Nicholas E. Grant, PhD, is recognized with this APA Citizen Psychologist Presidential Citation for his stellar leadership and service to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning (LGBTQ) communities.
When transgender service members were being discriminated against through potential changes to military policy last year, Grant was called to serve as Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand’s subject matter expert for this issue, given his prior relationship with her office. He had formerly served as a William A. Bailey Health and Behavior Congressional Fellow with the APA through the American Association for the Advancement of Science’s Science and Technology Policy Fellowship. While serving as a fellow, Grant worked on legislative portfolios covering LGBTQ, health care and military personnel issues. Grant continues to provide volunteer consultation to Gillibrand’s staff to support their legislative efforts. Grant developed a four-hour “Trans 101” training for the staff, the first known training on this topic to ever be conducted in a Senate office.
For over two years, Grant has also served on the board of directors of Gay and Lesbian Medical Association: Healthcare Professionals Advancing LGBT Equality, a 501(c)(3) organization. During his tenure on the board, Grant has developed initiatives increasing outreach with behavioral health students, communication and collaboration among trainees from different professional backgrounds, and the dialogue around intersectionality and diversity in health care.
Grant has been an active volunteer with local LGBTQ community centers since college, including in San Francisco while in graduate school, New Orleans while on internship, and San Diego while on his clinical fellowship. His commitment to improving the lives of all LGBTQ communities in which he lives is an exemplar of applying psychological science though sustained civic engagement.