Associate Professor and Director of CORE

Dr. Nathan Grant Smith received his Bachelor of Arts at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, TX, and his Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy, both in Counseling Psychology, at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, VA. He completed a predoctoral internship at the University of Maryland Counseling Center in College Park, MD, and a postdoctoral fellowship in HIV prevention research at the Center for Interdisciplinary Research on AIDS (CIRA) at the Yale University School of Medicine in New Haven, CT.

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After completing his research training, Dr. Smith completed a Congressional fellowship through the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the American Psychological Association. During his fellowship, he served as a legislative fellow in the United States Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions under Senator Edward M. Kennedy. Dr. Smith's policy portfolio included HIV/AIDS, mental health, and substance abuse.

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Dr. Smith served as an assistant professor for 4 years in the Department of Psychology and Philosophy at Texas Woman's University in Denton, TX. He then served on the faculty of the Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology at McGill University, Montreal, QC, where he was awarded tenure and promotion to Associate Professor. After 5 years at McGill, he joined the Department of Educational Psychology at the University of Houston. He is currently an Associate Professor in the Department and serves in the counseling psychology program.

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Dr. Smith is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association (APA) and has held numerous leadership positions within the Association, including chairing the Fellows Committee and the Committee on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Concerns in addition to serving on the Membership Board. He was recognized for his advocacy on behalf of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender issues by the APA Division 17 (Society of Counseling Psychology) Section on Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Awareness, who awarded him the 2008 Award for Significant Contribution to Social Justice and Advocacy.

McGill PhD Student

Tyler L. Brown is a third-year Ph.D. student in the Counselling Psychology program at McGill University. He completed a B.A. (Honours) in Psychology at the University of Calgary and a M.A. in Counselling Psychology at McGill University. Tyler’s current research interests include the psychology of men and masculinity and stress and coping with a focus on the process of male gender role socialization and its effect on men’s mental and physical health. Tyler’s specific areas of interest include: (a) Masculinity and HIV/AIDS, (b) Gender threat and prejudicial behavior, and (c) Psychotherapy with men, positive masculinity, and gender role strain, stress, and conflict.

UH PhD Student

I am a first-year doctoral student in the Counseling Psychology program. I grew up in a suburb of Chicago, and moved to Milwaukee to attend Marquette University. At Marquette I received my B.A. in Psychology and Sociology with a minor in Women's and Gender Studies. After college, I worked as a research assistant at the Medical College of Wisconsin. My current research interests include sexuality and gender. Specifically I am interested in research that will increase knowledge of and improve mental health disparities among the LGBTQ+ community. In my free time I like to travel, go hiking, read, and spend time with friends, family and my cat. renae.a.delucia@gmail.com

UH PhD Student

I'm a first year PhD student at the University of Houston, just getting started.  My main research interest is the transgender community, particularly the non-binary and gender non-conforming subset.  In my free time, I enjoy hanging out with my husband and my dogs, drawing, and watching cooking competition reality shows.

UH PhD Student

I am a third year in the Counseling Psychology program. I received my B.A. in Psychology from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville. My research interests include multicultural and feminist issues such as minority stress, sexual objectification, and intersectionality. Current research projects include how bisexual folks use bicultural self-efficacy to navigate body norms and the how individual and collective self-esteem buffer the effects of minority stress. In my free time, I like to spend time with friends and family, make and talk about art, and cuddle on the couch with my black lab/border collie, Bear. brooke.c.king@gmail.com

Project Coordinator, Bisexual Identity

Marianne LeBreton graduated from the University of Ottawa with a bachelor’s in psychology and a minor in lettres françaises (French). Her B.A. thesis examined the effects of acute and chronic REM sleep deprivation on the cognitive processes of rats. She completed a summer internship at the sex reassignment unit at les Hospices Civils de Lyon in France to collect data for her master’s in sexology. Her M.A. thesis focused on the post-surgical genital sensitivity of trans women and its relationship with various psychosocial variables. She started working for the Coping and Resilience (CORE) Research Team at McGill University in February 2012. She’s the project coordinator for “Bisexual Identity: Implications for the Mental and Sexual Health of Men”. In her spare time, Marianne enjoys drinking ridiculous amounts of tea, reading fantasy and science-fiction novels, and playing with her adorable cat.

