Contributors Bios for Live True to Yourself

Each coauthor and coeditor listed in their bios what they considered their primary social labels, locations, and characteristics of how they personally experience the world. This is to inform you and other readers about our potential biases, expertise, privileges, and limitations in the subject. We also hope it dismantles some stereotypes and expands your sense of community.

 Coauthors

 Debra Harley (she/her), PhD, CRC, LPC, is a licensed professional counselor and professor in Lexington, Kentucky. She is an African American cisgender woman with a southern United States upbringing. She is a Provost’s Distinguished Service Professor at the University of Kentucky and graduate faculty in the Counselor Education Program in the Department of Early Childhood, Special Education, and Counselor Education and coordinator of the counselor education doctoral program. One of her research areas is cultural diversity and the influence of intersectionality in people’s lives, especially of marginalization, disability, race, age, sexual identity, and rurality. She has published over 90 refereed articles, 85 book chapters, and five books that include Disability Studies for Human Services: An Interdisciplinary and Intersectionality Approach, Cultural Diversity in Mental Health and Disability Counseling for Marginalized Groups, Disability and Vocational Rehabilitation in Rural Settings, Handbook of LGBT Elders, Contemporary Mental Health Issues among African Americans, and Disability and Vocational Rehabilitation in Rural Settings.

Sara Mishly (she/her), MA, is a clinical psychologist, licensed in more than one Arab country, and is currently practicing in the Arab world. She has lived in different Arab countries and has a passion for enhancing mental health services in the Arab world. She has devoted most of her career to working with and writing about the mental health and psychosocial experiences of Arab LGBTQIA+ individuals residing in the Middle East.

R.A is an Arab woman and an expected MSc graduate in General Psychology, specializing in Social Psychology. She has a strong background in nonprofit and nongovernmental organizations and is a committed advocate for marginalized communities across the MENA region. Her research centers on multiple minorities, identity formation, resilience, and well-being. This marks her second publication, reflecting her growing contributions to advancing research that centers on marginalized experiences. R.A. is currently pursuing a career in Social Psychology research with the aim of informing policy and practice through evidence-based, culturally grounded insights.

Stephen P. Stratton, PhD, is a professor of counseling and pastoral care and a licensed psychologist (Kentucky). He is a White, European American, straight, cisgender, and nondisabled man who counts the intersection of sexuality, gender, and religion/spirituality among Christian college students as a primary and passionate focus. He is a fellow with the Sexual and Gender Identity Institute and coauthor of the book Listening to Sexual Minorities: A Study of Faith and Sexual Identity on Christian College Campuses. Dr. Stratton holds membership in both counseling and psychology professional guilds, and he regularly presents at the state, national, and international conferences of these organizations.

Lee Beckstead (he/him), PhD, is white-Peruvian, gay, cisgender, currently nondisabled, and spiritual; was excommunicated from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; and has been in a primary relationship with a man since 1997. He has been a psychologist in private practice in Salt Lake City, Utah, since 2003. He tried to change his sexual orientation by himself in his teens and later with a few Latter-day Saint therapists during his early twenties. He attempted suicide at the age of 18 because he felt hopeless and ashamed about not being able to stop being attracted to guys. He conducted a qualitative study in graduate school from 1998 to 2001 with 50 individuals who tried to change their sexual orientation through psychotherapy. Half reported benefits, half reported harms, and many reported mixed results. Since 2005, he has co-facilitated weekend retreats for male survivors of sexual abuse (https://menhealing.org/). He served on the 2009 American Psychological Association task force, making recommendations for those seeking therapy to change their sexual orientation. In 2012, he initiated the LGBTQ-affirmative Psychotherapist Guild of Utah to file ethical complaints against Utah clinicians providing sexual orientation change efforts (SOCE). In 2013, he shifted focus and organized a workshop to foster dialogue and understanding with these individuals. Since then, he has been meeting twice per month with therapists, educators, and community leaders holding differing views on sexual orientation, gender, and religion (https://reconciliationandgrowth.org/). He testified as an expert witness in a 2015 New Jersey legal case against a Jewish organization accused of consumer fraud due to offering SOCE. Since 2016, he has been part of a diverse research team studying the health and satisfaction of individuals who are single and celibate or noncelibate, in a same-sex/queer relationship, or a mixed-orientation relationship (https://www.4optionssurvey.com/). Since 2017, he has been the lead coeditor and organizer of the LGBTQIA+ Peacebuilding Book Project (https://findingcongruence.com).

