WHAT: President Barack Obama’s choice of openly gay and lesbian athletes to represent the U.S. government at the Sochi Winter Olympics gives psychologists an opportunity to educate a global audience about how interaction between heterosexual and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people effectively reduces prejudice. Research has shown that individuals who get to know LGBT people are less likely to discriminate against them and more likely to support LGBT social and political equality. The following American Psychological Association staff and members are available to discuss the significance of gay and lesbian athletes leading the U.S. delegation in Sochi:
WHO: Clinton Anderson, PhD Washington, D.C. Email: [email protected]Phone: (202) 336-6037
As APA associate executive director and director of the Office on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Concerns, Anderson leads education and advocacy to improve the health and well-being of LGBT people, increase scientific understanding of gender identity and sexual orientation, and reduce stigma, prejudice, discrimination and violence toward LGBT people.
Sharon Horne, PhDBostonEmail: [email protected] Phone: (901) 230-0422Website: http://www.umb.edu/academics/cehd/faculty/sharon_horne
Associate professor of counseling psychology at the University of Massachusetts Boston, Horne studies the impact of prejudice and discrimination on LGBT people and how to build resilience. She has worked in the Soviet Union and post-communist countries since 1987 on human right issues, including LGBT mental health concerns and has conducted research on LGBT issues in Russia.
Gregory Herek, PhD Davis, Calif. Email: [email protected]Website: http://psychology.ucdavis.edu/Herek/
Professor of psychology at the University of California, Davis, Herek focuses his research on prejudice against lesbians and gay men, violence against gays and AIDS-related stigma.
Ilan Meyer, PhDLos Angeles Email: [email protected]Phone: (310) 825-9932Website: http://law.ucla.edu/faculty/all-faculty-profiles/Pages/Ilan-H-Meyer.aspx
Senior scholar for public policy at the Williams Institute for Sexual Orientation Law and Public Policy at the University of California, Los Angeles, School of Law, Meyer specializes in how prejudice and discrimination create health disparities in the LGBT community.
BACKGROUND:
For nearly 40 years, the APA has supported efforts to end discrimination against LGBT individuals, as reflected in the organization’s official policies and resolutions. To assist in educating the Russian public, APA has translated its question-and-answer brochure about sexual orientation and homosexuality into Russian.
________________________________________The American Psychological Association, in Washington, D.C., is the largest scientific and professional organization representing psychology in the United States. APA's membership includes more than 134,000 researchers, educators, clinicians, consultants and students. Through its divisions in 54 subfields of psychology and affiliations with 60 state, territorial and Canadian provincial associations, APA works to advance the creation, communication and application of psychological knowledge to benefit society and improve people's lives.
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