Presented at the 125th Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association
Distinguished Book Award
The division offers this award for a book that has made a significant contribution to the field of LGBT psychology. These works represent highly valuable contributions to scholarship that synthesize research and practice and advance the development of science, practice and policy on LGBT issues in psychology.
Awarded to: lore dickey, PhD, and Anneliese Singh, PhD, for the volume, Affirmative Counseling and Psychological Practice with Transgender and Gender Nonconforming Clients
In the words of their nomination: “This book was developed by the editors as a follow-up to the publication of the American Psychological Association (APA) Guidelines for Psychological Practice with Transgender and Gender Nonconforming People that were adopted and released in the summer of 2015. Until the development of these resources, psychologists had few guidelines that were designed to address clinical concerns from the lens of psychological practice. The book extends the 2015 title by addressing topics that have had rare coverage in the literature. This includes chapters on working with older adults, assessing and treating trauma, religion and spirituality, ethical and legal issues and interdisciplinary and collaborative care… This resource fills a glaring void in the literature for those psychologists who are interested in working with transgender and gender nonconforming (TGNC) clients. Historically, TGNC people have been mistreated by mental health providers. This may be due, in part, to a lack of accurate resources to help a provider understand the nuanced challenges that TGNC people face. This book shifts the focus from TGNC person’s identity as a transgender person to the societal indignities and barriers that TGNC people have to negotiate on a day to day basis. This shift in focus has allowed TGNC clients to access care that is culturally and clinically relevant.”
Awarded to: Stephen Russell, PhD, and Stacey Horn, PhD, for the volume, Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Schooling: The Nexus of Research, Practice, and Policy
This volume, published by Oxford University Press, addresses a key setting in which LGBT youth face discrimination. In the words of the nomination: “This book brings together the latest research and practice from around the world, all focused on improving schools for LGBT students. [The work] brings together into a single volume many strands of research and policy related to the schooling of LGBT youth. The 39 contributors are a diverse group of researchers, policy analysts and education practitioners from different parts of the world. Their contributions represent multiple disciplinary perspectives and field vantage points from diverse sociocultural contexts. Included are syntheses of key areas of research; examples of new models for educational practice; case studies of transformational policy and practice; and specific examples of the nexus of research, practice and policy. The fundamental goal of the book is to advance social justice related to sexual orientation and gender identity through strengthening the relationship between research, practice and policy to support LGBT students and schools.”
Distinguished Contribution to Education and Training
The division offers this award to colleagues who have made distinguished contributions to the interests, goals, and purposes of Div. 44 in the area of education, either academic or public. Award winners typically have developed programs or curricula that raised the consciousness of the general public about LGBT issues or that improved the quality of education and training in psychology at graduate and undergraduate levels. The winners of this award represent individuals who have distinguished themselves in disseminating science and scholarship on LGBT issues.
Awarded to: Eli R. Green, PhD, and Luca Maurer
Among other roles, Eli serves as assistant professor in the Center for Human Sexuality Studies at Widener University. And, among other roles, Luca serves as founding program director at the Center for LGBT Education, Outreach & Services in the Office of Counseling and Wellness at Ithaca College. These individuals were nominated for their outstanding work — in the words of their nominator, "[to] improve the quality of education and training in psychology at both undergraduate and graduate levels, with regard to LGBT issues, particularly related to transgender people… culminating in the publication of the Transgender Toolkit…The TransgenderToolkit is truly a ‘first of its kind’ text and is proving to be an invaluable resource. First published in November 2015, it is already in its second printing with books sold in more than a dozen countries. Its versatility has led to it being used in college classrooms, as well as social service, mental health and medical settings and by teachers, counselors and therapists, as well as parent and community groups of all types… The Teaching Transgender Toolkit has been recognized by the American Association of Sex Educators, Counselors, & Therapists as its Book of the Year in 2016, and Luca Maurer won the Significant Research/Publication Award of the College Student Personnel Association of New York State, also in 2016, for his work on the book." For their work on The Teaching Transgender Toolkit and so much more, we are thrilled to honor them for their work.
