Leadership
The SGM SIG leadership consists of two co-chairs and two student representatives. The primary responsibilities of the leadership are to facilitate the day-to-day operations of the SIG, to act as a liaison between the SIG and the ABCT leadership, to organize activities and events related to the annual convention, and to ensure that members’ needs are being met. In addition, the leadership develops and executes new initiatives based on members’ interests. Of note, we strive for a leadership that reflects the diversity of our members.
Danielle Berke
Co-chair, 2022-2025
Danielle Berke, Ph.D., (she/her) is a clinical psychologist and Associate Professor of Psychology at Hunter College and The Graduate Center of the City University of New York where she directs the GenderBased Violence research laboratory. Her active program of research focuses on the identification of strategies for resisting and healing from gender-based violence among communities marginalized by systems of oppression at the intersections of racism, cisgenderism, and heterosexism. This work is both laboratory and community-based using: 1) biopsychosocial methods to specify the role of discrimination in the etiology and maintenance of trauma-related health inequities among people marginalized on the basis of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity and 2) community-engaged implementation science methods to tailor and deliver violence prevention and trauma recovery services with and for these communities. A fundamental end goal of this research is to uncover the structural workings of gender-based violence to promote health equity and wellness for sexual and gender minority people in all their diversity.
Co-chair, 2022-2025
Danielle Berke, Ph.D., (she/her) is a clinical psychologist and Associate Professor of Psychology at Hunter College and The Graduate Center of the City University of New York where she directs the GenderBased Violence research laboratory. Her active program of research focuses on the identification of strategies for resisting and healing from gender-based violence among communities marginalized by systems of oppression at the intersections of racism, cisgenderism, and heterosexism. This work is both laboratory and community-based using: 1) biopsychosocial methods to specify the role of discrimination in the etiology and maintenance of trauma-related health inequities among people marginalized on the basis of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity and 2) community-engaged implementation science methods to tailor and deliver violence prevention and trauma recovery services with and for these communities. A fundamental end goal of this research is to uncover the structural workings of gender-based violence to promote health equity and wellness for sexual and gender minority people in all their diversity.
Lorenzo Lorenzo-Luaces
Co-chair, 2023-2025
Lorenzo Lorenzo-Luaces, Ph.D., (He/Him/His) is an Associate Professor of Indiana University Bloomington. His research interests are broadly related to the treatment and phenomenology of depression and other internalizing disorders like generalized anxiety, including their classification and differentiation from negative moods that are not impairing or distressing. His research has focused on the outcomes and processes of change in depression treatments, especially cognitive-behavioral therapies (CBTs). An overarching theme informing his work is that the level of heterogeneity in the clinical presentation (e.g., symptoms) and in the prognosis of internalizing disorders needs to be considered when studying etiology and treatments.
Co-chair, 2023-2025
Lorenzo Lorenzo-Luaces, Ph.D., (He/Him/His) is an Associate Professor of Indiana University Bloomington. His research interests are broadly related to the treatment and phenomenology of depression and other internalizing disorders like generalized anxiety, including their classification and differentiation from negative moods that are not impairing or distressing. His research has focused on the outcomes and processes of change in depression treatments, especially cognitive-behavioral therapies (CBTs). An overarching theme informing his work is that the level of heterogeneity in the clinical presentation (e.g., symptoms) and in the prognosis of internalizing disorders needs to be considered when studying etiology and treatments.
Donovan Edward
Student Representative, 2023-2025
Donovan Edward, MS (All Pronouns) is a fourth-year clinical psychology doctoral student at Georgia Southern University. Their clinical and research interests lie in treating historically marginalized survivors of traumatic experiences, complex trauma and PTSD presentations, minority stress, and barriers to treatment for sexual and gender minority people. In their time as an undergraduate, they successfully co-founded a grant-funded clinic in Savannah, Georgia (Prism Clinic) focusing on providing affordable and affirming care to LGBTQIA+ populations in Southeast Georgia. They have successfully defended their dissertation, Developing and Evaluating a Multidimensional Measure of Pride in the LGBTQIA+ Community, and are thrilled to begin their 2025-2026 internship year at the Hines VA! In their free time, Donovan enjoys cooking, reading some form of philosophical fantasy, and watching Wicked on repeat with his dogs, Stella and Iris.
Student Representative, 2023-2025
Donovan Edward, MS (All Pronouns) is a fourth-year clinical psychology doctoral student at Georgia Southern University. Their clinical and research interests lie in treating historically marginalized survivors of traumatic experiences, complex trauma and PTSD presentations, minority stress, and barriers to treatment for sexual and gender minority people. In their time as an undergraduate, they successfully co-founded a grant-funded clinic in Savannah, Georgia (Prism Clinic) focusing on providing affordable and affirming care to LGBTQIA+ populations in Southeast Georgia. They have successfully defended their dissertation, Developing and Evaluating a Multidimensional Measure of Pride in the LGBTQIA+ Community, and are thrilled to begin their 2025-2026 internship year at the Hines VA! In their free time, Donovan enjoys cooking, reading some form of philosophical fantasy, and watching Wicked on repeat with his dogs, Stella and Iris.
Andreas Bezahler
Student Representative, 2023-2025
Andreas Bezahler (He/Him/His) is a third-year doctoral student in the Compulsions, Obsessions, and Anxiety Program (COAP) at Fordham University. His research and clinical interests lie at the intersection of LGBTQIA+ health and anxiety disorders. Specifically, he is a NIMH funded researcher (F31), examining the role of discrimination and OCD symptom presentation among sexual minority adults in treatment for OCD. Andreas is always looking to collaborate, meet new peers, and engage with the community so never hesitate to reach out ([email protected]). In his free time, Andreas is playing with his cat (Yeti) and dog (Luna), and watching sci-fi movies.
Student Representative, 2023-2025
Andreas Bezahler (He/Him/His) is a third-year doctoral student in the Compulsions, Obsessions, and Anxiety Program (COAP) at Fordham University. His research and clinical interests lie at the intersection of LGBTQIA+ health and anxiety disorders. Specifically, he is a NIMH funded researcher (F31), examining the role of discrimination and OCD symptom presentation among sexual minority adults in treatment for OCD. Andreas is always looking to collaborate, meet new peers, and engage with the community so never hesitate to reach out ([email protected]). In his free time, Andreas is playing with his cat (Yeti) and dog (Luna), and watching sci-fi movies.