2008 Members: Bianca D. M. Wilson, PhD, Chair (2006-2008); Perry N. Halkitis, PhD, Chair-elect (2007-2009); Randall D. Ehrbar, PsyD (2006-2008); Alicia A. Lucksted, PhD (2007-2009); Constance R. Matthews, PhD (2008-2010); and Marvin R. Goldfried, PhD (2008-2010).

Members to begin their term of office on January 1, 2009 are Vic Muñoz, EdD, and Michael Mobley, PhD.

Diversity Report: Currently, the Committee on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Concerns (CLGBTC) consists of equal representations of male-identified and female-identified members. Three members identify as lesbian, one as gay, one as bisexual, and one as heterosexual. One member is transgender. Five Committee members are European American; one member identifies as a biracial Black American.

The Committee received sexual orientation diversity training in 2008; the Committee devoted time to reflect on this training. While the Committee’s current work already aims to address many of the issues addressed in the training, the Committee continued its practice of identifying underrepresented groups for which each Committee member would advocate (e.g., one Committee member is responsible for advocating for persons with disabilities). Though all Committee members expressed their desire to be inclusive of all groups, the tradition of assigning each member a specific group on which to focus helps to ensure that the Committee does not inadvertently ignore the needs and issues of underrepresented populations.

2008 CLGBTC Outstanding Achievement Award: This year the Committee did not present an outstanding achievement award due to the lack of nominations. The Committee will improve its outreach efforts to increase the nomination pool.

2008 Annual Convention Activities: Current and past members of CLGBTC presented two symposia at the annual APA convention in Boston. Dr. Ehrbar chaired a symposium on APA and Transgender Issues. Dr. Anderson, Director of the Office of LGBT Concerns, and several members of the Taskforce on Gender Identity and Gender Variance presented the historical context for the Taskforce and the main findings. Dr. Anderson also chaired a symposium on strategies used by psychologists to oppose heterosexist discriminatory legislation and initiatives. Dr. Cerbone was one of the discussants for this symposium.

In addition to the above programs, Dr. Ehrbar represented the Committee in a joint meeting with the Division 44 public policy committee in the Division 44 hospitality suite. They led a discussion on how LGBT sections of state psychological associations could best communicate and work together.

Strategic Planning and Set Priorities: The Committee engaged in a strategic planning process during the Spring and Fall consolidated meetings. The discussion generated a set of key issues on which the Committee will focus their work during the next few years: a) increasing the use of LGBT psychological research by practitioners and advocacy groups; 2) encouraging quality research through advocating for the inclusion of sexual orientation and gender identity questions in large scale surveys; and 3) improving training and education around LGBT issues.

Inclusion of LGB issues in Graduate Education and Training: The Committee approved the write-up of Dr. Wilson’s content analyses of the responses to the questions about barriers/obstacles and APA actions from the 2005 survey Graduate Faculty in Psychology Interested in Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Issues. Dr. Wilson ad Dr. Anderson completed a formal summary report of these analyses to be distributed to the APA Committee on Accreditation.

Task Force on Appropriate Therapeutic Responses to Sexual Orientation: The Committee and other selected reviewers submitted feedback on the first draft report of the Taskforce. The Task Force plans to submit a report to the Board of Directors and to all Boards and Committees in 2009.

Resolution on Data about Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity: The Committee approved a revised version of the Resolution on Data about Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity, which was initially written by Dr. Russell and revised by Dr. Wilson. The resolution was submitted to the Board for the Advancement of Psychology in the Public Interest for its approval for the resolution to appear on the Cross-Cutting Agenda in March 2009.

SAGE Conference: The topic of aging was identified during the spring meeting as a potential focus of bridging research with practice and advocacy. The Committee met with Karen Taylor from Services and Advocacy for GLBT Elders (SAGE) to discuss how the Committee might contribute to increasing the research content of the SAGE National Conference, which draws both advocates and community practitioners. In service of this goal, Dr. Halkitis organized and delivered a presentation on HIV and older gay and bisexual men at the 2008 SAGE Conference.