Presidential Report

Summer greetings!

It’s been several months since my last report, and I have great updates for you. Section 4 leaders have been hard at work advancing our goals for 2026, and I’m excited to share that they have accomplished those goals—and even more.

First, I want to acknowledge the incredible work our leadership team has done to recruit new leaders and strengthen the foundation needed for the Section’s continued growth.

In November 2025, we distributed an Interest Survey to Division and Section members and connected with many individuals who volunteered to serve and shared thoughtful ideas for new programs and initiatives that Section 4 could undertake. We held elections in March, and while we are fortunate to have filled all current leadership positions, there is always room for members who want to get involved. If you have an idea, initiative, or vision for the Section that you would like to bring to life, please reach out. I would be happy to introduce you to our leadership team and help create opportunities for you to contribute your talents and ideas.

As a result of our recent elections, two leaders who had been serving on an interim basis in the roles of Secretary and Newsletter Editor (Dr. Michi Fu and Dr. Kat Arenella) are now serving their elected terms in 2026 and 2027. Two new leaders were elected in the roles of Treasurer and President-Elect (Dr. Rossella Traversa and Dr. Konjit Page). Rossella will serve in 2026 and 2027. I will rotate out of the presidency in December 2026, and Konjit will begin her two-year term as President in January 2027. In addition, all appointed leadership positions have been confirmed for the 2026–2027 term. The current composition of the leadership team is as follows.

• President: Cristina Magalhaes (2024-2026)
• President-Elect: Konjit Page (2027-2028)
• Secretary: Michi Fu (2026-2027)
• Treasurer: Rossella Traversa (2026-2027)
• Newsletter Editor: Katherine Arenella (2026-2027)
• Program Chair: Arlene Noriega (2026-2027)
• Membership Chair: Kathryn Anderson (2026-2027)
• Awards Chair: Monica Ghabriel (2026-2027)
• Mentorship Chair: Tyffani Monford (2026-2027)
• Graduate Student Committee Co-Chairs: Nina Dours and Hanna Seidman (2026-2027)

Regarding awards, the section received several nominations in 2026. These were processed in March and April and the decisions were communicated to the Division in May. If you will be attending the APA Convention in Washington, DC this summer, please join us in celebrating our 2026 award recipients and their outstanding contributions to sexual and gender diversity research, practice, teaching, and advocacy through an intersectional feminist lens. The Division 35 Awards Ceremony will be held in the Division’s Engagement Space on August 7th at 4 PM.

Over the past few months, the leadership team has developed and launched two exciting new initiatives to support graduate students. The first is a new mentoring program, led by Dr. Tyffani Monford, and the second is a program to support graduate students’ publications in the Section’s newsletter, led by Dr. Kat Arenella and me. To learn more about these initiatives, please see pages 15-16 of this issue of PERSPECTIVES.

Regarding programming, I had mentioned in my previous report that the Section had plans for a symposium in DC about feminist queer leadership, but unfortunately, due to unforeseen circumstances, the symposium was canceled. We will instead be hosting a business meeting and networking event in the Division’s Engagement Space, on Friday, August 7th at 10 AM. If you would like to attend, please RSVP, as space is limited and refreshments will be provided. Here is the link to the invitation and RSVP site: https://forms.gle/SZ6zMpb4E7KHdBJ59

We also look forward to sharing beautiful, colorful Section pins with members attending the convention. Dr. Konjit Page is credited for the design. If you are unable to attend the business and networking event, I still hope you will reach out. I would love the opportunity to connect with you while in DC. Additionally, regarding events, our program chair, Dr. Arlene Noriega, is planning a webinar for September on the topic of feminist queer leadership and CEs will be provided. Stay tuned for an announcement.

One final piece of news, we have a new logo for the Section, which you will start seeing in announcements, social media, and in the Section’s webpage and newsletter site. Our hope is that this new logo (seen next to my signature, below) will help evoke thoughts of inclusivity and belonging for psychologists of all sexual orientations and genders interested in the work of the Section. There is a place in Section 4 for everyone who wants to help increase dialogue, research, education, and advocacy around issues impacting LGBTQ+ individuals and communities in the US and abroad. Thank you for being part of Section 4. I hope to see many of you in DC this summer!

