Recently honored Fellows

Fellow status in APA is awarded for unusual and outstanding contributions to psychology. The Fellows of Division 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.

2007 Initial Fellows

Arnold H. Grossman - is Professor and Vice-Chair in the Department of Applied Psychology at Steinhardt School of Education, Culture, and Human Development at New York University. Dr. Grossman’s research program was among the first to focus on the distinct psychological challenges faced by LGB and transgendered youth. He was the co-investigator of a study on “Victimization and Mental Health of High-risk LGB Youths” funded by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). This study was the only federally funded project on LGB youth at the time. This was the largest study conducted in the United States and the longest longitudinal study (i.e., two years) ever conducted with LGB youth. In addition, Dr. Grossman conducted the first psychologically focused study on transgender youth, “Transgender Youth as a Vulnerable Populations.” Dr. Grossman is also one of the research pioneers in studying the mental health and well-being of older lesbians and gay men. He was the principal investigator of the largest nationwide research study of this population (i.e., adults ages 60-91). Dr. Grossman was also the principal investigator of one of the few research studies of caregiving specifically among LGB adults. As part of national demonstration projects, Dr. Grossman has developed curricula and training tapes for health and social service professionals on HIV/AIDS issues that have been incorporated into other HIV/AIDS education and training programs for mental health providers across the nation.

Perry Halkitis - is the Director of Research at the Steinhardt School, Professor of Applied Psychology, and Director or the Center for Health, Identity, Behavior and Prevention Studies at New York University. Over the past twenty years, he has conducted pioneering and original research that has focused on behavioral, epidemiological, and sociological factors related to sexual risk and HIV/AIDS. He undertook research on “positive prevention” which resulted in an internationally recognized program targeted at preventing the spread of the disease by educating and providing therapeutic treatment to those already living with AIDS. His book, HIV+ Sex: The Psychological and Interpersonal Dynamics of Seropositive Gay Men’s Relationships, published by the American Psychological Association, is the first work of its kind to examine the meanings of sex in the lives of HIV infected individuals and to provide educational considerations for working with this population. Dr. Halkitis was among the first to study the relationship among the use of “club drugs,” which includes methamphetamine and Ecstasy, and sexual risk taking both within the gay and young heterosexual communities. In fact, he was the first researcher funded by NIH to conduct a large-scale longitudinal investigation of the development of club drug usage in people’s lives. Dr. Halkitis was also one of the few researchers to study “barebacking,” among gay men and men who have sex with men (MSMs ). His edited volume, Barebacking: Psychosocial and Public Health Perspectives, is a classic in the field. He is among the first researchers to be funded by the federal government to conduct studies on the factors that influence HIV treatment adherence. Dr. Halkitis has worked closely with the AIDS Directorate of the APA, guiding the directorate on issues of adherence and provided training of hundreds of clinical and counseling psychologists around this issue for the APA HOPE Training Program as well as for APA.

Ian Rivers - is a Professor and Head of Psychology in the School of Social Sciences, Media and Communications at Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh. For over fifteen years, his research career has established a foundation of knowledge on the bullying and victimization of sexual minority youth that has formed the basis of research in the US and in other English speaking countries. This seminal work described different forms of bullying in elementary and high schools. He was among the first psychologists in the United Kingdom to address LGBT issues and to conduct longitudinal studies of LGBT development. Dr. Rivers has conducted two landmark longitudinal, developmental studies focusing on the social world of children and young people at school. Both are national projects sponsored by UK education authorities and have been conducted within mainstream school education. Dr. Rivers established the Social Inclusion and Diversity Research Unit (SID) at York St John University. SID is the first unit of its kind in the UK to support LGBT organizations and community groups to evaluate and improve service provision. Moreover, his long-term collaboration with the mainstream educational system in the UK has provided an advocacy and educational model for addressing LGBT issues in schools. He was commissioned to write the first government endorsed guidance on addressing the needs of LGBT students in schools entitled "Stand Up for Us," that is now used by all teachers in England. Dr. Rivers helped to establish a Lesbian and Gay Section British Psychological Society and was an author in the first edited volume of LGB research in the UK, Lesbian and Gay Psychology (1995). He is has recently co-authored a handbook for the parents and teachers of young people in the US public school system which includes specific guidance on dealing with homophobic bullying ("Bullying: A Handbook for Educators and Parents").

Glenda M. Russell - is in independent practice of psychotherapy, consultation, and research in Boulder, CO. For over a decade, Dr. Glenda Russell has conducted pioneering research on the negative and positive psychological consequences of antigay politics for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people and their heterosexual allies. She is the first researcher to systematically conduct research in this field and her work remains the standard. Russell’s book, Voted Out: Psychological Consequences of Antigay Politics, documented for the first time the impact of anti-gay rhetoric and political campaigns on the psychological well being of LGBT people. Moreover, she has served as the Senior Research Associate and acting director of the Institute for Gay and Lesbian Strategic Studies (IGLSS), until recently, the only national think tank devoted to research, analysis, and education on policy issues of relevance to LGBT communities.. In 1999, she co-authored a book, Conversations about Psychology and Sexual Orientation, that addressed contrasts between traditional and postmodern ontological and epistemological frameworks in clinical work with LGB clients. Her theory building work has challenged LGBT scholars to question long-held assumptions about the nature of sexual identity and has provided clinicians a new model to develop more effective approaches to identity-affirming counseling and psychotherapy. As co-chair of Division 44’s Public Policy Committee, Dr. Russell helped the division live up to the policy-relevant aspects of its mission.