Distinguished Contribution to Ethnic Minority Issues
The division offers this award for distinguished contributions to the interests, goals, and purposes of Div. 44 in the area of ethnic minority lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender psychology. The winners of this award have each studied and worked with the realities of LGBT people of color, locating scholarship and practice at this intersection of identities.
Awarded to: Frank Galvan, PhD
Frank Galvan earned his PhD in social welfare from UCLA in 1998 and since 2011, has served as director of research and evaluation at Bienestar Human Services in the Greater Los Angeles area. In the words of a nominator: "Dr. Galvan embodies the ideal winner of this award, as he has devoted his entire career to both scholarship and practice at the intersection of identities related to LGBT people of color. Most of his work focuses on Latino men who have sex with men (MSM); he has also conducted research with Latino transgender women, as well as with African American MSM. Notably, in just a few years, Dr. Galvan has singlehandedly developed a strong and thriving research department at Bienestar. He has been site Principal Investigator for several NIH grants on diverse topics such as discrimination among HIV-positive Latino MSM, smoking among Latino men and HIV testing among Latino MSM and Latino transgender women. He also is or has been Principal Investigator on California HIV/AIDS Research Program grants on HIV testing among Latino MSM, HIV testing and sexual risk behavior among Latino day laborers and bundling of HIV testing (with other types of tests) among Latino men. He leads the evaluations for Bienestar’s SAMHSA-funded substance use treatment programs and HRSA and CDC-funded peer navigation programs for Mexican heritage gay and bisexual men, Latina transgender women and Latino MSM."
Distinguished Scientific Contribution
The division offers this award for distinguished theoretical or empirical contributions to lesbian, gay or bisexual psychological issues. The winners of this award have made far-reaching and visionary contributions to the development of a science of LGBT psychology and have provided the science base for practice, education and the development of public policy. Many of these award winners are pioneers who first asked affirmative research questions about the lives of LGBT people, their families and their communities.
Awarded to: Henny Bos, PhD, and John Pachankis, PhD
Henny Bos is associate professor in child development and Education of the Faculty of Behavioral and Social Sciences of the University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands. In the words of her nominators: "After graduating in Educational Sciences from Utrecht University in the Netherlands, Dr. Bos worked in the Department of Gay and Lesbian Studies at Utrecht University and with the Rutgers NISSO Group, where her research focused on gay and lesbian health and workplace issues. For her studies on parenting in planned lesbian families, Dr. Bos was awarded a PhD from the Department of Education, Faculty of Social and Behavioral Sciences, University of Amsterdam… Dr. Bos is internationally known for her research on lesbian mother families in the U.S. and the Netherlands, gay father families and same-sex attracted and gender-nonconforming youth. She has been a visiting scholar at UCLA and the University of Virginia, and for the past three years has spent about two months each year at San Diego State University. She has about 100 publications and 100 conference talks… Dr. Bos is the co-investigator of the U.S. National Longitudinal Lesbian Family Study, the longest-running study of lesbian mothers who had children as the result of donor insemination during the lesbian baby boom of the 1980s…. [which is n]ow in its 30th year… Her research and theoretical writing have made important scientific contributions to psychology and to the lives of LGBTQ individuals. Her work is cited by psychologists around the world, as well as by major mainstream media."
