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Honored for Work as a Psychologist

I was accepted into the membership of the Georgia Psychological Association (GPA) and the American Psychological Association in 1989. I soon became involved in several committees within GPA, including Legal and Legislative Affairs and Ethnic Minority Affairs. While working within GPA, I have focused on encouraging the organization to put its resources to work on behalf of the public. I have urged GPA to inform the public and elected officials about psychological research and experience relevant to public policy, such as child protection, domestic violence, animal cruelty, and other issues.

In 1992, I began organizing a committee specifically to address the rights and needs of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered (LGBT) community. The Committee on Sexual Orientation Concerns (CSOC) was approved as an official committee in GPA in 1993, and it was only the ninth such group in a state psychology organization in the United States of America. CSOC wrote several position papers on legislative issues, such as same-sex parents and discrimination, which GPA approved. The Committee conducted public education seminars, workshops with colleagues, and dialogues with policy-makers. CSOC members also provided pro bono guidance and group facilitation which helped create the group YouthPride, an organization which supports and helps LGBT youth. The Committee submitted an amicus ("friend of the court") brief in the Shahar v. Bowers case. CSOC began its annual information booth at the Pride Festival, which also has been a site to conduct numerous studies of the LGBT community.

In 1994, I was elected a Fellow of GPA, which is a rare honor. I was nominated and approved, by other Fellows, in recognition of my contribution to GPA in broadening its outreach to the public. My efforts helped in the organization's overall increased application of psychological knowledge for the public good.

Eventually, CSOC grew into a full-fledged Division, and is now a Council within GPA. The Council on Gender and Sexual Diversity continues its efforts to educate the public, legislators, and colleagues on LGBT issues. While the early focus was on sexual orientation issues, the Council has worked more on gender issues in recent years. Directories of LGBT-affirmative psychologists have been developed and updated over the years. The Council has also taken on other projects, such as a drive to raise goods for survivors of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005.

I have continued to be involved in the Council over the years, and in 2002 I received the Outstanding Achievement Award for Contribution to the Psychological Well-Being of the LGBT Community in recognition of my work to improve public support, professional knowledge, and legal policy for LGBT persons.

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