Description of Clinical Expertise

My clinical expertise is in mental health care for LGBTQIA+ populations, especially transgender and gender diverse people across the lifespan. I have worked in and developed integrated and multidisciplinary clinical programming focused on LGBTQIA+ health. I currently provide care through the Pennsylvania Hospital Crisis Response Center and Penn Integrated Care.

In my role as Vice Chair for Clinical Operations in Psychiatry, I apply this experience to promoting access to evidence-based, high-quality, and patient-centered mental health care across Penn Medicine. In particular, I focus on reducing barriers to care and improving the experience of providing care through the strategic use of system resources. For example, I have co-led a redesign of admission pathways to inpatient psychiatry, evaluated and enhanced acute psychiatry staffing models, and driven a re-organization of ambulatory clinical leadership with the aim to reduce inter-clinic siloes.

Description of Other Expertise

I also have expertise in the application of clinical and research knowledge to health policy, especially for LGBTQI+ populations. I have advised the NIH Sexual and Gender Minority Office and federal Office for the Assistant Secretary for Health on intersex health priorities, and am currently appointed by Governor Josh Shapiro to serve as the Chair of the Pennsylvania Commission on LGBTQ Affairs.

Description of Research Expertise

My scholarly work focuses primarily on the mental health of LGBTQIA+ populations, especially people born with intersex traits/variations of sex characteristics. I am particularly interested in the role that medical and social stigma play in the mental health outcomes of intersex populations, including psychological distress, psychiatric symptoms, and suicidality, with the aim of identifying strategies for developing medical and mental health care models that promote resilience and thriving.