OUT for Health 2020 at UTMB: VIRTUAL CONFERENCE

Learn more aboutAna Andrea Molina (she) Ana Andrea Molina (she)

Ana Andrea Molina (she)

Director general de operaciones, Organización Latina de Trans en Texas

About Ana Andrea Molina (she)

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Director general de operaciones, Organización Latina de Trans en Texas

Learn more aboutBlack Transwomen, Inc. Black Transwomen, Inc.

Black Transwomen, Inc.

Monica Roberts, Diamond Collier, and Dee Dee Watters

The Black Transwomen, Inc (BTWI) Organization works to lift the voice, heart and soul of all transwomen. Our commitment is to ensure a safe and affirming environment for transwomen through our social outreach programs. BTWI is a not for profit organization taking action on homophobia, sexism and racism which contribute to discrimination and harassment in the home, workplace, schools and the justice system. Our goal is to position ourselves in the forefront for equality and social justice for all through collaboration, awareness, education and advocacy. We are dedicated to equality and the eradication of race, class and gender oppression within our social community.

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Monica Roberts, Diamond Collier, and Dee Dee Watters

Learn more aboutColt Meier St. Amand, PhD (he/they) Colt Meier St. Amand, PhD (he/they)

Colt Meier St. Amand, PhD (he/they)

Psychologist and 4th year Medical Student

Dr. Colt Meier St. Amand is a clinical psychologist whose expertise is in clinical work, research, and training in the health of transgender people of all ages. He is an assistant professor in the Menninger Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences of Baylor College of Medicine, adjunct assistant professor in the psychology department at the University of Houston, and is completing his MD at the University of Texas Medical Branch, where he is a student scholar in the John P. McGovern Academy of Oslerian Medicine. He maintains a small part-time private practice in the Houston/Galveston area of Texas. Dr. Colt is a co-founder and past board member of Gender Infinity, an organization dedicated to promoting justice, hope, and equity through the advancement of relationships, knowledge, and resources that empower transgender and gender expansive individuals. He helped develop the National Association for School Psychologists' (NASP) and APA's joint Resolution on Gender and Sexual Orientation Diversity in Children and Adolescents in Schools, the NASP Position Statement on Safe Schools for Transgender and Gender Diverse Students, and the APA and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's report on Ending Conversion Therapy: Supporting and Affirming LGBTQ Youth. He is a chapter work group member for the hormone therapy chapter for adolescents and adults of the World Professional Association for Transgender Health Standards of Care Version 8. His research has focused on understanding the mental health effects of hormone therapy and the experiences of parents of young transgender people. Dr. Colt is a transgenderqueer White man who has thrived because of his experience of acceptance and unconditional love from his parents and long-time family and friends.

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Psychologist and 4th year Medical Student

Learn more aboutDanny Roe (he) Danny Roe (he)

Danny Roe (he)

Assistant Director of Student Diversity, TAMUG

Danny Roe received his bachelors degree from Texas A&M Galveston in 2013 and began working for the university post graduation where he has moved from an admissions recruiter to the Assistant Director of Student Diversity. In that time, he completed a masters degree in Higher Education from Sam Houston University. He leads several LGBTQ initiatives on Galveston Island including the Trans Support Group, The Pride Parade Committee, and other committees. His passion is working with and for the community and being a lifelong learner.

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Assistant Director of Student Diversity, TAMUG

Learn more aboutDaryl Shorter, MD (he) Daryl Shorter, MD (he)

Daryl Shorter, MD (he)

Psychiatry Residency Program Director, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX

Dr. Daryl Shorter is the residency program director of the Menninger Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. Shorter completed an addiction fellowship training in New York in 2009 to a psychiatrist position at the Michael E. DeBakey VAMC, where he transformed the department’s educational efforts on addiction and addictive disorders. He is not only a superb and inspirational teacher, but also has taken on increasing educational leadership responsibilities and nurtured the growth of his department’s Added Qualifications Residency in Addiction. Shorter received his undergraduate degree from Rice University and his medical degree from Baylor.

