The 2022 recipients of the Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity and Expression (SOGIE) Scholarship Award are: Brendon T. Holloway, MSW; Brittanie Atteberry Ash, MSW, PhD; Leo Kattari, MSW; Erin Harrop, LICSW, PHD; and N. Eugene Walls, MSSW, PhD. Their award-winning paper is titled, "Transgender and Nonbinary Activism Among Social Work Students in the US: The Role of Ally Behavior and a Critical Orientation to Social Justice".
2022 Award Recipients
Brendon T. Holloway, MSW
Brendon Holloway (he/him) is a doctoral student in the Graduate School of Social Work at the University of Denver. His research centers trans communities and focuses on healthcare access, mutual aid, and re-imagining a world where trans people are centered and actively engaged in decision-making processes. Additionally, Brendon conducts research on critical social justice issues in social work education and activism among social work students.
Brittanie Atteberry Ash, MSW, PhD
Brittanie Atteberry Ash (she/her/hers) is an assistant professor at the University of Texas at Arlington School of Social Work. Brittanie conducts research to better understand how best to support and build environments that are inclusive and affirming of LGBTQ+ people and communities. Her work relies heavily on an intersectional lens to deepen the discipline’s understanding of risk and resilience among people with marginalized identities. Brittanie also focuses on promoting social justice and inclusion within social work classroom experiences and identifies strategies for educators to more fully integrate a critical social justice lens into pedagogy.
Leo Kattari, MSW
Leo Kattari, MSW (he/they) is a doctoral candidate at the Michigan State University School of Social Work and a lecturer at the University of Michigan School of Social Work. Their research explores LGBTQ+ health and wellness with a particular focus on transgender and gender diverse- related civic engagement and community change. He is a passionate advocate for equity and justice with more than a decade of experience in the areas of health education, health policy, community mobilization and organizing, and advocacy through story-telling. They have provided presentations, trainings, and consultation services on leadership development, cultural responsiveness, putting data into action, and story-telling techniques throughout the United States to agencies such as the Mayo Clinic, various state and county health departments, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Service’s Office of Adolescent Health. He is invested in community driven and data-informed action that advances health equity through public policy, funding priorities, and transformative systems change.
Erin Harrop, LICSW, PhD
Erin Harrop, LICSW, PhD, is an assistant professor at University of Denver and a licensed medical social worker. Erin’s research focuses on eating disorders, weight stigma, patient-provider communication, and trans healthcare. Erin’s clinical work also involves training at the provider level, introducing interprofessional clinicians to weight-inclusive practices that honor patients’ unique intersecting identities.
N. Eugene Walls, MSSW, PhD
N. Eugene Walls (he/him/his) is a professor in the Graduate School of Social Work at the University of Denver. His research focuses on LGBQ and transgender/nonbinary communities across the lifespan with a focus on expanding the intersectional understanding of accrual of risk and resilience, as well as everyday forms of resistance. His work has included examinations of victimization, sexual assault, discrimination, and health and mental health disparities, as well as the protective functions of gay-straight alliances, supportive adults, and student engagement. He also conducts research on issues of social justice within social work education.