I am most grateful & honoured to receive this award. I thank the PAA, the award committee, my wonderful friends Claire Kamp Dush & Wendy Manning, who organised my nomination, & the many friends & colleagues who supported that effort.
It's a challenging moment right now for those interested in pursuing research focused on sexual & gender minorities. The good news is that compared to 25 years ago when I started my own work in this area, there are hundreds more amazing scholars doing outstanding work to help the world better understand LGBTQ+ populations. To them, I say, if you take any advice from my career, it's that squeaky wheels get greased. Be loud & be persistent. But couple that with kindness & collaboration. It turns out that kindness & collaboration from loud & persistent people can be shockingly disarming.
I offer a special thanks to April & Jayne DeBoer- Rowse. Their case was at the core of Justice Kennedy's historic marriage equality ruling in the US. Their courage & bravery in the face of so many challenges was such an inspiration in my work. One of their lawyers, Dana Nessel, now Attorney General of Michigan, provided me with the opportunity to serve as an expert witness in their case & learn first hand how good social science could be such a powerful force for justice & equality in our society.
I thank the many colleagues & mentors I had at Carnegie Mellon University, the Urban Institute, Gallup, and, especially, The Williams Institute. Their support & guidance was key to any successes I had in my career.
Finally, I thank my husband, Mike, who has been with me for this entire ride as we recently celebrated 30 years together. He has always been my biggest cheerleader & I simply couldn't have done my work without him.