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Psychiatry Residency Program Director, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX

Learn more aboutDeb Murphy, BS (she) Deb Murphy, BS (she)

Deb Murphy, BS (she)

Youth Specialist

Deb Murphy (she) is the Youth Services Specialist for the Montrose Center’s HATCH program, which serves LGBT and questioning youth ages 13-20 in the Houston area. This program includes three-hour meetings, three evenings per week and offers numerous services for youth, including health, a supportive and supervised environment for socializing, educational sessions on topics, including: substance abuse prevention, HIV prevention and testing, suicide prevention, tutoring, and healthy dating and relationships, among other topics. In the 12 years that Deb has served this vulnerable population, she has earned the reputation as the “go to” expert on LGBT youth issues. Deb is highly sought out for her public speaking and training skills, not only in Harris County, but across the state and nationwide. Deb is the consummate professional, extremely vigilant about ethical issues and considerations, ever mindful about upholding firm boundary issues and ensures that all her staff and volunteers are highly trained, as well.

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Youth Specialist

Learn more aboutFran Watson, JD (she) Fran Watson, JD (she)

Fran Watson, JD (she)

Attorney, Associate Municipal Court Judge for the City of Houston

Fran Watson (she) is an attorney and certified mediator focusing on protecting the legacy of families through estate planning and estate administration. She also serves as an Associate Municipal Court Judge for the City of Houston. A native Houstonian, Fran earned her Bachelor of Science in Psychology from the University of Houston-Downtown and her law degree from TSU’s Thurgood Marshall School of Law. Fran has a passion for equality and believes everyone deserves a life of dignity, equal access, and fair treatment. She has served in leadership at the local, state, and national level in organizations and committees whose missions align with those beliefs. Her community work focuses on the intersection of LGBTQ equality and racial and gender justice. Fran is the former president of the Houston GLBT Political Caucus, the south’s oldest civil rights organization focused on advancing the rights of the LGBTQ community. Additionally, Fran is a former Chapter Co-Director for New Leaders Council, a national progressive leadership institute. She also served as board chair of Montrose Grace Place, a drop-in center for homeless youth in Houston. Fran has won several awards including being named a 40 under 40 Honoree by the Houston Business Journal and Public Citizen of the Year by the National Association of Social Workers in Houston. Fran also served as the 2016 Houston Pride Female Grand Marshal and the 2018 PFLAG Beaumont Pride Fest Grand Marshal.

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Attorney, Associate Municipal Court Judge for the City of Houston

Learn more aboutJosé M. Barral, MD, PhD (he) José M. Barral, MD, PhD (he)

José M. Barral, MD, PhD (he)

Professor and Char, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine

Before joining Kaiser Permanente School of Medicine, Dr. José Barral (he) served as tenured Professor and Vice Chair for Operations in the Department of Neuroscience, Cell Biology and Anatomy, Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs in the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, and Director of the MD-PhD Combined Degree Program at the University of Texas Medical Branch. As Chair of Foundational Science, he collaborates with the Clinical Science and Health Systems Science Departments to lead faculty members in developing and implementing our medical school curriculum, which incorporates concepts and skills from each of these three major disciplines. His commitment to education and research has been recognized by several awards and appointments, and his work has been published in many prestigious journals, including Nature, Science, and Cell.

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Professor and Char, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine

Learn more aboutKara Jencks, BA/BS (she) Kara Jencks, BA/BS (she)

Kara Jencks, BA/BS (she)

4th Year Medical Student, UTMB

Kara Jencks (she) is a fourth-year medical student at the University of Texas Medical Branch. She will be entering residency in internal medicine this summer. Kara was born and raised in Galveston, Texas, and attended The University of Texas at Austin. She graduated Phi Beta Kappa with high honors. She has a B.A. degree in Plan II Honors and a B.S.A. degree in Biochemistry, with a minor in Spanish. At UTMB, Kara is a member of the School of Medicine Class of 2020 and serves as one of two Class Curriculum Representatives. Kara successfully lobbied for the implementation of mandatory Allies Training for first-year medical students at UTMB thanks to the excellent work of Allies in Medicine officers. In the future, she hopes to go into public health policy to help advocate for patients to increase access to care for all under-served populations. She has special interests in gender and sexual minority patients, primary care, medical education curriculum, research, and gastroenterology.