 Néo L. SANDJA™ is a Congolese American trans man who is a serial entrepreneur and a published author. He migrated from the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the United States in 2004 to pursue his education in mass communication. He began his social transition in 2010 and his medical transition in December 2011. In 2012, he created FTM Fitness World, a company dedicated to empowering trans men through mental, emotional, and physical fitness. In 2014, the company hosted a three-day annual conference along with the first historical bodybuilding competition for trans men. This organization is known today as the International Association of Trans Bodybuilders and Powerlifters. In 2016, Néo published his first book, Right Mind Wrong Body: The Ultimate Trans Guide to Being Complete and Living a Fulfilled Life. In his book, he shares his experience as an African trans man and the lessons he has learned throughout his life from a physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual perspective. Néo is also a business consultant, public speaker, life coach, and a certified neurolinguistic programming practitioner through the Association for Integrative Psychology. He has used his skills along with his passion for emotional intelligence to empower people in all the roles that he plays on a daily basis. As a soul who is always transcending societal barriers, Néo calls himself an alignment catalyst and an energy guide who helps people find the Healer, Divine Creator, and Problem Solver within themselves.

Jeannie DiClementi (she/her/hers), PsyD, is a White, cisgender, lesbian, wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, licensed psychologist, community activist, and a proud boat rocker. She worked in academia for over 30 years and is a retired Professor Emerita from Purdue University Fort Wayne. She has worked as a clinician with LGBTQIA+ clients since the mid-1980s and with HIV+ clients during the peak years of the HIV pandemic. In her university faculty position, she created the campus Safe Zone training, the LGBTQIA+ Resource Center, the LGBTQIA+ Task Force, and mental health education and suicide prevention programming as the recipient of three SAMHSA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration) mental health and suicide prevention grants. She mentors LGBTQIA+ graduate students for the American Psychological Association’s Graduate Student Association. She provides consultation and training on clinical work with LGBTQIA+ clients for Northeast Indiana mental health centers, including clinical psychology internship programs. Free of the constraints of academia, she is finally catching up on her writing projects.

Weston V. Donaldson (he/him), PhD, ABPP, is a board-certified clinical geropsychologist and owner of Proud Heart Therapy Services, LLC, serving LGBTQIA+ adults in middle and older adulthood. He lives on the traditional homeland of the Potawatomi, Ho-Chunk, and Menominee tribes, known as Wisconsin. Weston is a White, Euro-American, currently nondisabled, cisgender gay man. He has had particular interest in aging issues, specifically LGBTQ+ aging, since graduate school, and this has been a focus of his research and writing activity since then, with a focus on long-term care and aging services settings. Through his work in various healthcare settings (skilled nursing, inpatient rehab, outpatient primary care), he has witnessed many LGBTQIA+ people moving through the challenges that can arise with aging. His hope is that through continued advocacy, training, and experience, providers and care locations can become safer for and more affirmative of older LGBTQIA+ people.

Candice Metzler (she/they), PhD, LCSW, is a psychotherapist in private practice in Salt Lake City, Utah. She has spent much of her adult life working to address critical social, environmental, cultural, and health issues through public education, community organizing, consultation, and legislative policy work. Candice began her community organizing and public education work in 1996, speaking to elementary schools about the importance of preserving cultural and natural resources, which eventually led to the founding of a nonprofit organization, Wilderness Watch of Utah, in 1998. She has gone on to be involved with numerous non-profit organizations, including Transgender Education Advocates of Utah, Equality Utah, LGBTQ+ Therapist Guild of Utah, and Reconciliation and Growth Project. Candice has provided consultation and education to countless government and private business leaders, including her work as a trainer with the U.S. Department of Justice, providing trainings to Utah law enforcement. Candice has been an instructor at the University of Utah and has guest lectured on numerous college and university campuses throughout Utah.

Alex Toft was formerly a research fellow, most recently working at Nottingham Trent University in the School of Social Sciences. His research focused on sexuality, gender, disability, spirituality, and identity. During his academic career, he published widely in journals such as Sexualities, Sociological Research Online, and the Journal of Bisexuality. However, the world of academia with its obsession on making huge amounts of money became a stifling and unpleasant place to work. Nowadays you will find him tending green spaces and caring for plants.

 Nate Cannon, BA, MFA, CDP, is a nationally recognized speaker, consultant, and author who trains and educates consumers and professionals through his experiences as a transgender man living well in recovery with both mental health diagnoses and a neurological disability. He has over 10 years of experience working with dementia, law, mental health, and chemical dependency. To learn more about his work, visit NateCannon.org.

 Jenna Brownfield (she/her), PhD, is a licensed psychologist in private practice in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She earned her doctorate in counseling psychology from the University of Missouri–Kansas City. She is a White, bi/queer, cis woman with a midwestern United States upbringing.

Katina Sawyer, PhD, is an associate professor of management and organizations in the Eller College of Management at the University of Arizona. She is a White, heterosexual, and cisgender woman. Before coming to Eller, she worked as an assistant professor of management at the George Washington University and as an assistant professor of psychology in human resource development at Villanova University. She earned a dual PhD in psychology (industrial organizational) and women’s studies from Pennsylvania State University in 2012 and a BA in psychology from Villanova University in 2006. Her research focuses on diversity, equity, and inclusion in organizations, positive organizational scholarship, and employee well-being. She has received research grants from the National Science Foundation and the Society for Human Resource Management, as well as various early-career research awards. She has also received both national and university-wide early-career teaching awards. Finally, in alignment with her focus on practical impact, she was awarded the Presidential Scientist-Practitioner Distinction from the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology in 2019.

