justice Programs within the Office of Multicultural
Affairs at Columbia University
Nomvuyo Nolushungu, PhD Candidate, Adjunct Lecturer, Women and Gender Studies, Hunter College, City
University of New York
Jasmina Sinanovic, Finance Director, CLAGS: Center for LGBTQ Studies
Entertainment Committee:
Karen Jaime, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Associate, Performing and Media Arts, Cornell University
Riley Snorton, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Black Queer Studies at Cornell University
Bianca Laureano, M.A., Board Member, CLAGS: Center for LGBTQ Studies
General Committee:
Joseph Gavrilovich, Program Associate, Child Welfare Strategy Group, The Annie E. Casey Foundation
Lourdes Follins, Assistant Professor, Kingsborough Community College, City University of New York
Special Thank You!
John Jay College Facilities Department ~ MBJ Catering ~ Riya Ortiz Photography ~ J. Mase~ Alexis Gumbs ~ DJ
Goldie Was Here, Yana Calou, Noam Parness, Jasmina Sinanovic, Nancy Amin, Lourdes Follins, Leticia Peguero,
Jason McGill, Nomvuyo Nolushungu, and all of our amazing volunteers!

NOTES

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Helpful Information
Free WiFi is available for your use during the
conference by logging on to the John Jay Guest
network. Login: cuny Password: cunycuny
An all gender restroom is conveniently located near the
main lecture hall in between L64 (Graduate Admissions
Office) and L65 (Student Affairs Office).
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