The LGBTQ Advocate Award recognizes a faculty member, staff member, or student who demonstrates a commitment to advancing lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender issues on campus.
Kirsten Gonzalez
Kirsten A. Gonzalez, PhD, is an assistant professor in the Department of Psychology. Her research interests include the psychological well-being of LGBTQ+ People of Color, ally development, social justice advocacy and interventions, and sociopolitical experiences of marginalization across race/ethnicity, gender identity, and sexual orientation.
What does being a Volunteer mean to you? How has UT empowered you to make a difference in a way you might not have imagined elsewhere?
I am honored to receive the Chancellor’s Honors LGBTQ Advocate Award and to be acknowledged for my commitment to advancing lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) issues on UT’s campus. Being a Volunteer means that I am passionate about contributing to the positive diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts to advance LGBTQ issues on campus, particularly as we think about the needs of LGBTQ+ Black, Indigenous, and other People of Color at UT. UT has empowered me to use my scholarship exploring systemic oppression experienced by LGBTQ+ people to advance social justice initiatives and celebrate the diversity of transgender, nonbinary, and queer people at UTK and in the broader community. UT has continuously supported my LGBTQ-focused scholarship, service, and mentoring, and empowered me to engage in advocacy work to advance LGBTQ initiatives on UT’s campus. I look forward to continuing this work and encourage all Volunteers to join me in finding ways to get involved in social justice initiatives, particularly for the LGBTQ+ community, at UT.