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4th Year Medical Student, UTMB

Learn more aboutKelley Blair, LPC (they/them) Kelley Blair, LPC (they/them)

Kelley Blair, LPC (they/them)

Founder/CEO Diversity Center of Oklahoma Inc. - Gender Diverse & 2S-LGBTQ Community Resource Center

Kelley B. Blair M.S. LPC., (their pronouns are they/them/their) Earned a Master’s in Community Counseling at Oklahoma State University-Stillwater and taught at the university level for 3 years. Kelley is a licensed professional counselor and supervisor with nearly 20 years of experience working in the helping field with therapeutic and advocacy experience related directly to the Native American and LGBTQ communities in Oklahoma. Kelley is Choctaw, Cherokee and Seminole, they also identify as a transgender Two-Spirit person (gender non-conforming). Kelley is the founder of the Diversity Center of Oklahoma, a non-profit community resource center for gender diverse and 2-S-LGBTQ populations and their families including disenfranchised and marginalized people of color. Kelley has extensive experience working in the non-profit arena and serves on several Native American and LGBTQ related non-profit boards, social justice, state/civic community organizations, currently they Co-Chairing the Central Oklahoma Two-Spirt Society and sits on the International Council of Two-Spirit Societies. Kelley recently was asked to be on the International Leadership Circle for Two-Spirit Council. They have served on the governing board of director of the Oklahoma City Pride Board and was instrumental in organizing the first Pride to have a Two-Spirit organization lead a Pride procession in grand entry style in the U.S. that continues to date. Kelley’s passion lays in issues related to social justice especially related to Native American and diverse populations.

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Founder/CEO Diversity Center of Oklahoma Inc. - Gender Diverse & 2S-LGBTQ Community Resource Center

Learn more aboutKoomah Koomah

Koomah

Artist

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Artist

Learn more aboutLis Shell, Ph.D., PA-C (she) Lis Shell, Ph.D., PA-C (she)

Lis Shell, Ph.D., PA-C (she)

Assistant Professor Physician Assistant Studies, School of Health Professions, Baylor College of Medicine

Dr. Shell (she) is an Assistant Professor in the Physician Assistant (PA) Program at Baylor College of Medicine. Prior to joining Baylor College of Medicine, Dr. Shell served as faculty in the Department of Physician Assistant Studies at the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB). During her tenure at UTMB, she helped develop strategies to promote LGBTQ+ diversity and inclusion at UTMB as well as advance the LGBTQ+ curriculum in both the PA Studies program and School of Medicine. Furthermore, she was invited to serve on a special task force to advance transgender healthcare at UTMB. At her current position at Baylor College of Medicine, she is passionate about expanding the LGBTQ+ curriculum and educate physician assistant students on the social determinants of health regarding the LGBTQ+ population. Dr. Shell also practices as a PA in the Department of Family Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine. Her professional interests include delivering excellent, unbiased medical care to the LGBTQ+ community.

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Assistant Professor Physician Assistant Studies, School of Health Professions, Baylor College of Medicine

Learn more aboutRobert Rodriguez, MPH (he) Robert Rodriguez, MPH (he)

Robert Rodriguez, MPH (he)

Pre-doctoral fellow at the University of Texas Medical Branch

Robert Anthony Rodriguez, MPH (he) is a pre-doctoral fellow at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, TX. Mr. Rodriguez is working towards his Ph.D. in Population Health Sciences, and is specializing in LGBTQIA health, particularly in HIV research. He received his Master’s in Public Health, Epidemiology, at UTMB and worked on evaluating the PrEP program for Galveston County provided by Access Care of Coastal Texas (ACCT), Galveston County Health District STD/HIV program and Coastal Health and Wellness (a local FQHC). Robert is a native of San Antonio, TX and received his Bachelor’s in Biology from the University of the Incarnate Word. He is the President of the Graduate Student Organization for the Department of Preventive Medicine and Population Health at UTMB. Additionally, he is a member of the Allies in Medicine student organization which provides training programs about topics including gender, gender expression, sex, sexual orientation and others related to the LGBTQIA+ spectrum. As of September 2019, he became a member of the International AIDS society and launched a Public Health campaign on Facebook titled “HIV/ENDS” which provides healthcare education, prevention strategies and research aimed at putting an end to HIV.