John Pachankis earned his PhD from SUNY Stony Brook, working with Marv Goldfried, PhD, and his scholarly work has focused on the mental health of sexual and gender minority individuals, with a focus on developing mental health interventions for this population. He has served on the clinical psychology faculty of Yeshiva University in the Bronx and since 2013, as associate professor at the Yale School of Public Health and an affiliated faculty member of Yale’s LGBT Studies Program and the Center for Interdisciplinary Research on AIDS. Pachankis has received multiple awards and honors, including being honored as a fellow of Div. 44, presented his work countless times and published more than 65 articles and book chapters. John is currently co-editing an Oxford University Press volume, the Handbook of Evidence-Based Mental Health Practice with LGBT Clients. John has been served as Principal Investigate of grant funding from multiple federal agencies to the tune of more than $6.3 million. (I double-checked my math because that number is astronomical.). John's work has had both national and international scholarly, legal and popular impact, having been published in the field’s highest-impact journals, referenced in national professional guidelines for LGBT mental health practice, cited in numerous amici curiae briefs before U.S. state and federal courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court and featured in national and international media outlets, such as the New York Times.
Distinguished Service Award
The division offers this award for distinguished contributions to Div. 44 through exceptional service. Award winners have a long history of being active contributors to the life of the division and are the lifeblood of this organization whose efforts we appreciate.
Awarded to: John Gonsiorek, PhD
John Gonsiorek has been a pioneer in LGBT psychology for his career, since receiving his PhD in clinical psychology from the University of Minnesota. He is a fellow of five divisions and a past-president of Div. 44. For over 25 years, he had an independent practice of clinical and forensic psychology. He served as a faculty member at Argosy University's Twin Cities Campus. His early, seminal writings about conducting clinical work with sexual minority individuals shaped the field. For those accomplishments and so much more, John was named in 2013 as the founding dditor for the Div. 44 journal, the Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity. And all of those accomplishments, including his outstanding work on the journal, served as the basis for his nomination for this award. In the four years since he took on that role, John has done a truly outstanding job: recruiting a large editorial board to process a huge number of manuscripts — more than double what is typical for a journal of this age — and making the journal profitable in near record time — again, years ahead of what is typical. The journal is a huge benefit to the membership and an enormous benefit to the field. For his dedication to LGBT psychology, his skillful work with the journal and a lifetime of service to the division and the field, we honor him today.
Distinguished Student Contribution
The division offers this award to a graduate student in psychology who has made a distinguished contribution to research or practice or who has performed exceptional service to the division. Winners of this award represent the future of this division and have taken leadership early in their careers to advance LGBT issues in psychology.
Awarded to: Jillian Scheer
Jillian is in her final year in the doctoral program in counseling psychology at Boston College, working in the lab of Paul Poteat, PhD. She is completing her internship at Mount Sinai/St. Luke’s in New York. Her dissertation is entitled, "Trauma-Informed Care for Sexual and Gender Minority Intimate Partner Violence Survivors." Jillian has received 10 awards and honors for her work, authored/co-authored 12 articles, presented 19 times at scientific meetings and served in multiple service roles in professional organizations, including: a Student Member of the GLMA Health Professionals initiative, "Advancing LGBT Equality;" a mentor for early doctoral students in the APAGS LGBT Mentoring Program; and as a member of the Div. 44 Committee on Children, Youth and Families. For her work across domains, Jillian emerged this year as a rising star in LGBT psychology and we are happy to be able to honor her today.
Presidential Citation
For individuals or organizations whose mission and work are consistent with the theme or focus of Div. 44's president. Recipients of presidential citations are selected by the division president and often go to individual or organizations whose mission and work are consistent with the president's theme or focus.
Presented by: Kimberly Balsam, PhD
Awarded to: National Center for Transgender Equality
The Bisexual Foundation Scholarship Award
The Bisexual Foundation Scholarship is an annual fund awarding up to $1,000 per award to selected graduate students to advance research on the psychology of bisexuality. This new award recognizes the growing importance of research on bisexuality to the field of LGBT issues in psychology and offers concrete support and encouragement to emerging scholars in this field.
Presented by: Laurel Watson, PhD, and Christopher Davids, PhD
Awarded to: Colleen Kase
Colleen is a second-year doctoral student in counseling psychology at the University of Maryland-College Park. She was awarded the Bisexual Foundation Award for her research project entitled "An Experience-Sampling Study of Sexual Orientation Self-Presentation among Nonmonosexual Women." This study aims to explore how bisexual and other nonmonosexual women make decisions about when and how to share their sexual orientation identities with others and how these decisions impact their well-being on a day-to-day basis.
