Arlene Noriega, PhD, is recognized with this APA Citizen Psychologist Presidential Citation for her leadership and sustained commitment to service to marginalized and oppressed populations in her community.
Specifically, Noriega has been involved in several different Citizen Psychologist capacities in the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community in Atlanta. She has worked with Positive Impact, a community organization providing mental health services to HIV infected/affected clients. Her work for this non-profit included board membership, ethics workshops for staff and consultants, community training efforts, and being one of the founding faculty members of their Cultural Diversity Institute. The mission of the Institute was to ensure cultural competence of mental health providers in Atlanta working with individuals affected by HIV. This ensured that individuals working with individuals with HIV/AIDS and their families received the best care possible.
Noriega later joined the Board of The Health Initiative, a nonprofit providing healthcare access to marginalized segments of the LGBT population. As co-chair, she the organization was awarded a major grant for training Affordable Care Act insurance navigators in order to significantly increase healthcare enrollment in the LGBT community. The program broadened its reach to include Latinx who qualified for health care. Through the Health Initiative, Noriega became the lead coordinator in a social networking group, Fourth Tuesday. She continues to coordinate and lead this social networking group that addresses social isolation and depression affecting older lesbians in the Greater Atlanta area. This program also reaches out to queer women in rural areas and transgender women to provide a safe, virtual space in offering social engagement. She was eventually named the 2014 Grand Marshal of the Atlanta LGBT Pride Celebration in honor of her work.
Noriega’s private practice is dedicated to Spanish-speaking immigrants and their children. Her practice offers a free reading program for clients who are 1st generation children of immigrants, and is staffed by community volunteers. This program has been highly received by the children served, their parents and the volunteer tutors, a demonstration of Noriega’s mission of empowering marginalized communities.