AASECT Contemporary Sexuality Outreach Steering Committee Updates
Happy 2018 from the Outreach Committee! I hope that this year has been a dynamic one for you thus far.
To AASECT’s ongoing members, great to have you with us! For our new AASECT members – welcome!
It is my honor to serve as the Outreach Committee Chair for AASECT. A little about me: I am a licensed clinical social worker and have my PhD in Human Sexuality from Widener University. Currently, I work at the University of Central Florida wearing many hats. Among them include developing international social work courses with particular emphasis on understanding issue of sexual health, identity, and practices abroad.
Two key committees that are a part of the Outreach Committee are the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) committee and the Mentorship Committee. The purpose of the DEI committee is to assess and support the needs of AASECT on matters of diversity, equity, and inclusion. This includes providing recommendations to the Board of Directors (BoD) on ways to increase opportunities to hear more diverse voices, and improving diversity of representation within the organization. The chair of this committee is Karyll Honeycutt, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with extensive experience working in Reproductive Justice, as well as a therapist and sexuality educator. DEI is also comprised of committee members, Dr. Carey Bayer, Dr. Debbie Bazarsky, Dr. Janet Brito, Dr. Kimberly Dickman, Dr. Jayleen Galarza, and Dr. Donna Oriowo.
The purpose of the Mentorship Committee is to act as a support and a resource for new members of AASECT, connecting them with information, resources, and other members who share similar or complimentary interests in the professional fields of sexuality. The Mentorship committee is chaired by Dr. Kaela Joseph, a clinical psychologist with a specialty in LGBTQ psychology as well as women and transgender Veterans. Committee members also include Dr. Midege Flaget-Greener, Valerie Richards, LMCH, and Shanna Williams, LCSW.
The Outreach Committee continues our efforts of fostering an organization that is inclusive, respectful of diverse identities and bodies, and supportive of budding sexuality educators, counselors and therapists (SECTs). This is done through our work with the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) committee and the Mentorship committee.
Since our last report in 2017, members of the DEI have engaged in rich discourse to establish our own vision, goals, and objectives for this service year. Among them include:
- Developing a proposal to include cultural diversity as a Core Knowledge area in the AASECT Certification/Continuing Education requirements
- Developing a “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion” statement for AASECT
- Identifying Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion goals for consideration for AASECT’s new strategic change committee
- Utilizing feedback from recent AASECT surveys to strengthen Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion outreach and programming for AASECT members
The DEI looks forward to continuing to support AASECT’s work of enhancing diversity, equity, and inclusion among leadership as well as current and future members.
In the Mentorship realm, efforts continue to create AASECT’s first Virtual Happy hour series. These virtual sessions will be led by a current AASECT mentor, or an established AASECT member, and will be open to all mentees as a way to support and encourage mentee engagement. In addition, the mentorship committee plans to increase brainstorming sessions among committee members to develop more innovative ideas to support new SECT’s. In that regard, we welcome feedback from membership! The chair of the mentorship committee, Kaela Joseph, along with myself, will be moderating the Mentoring Meet and Greet at the AASECT Annual Conference on Saturday, June 16th from 6pm – 7pm. We warmly encourage anyone who is interested in becoming a mentor, has questions about mentorship, or ideas regarding strengthening mentorship recruitment, to attend! This is a great time to learn about AASECT mentorship and meet current mentors and mentees. If you will be unable to attend but have questions or ideas, you can also contact me directly at tharrisjackson@gmail.com.
2018 has proven to be a solid start for the Outreach Committee, and with your continued support, we see the view only becoming brighter from here!
Sincerely,
Tameca N. Harris-Jackson, PhD, LICSW, CSE
Chair, Outreach Steering Committee