Committee on Bisexual Issues Student Travel Award
The purpose of the Committee on Bisexual Issues Student Travel Award is to support graduate student engagement with LGBTQ psychology by defraying travel costs to the APA Annual Convention. Through this award, the Committee on Bisexual Issues also hopes to encourage LGBTQ graduate student participation in the Div. 44 activities at APA's Annual Convention (e.g., the Committee on Bisexual Issues discussion hour and other programming in the hospitality suite).
Presented by: Laurel Watson, PhD, and Christopher Davids, PhD
Awarded to: Andrew Y. Choi.
Andrew Choi is a doctoral student in Department of Counseling, Clinical and School Psychology at the University of Santa Barbara. His primary research interests focus on identity intersections (e.g., culture, race, sexuality), and the psychological mechanisms through which they are organized and influence mental health. He is specifically interested in the psychosocial antecedes that support resilience in contexts of multiple minority stress.
Malyon-Smith Scholarship Award
The Malyon-Smith Scholarship is named for two founding past-presidents of the division, the late Alan Malyon and the late Adrienne Smith. It is a fund that annually awards up to $1,000 to selected graduate students in psychology to advance research in the psychology of sexual orientation and gender identity. The award represents one of the division's major efforts to mentor and support science in LGBT psychology by encouraging the work of young researchers.
Presented by: David Pantalone, PhD, representing the Science Committee
Awarded to: Kiki Fehling
Kiki Fehling is currently a doctoral student in clinical psychology at Rutgers University. Kiki won the Maylon Smith Award for a project titled An Ecological Momentary Assessment Study of Minority Stress in Sexual Minority Adults who Self-Injure. Kiki's proposed study will assess 30 LGBQ adults during a baseline visit during which they will complete a variety of self-report questionnaires on self-injury, mental health (e.g., depression, emotion dysregulation), social support (both general and LGBQ-specific) and minority stress (e.g., experienced discrimination, internalized stigma). After baseline, participants will engage in a one-week EMA monitoring period during which they will answer five short surveys daily using an app designed for this study.
Transgender Research Award
The Transgender Research Award (TRA) recognizes psychological research that addresses trans issues. It is open to anyone conducting psychological research using trans participants or studying issues affecting trans people and communities. The award winner commits to disseminating and/or sharing findings with multiple audiences and communities that are directly impacted by the research (e.g., academic audiences, traditional publications, community-focused workshops, etc.).
Presented by: Mira Krishnan, PhD
Awarded to: Delmira Monteiro
The winner of the 2017 Transgender Research Award is doctoral candidate Delmira (“Del”) Monteiro of the University of Indianapolis. The award supports her dissertation project, entitled, "Effects of cisnormative beauty standards on transgender women’s perceptions and expressions of beauty.” Her dissertation chair is Mixalis Poulakis, PhD, of the University of Indianapolis. We particularly appreciate attention Del's study design pays to providing in-depth understanding of the experiences of trans women, recognizing beauty as an area that is under-studied and the potential her work has for extending our understanding of the experience and impact of cissexism and cisnormativity. Further, Del will be using an open-ended and participant led process, Consensual Qualitative Research, which may be particularly well suited to researching questions which have been traditionally framed in an implicitly cissexist fashion.
Mentoring Student Travel Award
The purpose of the Committee on Mentoring Student Travel Award is to support graduate student engagement with LGBTQ psychology by defraying travel costs to the 2016 APA Convention in Denver. Through this award, the Committee on Mentoring also hopes to encourage LGBTQ graduate student participation in the Div. 44 annual convention activities (e.g., the Mentoring Roundtable and other programming in the Div. 44 Hospitality Suite, student pizza party and division social hours).
