GLMA: Health Professionals Advancing LGBTQ Health Equalityopens in new window installed its first clinical psychologist to serve as president during GLMA’s Annual Conference on LGBTQ Health held virtually in September. Div. 44 member Nick Grant, PhD, became GLMA president, while Jared Boot, MBA, also a Div. 44 member, joined the GLMA Board of Directors. GLMA is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and the world's largest and oldest association of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer (LGBTQ) healthcare professionals originally founded in 1981 as the American Association of Physicians for Human Rights. As with any organization focused on social justice, GLMA has continued to evolve and sharpen its mission over time, including expanding its membership to all health professionals in 2002, from what had previously been a physician-based organization. Today it is endearingly referred to as GLMA (“glam-a”), and its mission is to ensure health equity for LGBTQ and all sexual and gender minority (SGM) individuals, and equality for LGBTQ/SGM health professionals in their work and learning environments.
GLMA’s most valued resource are its members and it is through the scientific expertise of its diverse multidisciplinary membership that GLMA works to inform and drive advocacy, education and research. GLMA is proud to have engaged in multiple successful collaborations with members of Div. 44 in the past and is thrilled to have two members of the division now serving on the GLMA board of directors:
After completing two years serving as president-elect, Nick Grant was elected to president of GLMA’s board of directors. Nick is based in Honolulu, Hawaii, where he serves on active duty as an officer in the United States Navy. Nick first joined the board in 2015, starting off as a co-chair of the Health Professionals in Training (HPiT) Committee. During his time on the board, he has served as VP for External Affairs, established an interdisciplinary Behavioral Health Task Force, and led multiple process improvements while serving as president-elect and the chair of the Board Development Committee. When asked about his vision for future collaborations between GLMA and Div. 44, Nick said, “Division 44 is the professional home for psychologists leading the field of LGBTQ+ psychology and my hope is that by building opportunities for its members to collaborate with the GLMA membership, who are leaders in LGBTQ+ health and advocacy, that we can truly advance our fields and make the world a better place for LGBTQ+ people and communities.” He added, “The 2022 GLMA Annual Conference on LGBTQ Health is scheduled for San Francisco in October 2022 and will be GLMA’s 40th Annual Conference. It is my goal to engage as many leaders in LGBTQ+ mental health as possible to join us for conference and to get more engaged in our work.”
Also in September, Jared Boot, MBA, became a GLMA board member and the new co-chair of the HPiT Committee. Jared is a third-year doctoral student in clinical psychology at the Michigan School of Psychology and a second-year student in the LGBT Health Policy and Practice graduate certificate program at George Washington University. He earned his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Michigan–Ann Arbor in 2013 and his Master of Business Administration from Loyola University Chicago in 2016. During Jared's doctoral and certificate studies, he has attained certified membership within the World Professional Association of Transgender Health. We are thrilled to have Jared coleading our HPiT Committee, which is dedicated to addressing the needs of those in health professional training programs at all levels and across all disciplines, including students, trainees and residents. The committee leads volunteer efforts to create an inclusive environment for students and trainees through organizational activities, advocacy, curricular reform, and programming at national conferences and symposia, including the GLMA Annual Conference.