UH PhD Student

I am a second year student at UH born and raised in suburban Chicago. I previously completed my B.A. in Business Management at Hope College as well as a M.A. in Counseling from Loyola University in Chicago. In addition to teaching English in French elementary schools for a year, I have practiced as a therapist at an out-patient counseling center, a live-in therapeutic Life Coach at a collegiate residential program in downtown Chicago, and taught a couple of psychology courses at a local Bible college. I am currently interested in researching health and wellness outcomes in the LGBT and other minority populations and finding ways to help address the disparity in access to care across these populations. While I loved my work as a clinician, I am looking forward to deepening my skills as an educator and researcher throughout my tenure at UH. In my free time I enjoy running, biking, swimming, yoga, taking my adorable dog Franklin for a walk, trying out a new recipe and laughing with friends.

McGill PhD Student

Chérie Moody completed her B.A. in Psychology at Concordia University in 2006. After working as a full-time research assistant for the McGill Group for Suicide Studies (associated with the Douglas Institute Research Centre), Chérie decided to pursue a graduate degree in Counselling Psychology. She completed her MA in 2011 and is currently in the second year of her PhD, both at McGill University under the supervision of Dr. Nathan Smith. Her MA research project focused on identifying suicide protective factors among trans adults and her general research interests include minority stress as it pertains to sexual and gender minorities, as well as suicidality, resilience, and coping in LGBTTIQQ2S communities. Chérie is also currently coordinating Project PRIDE (Promoting Resilience in Discriminatory Environments), a sex-positive sexual health program for young gay/bi/queer/same gender loving men.

UH PhD Student

I'm a fourth year doctoral student in the Counseling Psychology ​program. My advisor is Dr. Nathan Smith. I am a native Houstonian, and received my Bachelor of Science Degree in Health from the University of Houston. I went on to receive my Masters in Health Education from Texas State University, and worked as a Perinatal HIV Epidemiologist at the City of Houston for a few years before transitioning into the field of psychology. I pursued a Masters in Clinical Psychology from the University of Houston-Clear Lake, yet I was accepted to my doctoral program before I could complete the degree. My research interests encompass anything in the realm of sexually transmitted infections, especially HIV and HPV, minority stress, women's health, and the LGBTQ community. I am currently at the Houston Veterans Administration in the Medical Center working with patients who suffer from PTSD and/or serious mental illness such as schizophrenia, bipolar, severe depression. This experience has definitely opened up my eyes to new possibilities and has peaked my clinical and research interest. Whenever I can muster up free time, I enjoy spending it with my fiancé, family, and friends. We love to travel, cook, bake, and go on constant food adventures.

UH MA Student

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UH PhD Student

I am a third-year doctoral student in the Counseling Psychology program. My undergraduate degree is in English and Political Science and I have my master’s degree in Clinical Psychology. Broadly, my research interests are focused on marginalized social identities, with particular focus on those who have diverse genders or sexualities. My master’s thesis explored queer identity from a multicultural framework and I am currently collaborating on a study exploring body image dissatisfaction for those who identify as bisexual. I also have strong research interests in the areas of non-religious/secular identity and sizeism/weight bias. This year I will serve as a research assistant for Dr. Smith on Project Pride, a group intervention for gay and bisexual men. Clinically, I have practiced from an Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) paradigm and am interested in exploring contextual behaviorism more in my research work. For the upcoming fall and spring semesters, I will complete practicum at the Montrose Center, a community setting that serves those who are sexually or gender diverse in Houston. As self-care, I enjoy cooking, traveling, gaming, and watching Netflix with my cat, Bartleby. desoltis@uh.edu

UH PhD Student

I am currently a third-year doctoral student in the Counseling Psychology Program at the University of Houston. I was raised in the Metro Atlanta area and stayed there through the completion of my bachelor’s degree in 2007. After earning a bachelor's in Economics from Spelman College, I moved to Houston, TX to begin a career as an Oil and Gas Financial Analyst. Throughout my career, I managed the financial outlook for portfolios ranging from $6m to $1.5bn. Although I enjoyed the challenges of my career, after 7 years I decided to make a career change to become a Psychologist. Prior to entering the Ph.D program, I worked on several research projects at the University of Houston. I worked on the Stress and Health and FRESH AIR data collection projects. I also presented my research on "Social Norms and Fruit and Vegetable Consumption in African-American Adults by Sex and Income Status" in the American Academy of Health Behaviors. As a doctoral student, I will continue researching minority stress with a focus on health risk behaviors. I am particularly interested in exploring LGBTQ and African-American populations. In my free time I enjoy traveling, shopping, cooking, and spending time with friends and family. charli.washington@gmail.com

UH PhD Student

Kate Winderman is a fifth-year doctoral student in the Counseling Psychology program at the University of Houston. She completed her bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Saint Louis University and her M.Ed. in Counseling at the University of Houston. Kate's research interests include the relationships among LGB identity, minority stressors, and LGB-focused media consumption. Other research interests include the relationships between minority stress and career indecision among LGB college students.