Presented by: Gary Howell, PsyD
Awarded to: Elliott N. DeVore, MEd
Elliot is a doctoral student in counseling psychology at the University of Tennessee Knoxville. His research interests broadly include the gender identity development of gender queer and non-binary people, the resilience and distress tolerance of queer and trans activists, the effects of attachment style on emotional affect in intergroup dialogue and the process of navigating HIV stigma for mixed status gay couples.
Dr. Richard A. Rodriguez Student Travel Award
CoRED acknowledges that LGBTQ students of color frequently experience increased demands on time and resources as a result of managing multiple identities within professional organizations. Thus, the Dr. Richard A. Rodriguez Div. 44 Student Travel Award seeks to encourage and support greater participation in APA and Div. 44 convention activities of LGBTQ students of color by defraying travel costs to the APA.
Presented by: Cirleen DeBlaere, PhD, and Carlton Green, PhD
Awarded to: David Zelaya, Med, and Randolph Chan, BSocSc
Randolph Chan is a fourth year PhD student in psychology at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. His research interests focus on stigma, resilience and mental health of LGBTQ individuals. He is also working on research related to structural determinants of health and justice among sexual and gender minorities. At the APA convention, Randolph's presentation focused on critical consciousness as a psychological resource to resist injustice against sexual minorities.
David Zelaya is a fifth year doctoral student in the counseling psychology program at Georgia State University. David's research interests focus on the intersectionality of multiple stigmatized identities with an emphasis on sexual and ethnic/racial minorities. David co-presented multiple symposia at APA, including: 1) Microaggressions and Mental Health of Sexual Minority People of Color: The Role of Self-Esteem; and 2) Impact of the Orlando Mass Shooting (Pulse Nightclub) on Spirituality, Coping and Mental Health.
Student and Early Career Psychologist Engagement Awards
Presented by: Dawn Brown, MS, & Jacks Cheng, EdM
Student Research Award on Bisexual Issues
Melissa Manley is a PhD student in clinical psychology at Clark University whose research interests focus particularly on least visible sexuality groups including bisexuality, sexually fluid and “mostly heterosexual” individuals. Melissa presented a poster titled Early Parenthood Relationship Quality among Monosexual and Nonmonosexual Women in Same-Sex Couples as the first author at the APA 2017 Convention.
Student Research Award on Intersectional Issues
Roberto Abreu is a PhD candidate in counseling psychology at University of Kentucky whose research and professional goals focus on addressing acceptance and mentorship of LGBT people in Latinx communities. Roberto co-chaired two symposia and presented three posters on the subjects of LGBT youth and students regarding issues of race, higher education, parental acceptance and juvenile justice system at the APA 2017 Convention.
Student Research Award on Transgender Issues
Morgan Sinnard is a PhD student in counseling psychology at University of Wisconsin-Madison whose research explores intersectional issues on trans and bisexual issues. Morgan presented a poster titled Bisexuality and Nonmonogamy among Trans Individuals and Their Partners as the second author at the APA 2017 Convention.
Student Travel Awards
Andrew Arriaga is a PhD student in counseling psychology at University of Texas at Austin whose research and professional goals focus on LGBT health and wellness and programs to increase cultural competence in these areas. Andrew presented a poster titled The Effect of the Parent-Child Relationship on Alcohol Use among Sexual Minority College Students as the second author at APA 2017 Convention.
Mirella Flores is a PhD student in counseling psychology at University of Missouri-Kansas City whose research and professional goals focus on address sexual and gender minority issues in communities of color through an intersectional lens. Mirella is the program coordinator of Div. 17’s section on LGBT issues and facilitated discussions on intersectional LGBT research and presented a poster titled The Development and Psychometric Evaluation of the Transgender Discrimination Scale at the APA 2017 Convention.
