What's Happening

ByTamara Neff, MA | July 26, 2018
E-Learning Curriculum Developer, ETR

One of our core values at ETR states, “We believe everyone should have the same access and opportunities in life.” This resonates with me deeply, as it directly connects to one of my personal tenets as an eLearning specialist and instructional designer: to provide quality learning experiences for everyone and anyone with a desire to learn. At ETR, I want people to easily find the valuable information and training we provide, and to be able to meaningfully apply it.

By Ryan Watson, PhD | June 18, 2018
Assistant Professor, University of Connecticut

To come out, or not to come out? That is a very real question constantly facing LGBTQ youth, as well as a fair number of young adults, across their entire lifespan. As a researcher, one of my interests is the choices queer youth and adults make about being out. Who do they come out to? How does this affect their health and well-being?

By Stacy Soria, MPA | June 14, 2018
Lead Consultant, Stacy Soria Consulting, LLC

We need to hear some stories. Then, through listening to these stories, we need to make some commitments. It’s time to join in the process of raising up a community. Whatever your role, your gender, your experience—this is my take-home message about leadership in the transgender community: you have a part to play.

By JT Perez | June 4, 2018
Transgender Advocate & Prevention Educator, Alianza of New Mexico

For some reason, I am seen as a leader. This isn’t something that comes naturally to me, but it’s a role I’ve done my best to step up to. I’ve received help in this effort from mentors, friends, community and family, and it’s made a world of difference to me.

Leadership is transformative. I’ve seen it change individuals, organizations and communities. It can save lives. It can lead the charge for social justice.

By Marcia Quackenbush, MS, MFT, MCHES | May 8, 2018
Senior Editor, ETR

LGBTQ students have plenty of reasons to feel like they don’t “fit” in a lot of schools. They are likely to experience pervasive harassment and discrimination, which may be delivered by peers, educators or administrators. Most attend classes that make no reference to their relationships, LGBTQ contributions to society, or the history of the gay and transgender rights movements.

ETR's Health Equity Framework gives us a way to examine issues such as these and be more focused and intentional about the steps we take to address them.

By Beverly Iniguez-Conrique | May 1, 2018
Research Assistant, ETR

In 1994, two very important events happened in my life. First, one of the earliest papers on Social Dominance Theory was published. Second, I was born.

Social Dominance Theory holds that people develop a set of beliefs—“legitimizing myths”—that support their attitudes about social inequities.

By Debra C. Harris, PhD, MST | April 26, 2018
Senior Instructor, OHSU-PSU School of Public Health & Adjunct Instructor, Graduate School of Education

Come take a ride with me. We’ll climb into an old BMW and drive on up from Red Lodge, Montana, to the Beartooth Pass (elevation 10,947 feet). Our chauffeur will be Dr. Bill Kane, which is why we’ll be stopping along the way to look at the beautiful fall colors, listen to the birds, hear the wind, and maybe spot some deer. Bill needed to do these things. He was that kind of person.

By Vignetta Charles, PhD & Karin Coyle, PhD | April 24, 2018
CEO (VC) & Chief Science Officer (KC), ETR

At ETR, we advance health equity through science-based solutions. We’ve been doing it for 37 years. But it wasn’t until recently that we developed our own framework to explicitly and transparently ground our work in health equity. This more intentional approach to health equity has energized our mission-driven work.

By Karen Stradford Boyce, LCSW, & Madeline Travers, MPH | March 27, 2018
Consultant (KSB) & New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (MT)

LGBTQ youth face distinct health risks compared with their non-LGBTQ peers. In the last few years, the call to address the sexual health needs of LGBTQ youth has rung loud from both programs and research. At the same time, a rollback of LGBTQ-focused initiatives and programs at the federal level has created an unprecedented need for support for the LGBTQ community and its youth.

Cynthia A. Gómez, PhD | March 15, 2018
Professor Emerita in Health Education, Founding Director Health Equity Institute, San Francisco State University

The way I like to describe the concept of health equity is to say that it is the solution to the problem of health inequities. Health inequities are differences in health outcomes that are avoidable.

I think of health equity as a visionary goal where all people have equal opportunity, access, and resources to achieve the best health possible.