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Pre-doctoral fellow at the University of Texas Medical Branch

Learn more aboutSean Saifa Wall (he) Sean Saifa Wall (he)

Sean Saifa Wall (he)

Keynote Speaker

Sean Saifa Wall (he) is an intersex activist, visual artist, and public health researcher. Born and raised in the Bronx, he attended Williams College and after a short stint in New York City, moved to the San Francisco Bay Area where he lived for nine years. He now lives in Atlanta, Georgia with his dog, Justice. He is the former board president of InterACT, a legal advocacy organization protecting the human rights of intersex young adults and is a co-founder of the Intersex Justice Project (IJP), a project whose mission is to #endintersexsurgery. Saifa's story has been featured in Gender Outlaws: The Next Generation, Trans Bodies, Trans Selves, Narrative Inquiry in Bioethics journal, the Washington Blade, The Guardian, and The Remedy: Queer and Trans Voices on Health and Healthcare. He is a TEDx speaker and has been a guest on Huffington Post Live, ABC News Nightline and Afropunk: Solutions Sessions. Recently, IJP was highlighted in the Google/Stink Films documentary, Stonewall Forever.

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Keynote Speaker

Learn more aboutSon Q. Dinh, BSA (he) Son Q. Dinh, BSA (he)

Son Q. Dinh, BSA (he)

3rd Year Medical Student at UTMB

Son Quyen Dinh (he) is a third-year medical student at the University of Texas Medical Branch class of 2021. He wants to pursue a career in primary care. Son graduated from The University of Texas at Austin in 2017 with highest honors. He has a B.S.A degree in biology with certificates in Business Foundations and Ethics and Leadership in Healthcare. At UTMB, Son serves on the institution’s Diversity and Inclusion Council for the past 2 years. As an officer for Allies in Medicine, he has increased advocacy through his community outreach and helped to organize Galveston’s first-ever HIV/AIDS walk. He represented UTMB at last year’s Out for Health conference and brought the conference to UTMB. He hopes his future practice in primary care can serve to improve access to medicine for the underserved and minorities of Texas.

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3rd Year Medical Student at UTMB

Learn more aboutTodd O'Neal, APRN, FNP-C (he) Todd O'Neal, APRN, FNP-C (he)

Todd O'Neal, APRN, FNP-C (he)

Nurse Practitioner at Braeswood Endocrinology

Todd O’Neal (he), a graduate of UTMB, has worked as a registered nurse at Texas Children’s Hospital in the cardiovascular ICU, and later at Children’s Memorial Hermann as a float nurse, primarily in the pediatric ICU. He has also served as a clinical instructor for nursing students through UTMB. For three and a half years, he has been working at Legacy Community Health in adult medicine, providing primary care with a clinical focus on the LGBTQ community. He then transitioned to working in private practice serving the same communities.

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Nurse Practitioner at Braeswood Endocrinology

Learn more aboutVanessa Schick, PhD (she) Vanessa Schick, PhD (she)

Vanessa Schick, PhD (she)

Associate Professor at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) School of Public Health in the Department of Management, Policy and Community Health

Vanessa Schick, Ph.D. (she) is an associate professor at the UTHealth School of Public Health. Dr. Schick has an expertise in community research with historically disenfranchised communities and those who serve them with nearly 100 publications. She has been an invited speaker for over 30 national and international conferences and sat on the editorial board for several of the top journals in her field. She has received national awards for her work including the 2013 ‘Outstanding Young Professional Award’ from the American Public Health Association’s Population, Reproductive and Sexual Health Section and the 2016 Barbara Seaman Award for Activism in Women’s Health ‘Emerging Activist’ award from the National Women’s Health Network and the 2018 Excellence in Community Service Award from UTHealth.

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Associate Professor at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) School of Public Health in the Department of Management, Policy and Community Health