Audrey Harkness, PhD, is a post-doctoral fellow at the Health Promotion and Care Lab at the University of Miami. Audrey received a PhD in counseling psychology from the University of California-Santa Barbara under the supervision of Tania Israel, PhD, and presented with Israel a poster title Parent-Child Communication about Sexual Orientation: Results of an Observational Qualitative Study as the first author at the APA 2017 Convention.
Dani Rosenkrantz is a PhD candidate in counseling psychology at of Kentucky whose research and professional goals focus on creating research and clinical interventions to support the wellbeing of LGBT people and their families at the intersection of religion. Dani presented a poster titled Growing through Acceptance: A Review of the Parental Acceptance Literature from the Parent Perspective as the first author at APA 2017 Convention.
Ilana Seager is a PhD student in counseling psychology at the Ohio State University whose research and professional goals focus on creating a research portfolio on emotional regulation and LGBT mental health as a faculty member. Ilana presented a poster titled Friend or Foe? The Role of the Media in Sexual Orientation Self-Disclosure as the first author at the APA 2017 Convention.
Tanisha Thelemaque is a PhD candidate in clinical psychology at Saint Louis University whose research and professional goals focus on developing intersectional interventions for racial, gender, and sexual minority veterans who experience distress and psychological trauma. Tanisha presented a poster titled Emotional Reactions and Concerns Following the 2016 Presidential Election as the second author at the APA 2017 Convention.
Certificates of Appreciation
This award provides an opportunity for the division to formally note its appreciation to individuals who have provided significant service to the division during the past year.
- Melanie Brewster, PhD, Co-Chair, Bisexual Issues Committee
- Dawn Brown, Student Representative
- Cirleen Deblaere, PhD, Co-Chair, Committee on Racial and Ethnic Diversity
- Gary Howell, PsyD, Co-Chair, Mentoring Committee
- Doug Kimmel, PhD, Co-Chair, Aging Committee
- Julie Konik, PhD, Co-Chair, Membership Committee
- Justin Martino-Harms, PhD, Co-Chair, CE Coordinator
- Eduardo Morales, PhD, APA Council of Representatives
- Allen Omoto, PhD, Immediate Past-President
- Matthew Skinta, PhD, Chair, Program Committee
- Nathan Grant Smith, PhD, Member-at-Large
- Bonnie Strickland, PhD, APA Council of Representatives
- Milo Wilson, PhD, Co-Chair, Public Policy Committee
Div. 44 Fellows
Fellow status in APA is awarded for unusual and outstanding contributions to psychology. The fellows of Div. 44 are the individuals who have created this division and the field of LGBT issues in psychology. Their distinguished contributions are the foundation on which the future of LGBT psychology continues to be built. Additionally, many of these fellows make on-going contributions to science, practice and public policy through the activities in this division and elsewhere in the field of psychology.
Presented by Glenda Russell, PhD
Awarded to: lore m. dickey, PhD, Jonathan J. Mohr, PhD, and John E. Pachankis, PhD
APA Committee on Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity Outstanding Achievement Award
Presented by Arlene Noriega, PhD
Awarded to: lore m. dickey, PhD, and Anneliese A. Singh, PhD
Awarded jointly in recognition of their research, advocacy and service. While each is a prolific scholar in their own right, together they have co-authored 11 peer reviewed articles and book chapters, one book and over 20 presentations including webinars, APA CE trainings and national workshops. Together, dickey and Singh co-chaired the APA Task Force on Guidelines for the Psychological Practice with Transgender and Gender Nonconforming People. In 2016, they produced an edited book and a special issue in the Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity on the application of the guidelines. In recognition of their leadership in counseling and research with diverse trans and gender nonbinary communities, dickey and Singh jointly received an APA Presidential Citation in 2014. Both have held leadership roles within APA divisions and their home institutions. Their teaching and mentorship are highly regarded. It is evident through their research, advocacy and service, dickey and Singh are pioneers in working to increase knowledge, awareness and best practices for working with transgender and gender nonbinary individuals. Their collaborations will remain relevant and continue to positively influence public policy and the mental health profession.