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Topic: LGBT+ Issues

Anahi Russo Garrido

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Anahi Russo Garrido, Ph.D. is an associate professor, department chair and director of the Gender Institute for Teaching and Advocacy (GITA), at Metropolitan State University of Denver. Their research and teaching have focused on transnational sexualities, gender and sexuality in Latin America, queer and feminist theory and social justice organizing.

Russo Garrido is the author of “Tortilleras Negotiating Intimacy: Love, Friendship and Sex in Queer Mexico City,” which investigated the transformation of intimacy in Mexico City in the lives of three generations of women participating in queer spaces. They are also the co-editor of “Building Feminist Movements and Organizations” and has published articles on queer Mexico City in the Journal of Lesbian Studies and Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society, among other journals. Their new research project focuses on the ways in which some advocates utilize contemplative practices to support racial justice activism. This new project contributes to current discussions on queer and feminist care, queer and trans ecologies and racial justice activism.

They earned a doctorate in Gender and Women’s Studies from Rutgers University, and postdoctoral fellowships at Carleton College and Brandeis University.

Mary Ann Watson

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Watson taught Psychology of Sexuality at Metropolitan State University of Denver since 1974. She is a professor emeritus of Psychological Sciences. 

Watson has published many papers throughout her academic career, including “SAMD: Diversity Division – My Journey,” “Female Circumcision from Africa to the Americas: Slavery to the Present” and “Bereavement in the Elderly.”

Watson has contributed to several documentaries, including, “Wearing Hijab: Uncovering the Myths of Islam in the United States” and “Africans in America: The Unfolding of Ethnic Identity.” Watson has won several Telly Awards which honor excellence in film and video productions. Watson also had a cameo role in “Combover: The Movie,” which screened at the Denver International Film Series in 2005.

Watson also maintains a private clinical and consulting psychology practice in Denver.

Tara Tull

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Tara Tull, M.S., is an emeritus professor and former chair in the Department of Human Services and Counseling at Metropolitan State University of Denver.

She joined MSU Denver in 1990 as coordinator of Women’s Services and was named associate director of the Institute of Women’s Studies and Services in 1996, a position she held for 14 years. Tull served as an assistant dean of the College of Letters, Arts and Sciences and co-wrote the proposal to create what’s now known as the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Student Services on campus, which is celebrating its 25th year in 2018. Additionally, she helped create the Scholarship Center and the Students to Watch awards program, which recognizes students who have overcome major obstacles to get an education.

Tull is trained as a mediator and gives presentation on a variety of issues relating to conflict. She is involved with the statewide Women of Color Conference and the Martin Luther King, Jr., Peace Breakfast, helped establish the LGBTQ Student Services Office on the Auraria Campus and has advocated for physical accessibility to the National Historic Register houses on campus. Tull is committed to social justice education with emphasis on gender, sexual identity and multicultural awareness.

She received her master’s in women’s studies from Minnesota State University, Mankato and a bachelor’s in women’s studies from University of Colorado, Boulder.

Anna Ropp

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Anna Ropp teaches Introduction to Statistics for Social and Behavioral Sciences, Psychology of Group Prejudice and Multicultural Psychology.

Ropp has taught at Metropolitan State University Denver since 2010.

Her current research interests include students’ perception of the campus and classroom environment for LGBTQ individuals as well as individuals’ responses to discrimination. Ropp also is currently researching weight prejudice.

Eric Olson

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Eric D. Olson, Ph.D., is the chair of the Rita and Navin Dimond Department of Hotel Management, School of Hospitality, Metropolitan State University of Denver. His areas of expertise include customer service, customer experience, service failure and recovery, LBGTQ tourism and events, events and festivals, hospitality and event management education.

Olson has over 20 years of hospitality, tourism, event and higher education experience. He has published extensively in top academic journals such as Tourism Management, Annals of Tourism Research and Journal of Convention and Event Tourism.

Olson received his Ph.D. from the University of Central Florida, MBA from the Stetson University, and a BBA in marketing from University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. His academic career includes appointments at Iowa State University, and his industry experience includes working at The Walt Disney World Resort.

Perri Corvino

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Perri Corvino, Ph.D., LCSW, LAC is a lecturer in the Department of Social Work at Metropolitan State University of Denver. With over 20 years of experience in the field of mental health, their experience in social work ranges from residential treatment to private practice. Corvino’s expertise includes experiencing and recovering from traumatic events, addiction recovery, supporting and advocating for the LGBTQIA and neurodivergent communities and promoting self-care to counter indirect trauma. Their academic pursuits focus on creating trauma-informed college and university classrooms to counter the oppression and distress faced by students, developing Open Educational Resources, illuminating the lived experience of neurodivergence, and developing an anti-oppressive, trauma-informed approach to social work supervision.

Prior to joining MSU Denver, Corvino volunteered for a crisis hotline and served as a victim’s advocate for people escaping intimate partner violence during their undergraduate studies. Additionally, after completing their master’s degree, Corvino worked in residential, jail, community, and outpatient settings. They owned a private psychotherapy practice until 2018 when they joined the social work program as a full-time lecturer.

Corvino earn a doctorate in social work from Smith College School for Social Work, as well as a master’s in social work and women’s studies from Loyola University Chicago. They completed a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology from the State University of New York at Potsdam

Andrea Borrego

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Andrea Borrego, Ph.D., is a professor and the chair of the Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology at Metropolitan State University of Denver.

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