Ronald Fox - is licensed psychologist in private practice in San Francisco. He has been the prime mover for increasing awareness and understanding of bisexuality within APA through scholarship, education, and organizational advocacy efforts. His seminal research on bisexual identity development was one of the first large-scale empirical studies in the field, and one on which subsequent researchers have built their work. Moreover, the inclusion of bisexuality in research, education, and practice when it is relevant is largely a result of his research and theory building efforts. He has edited two pioneering books on bisexual research and bi-affirmative psychotherapy. The book on Affirmative psychotherapy with bisexual women and men was the first book of its kind. His work on the establishment of bisexuality as a sexual identity has helped to generate a paradigm shift in our thinking about human sexuality. Specifically, his pioneering theory building about bisexuality helped to shift the field from relying on a dichotomous, unidimensional model to a continuous, multidimensional one. In fact, he is considered as having the most impact on helping to ensure bisexuality becomes a legitimized sexual orientation (as opposed to a transitory state unworthy of attention). Moreover, he has played a significant education and advocacy role for bisexual visibility and inclusion within the organizational structure and content of Division 44 and APA. It was largely due to efforts initiated by Dr. Fox that Division 44 included the term "bisexuality" in its official name.

2007 Old Fellows

Margaret Crosbie-Burnett - is an Associate Professor in the Department of Educational & Psychological Studies at the University of Miami. Through her scholarship, professional service, and education, she has increased awareness and understanding about LGB issues. For the past 15 years, she has been conducting research on the emerging area of gay and lesbian families, including the first empirical study on gay male stepfamilies; she has chaired at least four dissertations on LGBT issues. Dr. Crosbie-Burnett served as the Chair of Committee on Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual Issues in Families and the Vice President for Public Interest and Diversity of Division 43 (Family Psychology). She is a Charter member and member of steering committee of AFFIRM: Psychologists Affirming Their Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Family. She is actively involved in AFFIRM's current project of bringing LGBT issues into the mainstream training of clinical psychologists. As department chairperson, Dr. Crosbie-Burnett created the first LGB course at her university. For 20 years, she has taught a course on Lifestyles and Career Counseling, always including the needs and concerns of LGBT persons. Dr. Crosbie-Burnett has conducted yearly in-services to master's and doctoral students in counseling regarding stepfamilies, including gay and lesbian stepfamilies. Most recently she has become a fellow of the Rockway Institute, a new organization designed to create a national network of professionals from the social and medical sciences to inform the media about LGBT research.

Ellyn Kaschak - is a Professor of Psychology at San Jose State University, where she has been the Chairperson of the graduate program in Marriage, Family and Child Counseling and Director of the University's Family Counseling Service. She is one of the founders of the field of feminist psychology. Feminist therapy was one of the first approaches to actively include the issues of LGBT people long before the current designation had come into being. Dr. Kaschak has published numerous articles and chapters on the topic, as well as the award-winning Engendered Lives: A New Psychology of Women's Experience. She is also the past Chair of the Feminist Therapy Institute, which includes active clinical consultation and scholarly production concerning the issues of lesbian individuals, couples and families. As the editor of the journal Women and Therapy, she has published eight edited anthologies including Minding the Body, A New View of Women's Sexual Problems, Intimate Betrayal: Domestic Violence in Lesbian Relationships and Assault on the Soul: Women in the former Yugoslavia, co-edited with Dr. Sara Sharratt. These all include a focus on LGBT concerns and Intimate Betrayal is focused entirely on issues of domestic violence in lesbian couples. Dr. Kaschak has served as a consultant on gender and psychological issues to the Vice President of Costa Rica. In this capacity, she has worked closely with colleagues in Costa Rica in developing clinical and community programs for the LGBT community.

Edward Callahan - serves as Associate Dean for Academic Personnel for the University of California, Davis, School of Medicine and holds the rank of Professor of Family and Community Medicine. Over the past six years, he has been conducting research on primary and secondary prevention programs for HIV/AIDS. Dr. Callahan has led a multiracial and multiaffectional team in working with minority youth in Sacramento to increase racial and orientational identity as a part of reducing HIV risk. A second program has focused on training physicians in HIV clinics to enhance their ability to talk about sexual risk behaviors and drug risk behaviors with HIV positive patients. This study will be initially reported in AIDS and Behavior this Fall. In collaboration with the Associate Dean for Diversity Development at the School of Medicine, Dr. Callahan has been proactive in creating a safe environment for gay, lesbian and transgendered faculty, medical students, residents and fellows. In addition, he introduced the first cultural training experiences to medical students and to residents in Family and Community Medicine. In these cultural trainings, he identifies himself as gay and shares personal experiences with getting health care as a gay man. In addition, he presemts a yearly lecture in the Health Care to the Underserved Populations in Health Care.

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