June 17, 2005

Three to Receive Chancellor's Award for GLBT Leadership

The Chancellor's Award for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender (GLBT) Leadership for 2005 will be presented to three individuals at a special ceremony on Wednesday, June 22. The campus community is invited to attend the event at noon in Toland Hall on the UCSF Parnassus campus. The three recipients in the faculty, staff and student/resident/postdoctoral scholar categories, respectively, are: • James Dilley, MD, clinical professor of psychiatry and executive director of the UCSF AIDS Health Project (AHP). • Naphtali Offen, staff research associate in the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, UCSF School of Nursing. • Leah Kelley, MD, a resident in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences. James Dilley Dilley has been "instrumental in improving the lives of GLBT people at UCSF and throughout the nation through his clinical work at SFGH, his programmatic contribution to the 'San Francisco Model of HIV Care,' his development of the premier HIV-related mental health agency in San Francisco, his research into the psychosocial dimensions of HIV and HIV prevention, and his publications," his nominators write. In the early 1980s, as a UCSF resident and then as an assistant clinical professor, Dilley provided psychiatric care to some of the first people diagnosed with AIDS. In 1984, he co-founded AHP, one of the world's first and longest-running HIV-related mental health organizations. He has served as its executive director since its inception. Over the years, Dilley has been a leader in shaping the AIDS policies and approaches of national, state, and local organizations. Dilley has led his staff in developing a wealth of pioneering programs crucial to people facing HIV, including the first HIV testing protocol in the world, one of the first anonymous HIV testing programs, one of the first comprehensive HIV-related support programs, one of the first programs focusing on the mental health aspects of HIV prevention, the first hospital-based substance use and HIV program, one of the first HIV-related cognitive impairment programs, and one of the first programs to address the "Lazarus Syndrome," the experience of individuals whose declining health is dramatically reversed by HIV treatment. Throughout, he has stressed the role of emotional health in ensuring physical health, and has recognized the psychological effects of the dual stigma of being a sexual minority and having a life-threatening disease. At the same time, Dilley has propelled important research about HIV-related behavior and prevention counseling and has co-authored dozens of scholarly articles, including some of the first general articles on HIV and mental health. But, his nominators write, "it may be his work to disseminate information to mental health and medical providers where he has made his greatest contribution to the GLBT community." AHP has multiplied the effect of its program innovations and research a thousand-fold through Dilley's efforts in training providers and disseminating AHP's publications throughout the US and world. Dilley has also served on the Chancellor's Committee on GLBT Issues, and he offered testimony to the UC Regents in the successful effort to secure equal retirement benefits for same-sex-partnered employees. He has also, in the words of his nominators, "ensured that AHP is a safe and welcoming place to work for GLBT people, with the result that many have been encouraged to pursue promotions, have obtained advanced degrees while working at AHP, and have continued to contribute to UCSF in their new capacities." Recently, Dilley was recognized as a "visionary leader" by American University. See story here. Naphtali Offen Offen's work at UCSF focuses on GLBT-related tobacco issues. He is nationally known for his research into tobacco industry targeting of GLBT individuals, and has been lead author of two scholarly papers and a second author of several other pieces on this long-neglected subject. Offen is also the lead author of an educational brochure distributed throughout California that translates the findings of his UCSF team into an advocacy tool. In addition to his ground-breaking research, he has lectured at UCSF and nationally on GLBT tobacco use, and he led the successful effort to extend UCSF's smoke-free regulations to all campus facilities, including outdoors. Offen's involvement with these issues began in 1991, when he co-founded CLASH, the Coalition of Lavender Americans on Smoking and Health. Serving as its president for five years, Offen helped inspire the first discussions about smoking in GLBT communities. CLASH has now become California's leading resource for smoking cessation support, provider training, and multifaceted education around GLBT tobacco use. Offen is also well-known for his decades of community-based activism on GLBT issues, which have touched the lives of many at UCSF. Described by his nominators as "one of the true unsung heroes of the GLBT movement," he co-founded Bay Area Gay Liberation in 1975, the Harvey Milk Democratic Club in 1976, and the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Again Defamation in 1987. As his nominators write, "He is an astute tactician and persuasive advocate - a proud gay man who has tirelessly and consistently, with little fanfare, improved the quality of life for all the communities of which he is a part." Leah Kelley Kelley, described by her nominators as "a dedicated activist," has focused on training medical providers in GLBT health issues since her days as a medical student at the University of Chicago, where she initiated a sexual health lecture series and directly trained a variety of faculty on GLBT health issues. Upon arriving at UCSF, she immediately became involved with diverse projects building on her earlier work. Kelley developed and delivered presentations in connection with the UCSF Center for Lesbian Health Research and the San Francisco Young Women's Health Conference. She also co-developed a GLBT health curriculum that was used in the second-year UCSF School of Medicine curriculum in 2004, preparing the accompanying materials for small-group leaders and serving as a highly rated group leader herself. Kelley went on to write a research proposal to evaluate this curriculum and presented her findings to the Association of Professors in Gynecology and Obstetrics. In addition, even as a busy resident, Kelley has made time to serve on the Chancellor's GLBT Advisory Committee, speak to the 2005 second-year medical students on a panel of GLBT providers, participate in an organized discussion of "coming out" on residency applications, and speak at an annual conference for lesbian physicians and medical students. As her nominators write, "Dr. Kelley has demonstrated remarkable commitment and leadership in advancing GLBT health."

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