Alejandro Gepp Torres (he/él), MD, is a child and adolescent psychiatrist and gender, sex, and relationship diversity therapist from Valparaíso, Chile. He studied medicine at Universidad de Valparaíso. After that, he enrolled in the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Program at the same university. At the same time, he worked with adolescents with substance abuse disorders. After graduating, he started working at Hospital Carlos van Buren, taking charge of the Gender Identity Program, and teaching consultation psychiatry and developmental psychology. He currently works at Hospital Dr Sótero del Río and within a foundation called Diversalud, where a group of affirmative medical professionals do activism to give access to affirming care to people across the country. He was raised in a Catholic family and identifies as a proud and happy gay man.

Charles (Charlie) Hoy-Ellis, PhD, MSW, LICSW, is Project Director of Interventions and Training at the Goldsen Institute, University of Washington School of Social Work. A researcher, educator, and clinician with more than 20 years of experience, Charlie’s work focuses on advancing health equity and well-being among LGBTQ+ midlife and older adults. He leads community-engaged projects such as Powerful Tools for Caregivers and Safe Home, translating research into evidence-based programs that improve the lives of older adults and their care partners. A nationally recognized scholar, Charlie’s research has been published in leading journals and has shaped policies and practices supporting diverse aging communities. His clinical practice as a licensed independent social worker also centers LGBTQ+ individuals, bringing an integrative perspective that bridges research, practice, and training. 

Jeff Bennion, MA, LMFT, is a white male marriage and family therapist in private practice in Murray, Utah. He is in a mixed-orientation marriage for the past 21 years and they have one child. He has been involved for decades in peer support for individuals experiencing compulsive sexual behaviors and/or sexual and gender minorities in traditional religious communities. He also sees couples with relationship dissatisfaction and betrayal trauma. He also has an academic and professional background in biology, chemistry, real estate, IT administration, and software development. He participates in the Reconciliation and Growth Project and is a cofounder of North Star International (a nonprofit religious support ministry for Latter-day Saints) and the Gender Harmony Institute (a nonprofit gender clinic specializing in non-medicalization treatments). He has presented at numerous professional and religiously themed conferences.

Coeditors

A. Lee Beckstead (check bio above)

Sulaimon Giwa (he/him/his) is an associate professor and interim dean of social work at Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador in Canada. Sulaimon is a scholar-activist who self-identifies as Black, Muslim, and gay. His intersectional identity adds depth to his contributions in the field of LGBTQ+ studies, demonstrating his unwavering commitment to fostering inclusive discourse from diverse perspectives. Through his academic and community pursuits, Sulaimon demonstrates his astute understanding of the intricacies surrounding identity and representation within the LGBTQ+ community, promoting crucial conversations on equity and social justice. He authored the 2022 book Racism and Gay Men of Color: Living and Coping with Discrimination.

Iva Žegura graduated from and specialized in clinical psychology at the Department of Psychology, Faculty of Philosophy, in Zagreb and is currently pursuing doctoral studies. She is a licensed clinical psychologist and is educated in Gestalt integrative therapy, cybernetic psychotherapy, and sexual therapy. She introduced the concept of affirmative and sensitive LGBTAIQ+ mental health practice in Croatia and the Balkans. Also, she initiated and established the Section for Psychology of Sexuality and Psychology of Gender of the Croatian Psychological Association. In 2015, she helped in the implementation of legalization and health care for trans people based on the SOC WPATH within the Croatian health-care system. She works at the Vrapče Psychiatry Clinic and collaborates with several national universities and departments of psychology. She is a member of the national list of experts for transgender health care at the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Croatia. She is the president of the Section for Clinical Psychology, president of the Section for Psychology and Human Rights, and vice president of the Section for Psychology of Sexuality and Psychology of Gender. In 2021, she was elected to be a member of the board of directors of the European Professional Association for Transgender Health (EPATH), and now she is president-elect. She collaborates with the Global Education Institute of WPATH. She participated in starting the association. She was a member of the executive board of TransAid Croatia, now KolekTIRV, helping establish this nongovernment organization (NGO). She was also a cofounder of the association TransParent Croatia. She regularly collaborates with several Croatian and regional LGBTAIQ+ and human rights NGOs. She is a winner of several professional awards and has authored several books, chapters, and scientific papers. She is a member of several national, European, and international professional associations.

All coauthors and coeditors participated in this book project independently of their various affiliations. The content in this book project and book do not necessarily represent all coauthors' and coeditors' viewpoints or reflect the viewpoints of their various affiliations. Collaboration in this book project doesn’t mean coauthor and /coeditors agree with or promote the work and views of the other

R. A. chose to use their initials for safety reasons.