                                     

Cristina Magalhaes, PhD (cmagalhaes2@alliant.edu).

President, APA Division 35 Section 4

Presidential Report

 

Happy New Year!

May we all step into 2026 with hope and excitement for a productive year with new opportunities for feminist psychologists to make a difference in the profession and beyond!

In this column, I share with you what Section IV leaders have been doing to help advance feminist approaches to sexual and gender minority concerns within APA Division 35 and how you can become involved.

First, I am glad to report that we have a new team of leaders who are incredibly talented and dedicated to feminist work within APA. The new group has been meeting regularly since August 2025 to create new infrastructure to grow the Section, fill vacant positions, mentor new leaders, increase the visibility of sexuality and gender diversity concerns within Division 35, and add value to your membership.

Michi Fu recently joined the team as Interim Secretary, Elliot Tebbe as Interim Treasurer, Kat Arenella as Interim Newsletter Editor, and I continue as President. We will soon be holding new elections for these Executive Committee positions. If you are interested in any of these roles, please reach out to let me know (cmagalhaes2@alliant.edu). We expect to send out ballots to Section members within the next couple of months.

We also have several committee leaders and other volunteers supporting the activities of the Section in appointed roles. Kathryn Anderson and Arlene Noriega recently joined the Section and are chairing the Membership Committee and the Program Committee, respectively. Monica Ghabrial is continuing as Awards Chair. Hanna Seidman and Nina Dours also recently joined the Section and are co-chairing the Graduate Student Committee. Kyla Kaatz is leading social media initiatives.

The new group started strong. Within a couple of months, the team developed and launched a survey to gauge interest from Division members in the activities of the Section, solicit ideas for future programming, and identify current Section members who are willing to help coordinate future activities or develop new initiatives. Over 100 Section IV and Division 35 members completed the survey back in October 2025 and provided very helpful information. We are so grateful for their time and input!      

Here are some takeaways.

• Approximately 60% of survey participants were either current or former Section IV members.

• Some participants did not know that Section IV membership is free, or how to join or renew membership. If you want to join or renew but don’t know how, here is where to go:  https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdyHtO_T5c2XIXLqw9A_XYEpy2LcSODrmCFIlgkFaHmx2jBug/viewform

• For former and current Section members, two common reasons why folks became members of the Section were that (1) they wanted to join a group of professionals who approach issues related to gender and sexuality from a feminist lens, and that (2) they wanted to stay informed of events related to gender and sexuality at APA convention via the Section's newsletter, social media, and other communication outlets. This is good feedback! Section leaders are working to re-activate, improve, or augment existing communication channels and create new ones to build/grow our professional community and keep our members engaged.

• Several participants did not know whether their membership is current. If this is the case for you, our Membership Chair can help check your status. Contact Kathryn Anderson at kathryn.anderson@div35spw.org. Alternatively, you may fill out a membership form here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdyHtO_T5c2XIXLqw9A_XYEpy2LcSODrmCFIlgkFaHmx2jBug/viewform

• Participants endorsed multiple benefits of Section membership. Being in community with like-minded professionals received the highest frequency of endorsements (65%), followed by opportunities for networking (54%) and collaborating with other professionals (56%), and engaging in advocacy work around issues of gender and sexuality (53%).

• Approximately 40% of participants expressed interest in becoming actively involved in the activities of the Section in some capacity, which is wonderful. We followed up with them to initiate contact and look forward to future collaborations.  

• Participants also expressed interest in a variety of program options, with webinars being the most popular. This is great feedback! The leadership team will be looking to develop a webinar series on topics of interest to our members. If you want to help with webinars, please contact Arlene Noriega at dranor@bellsouth.net.   

 

The Section is also re-launching our biannual publication – PERSPECTIVES – which was dormant for a few years. PERSPECTIVES helped members stay informed, connected, and engaged in the past, so we are excited to bring it back. The 2026 Winter issue you are reading today is the first in the new series, now edited by Kat Arenella. We hope you will contribute to the next issue with an article, book review, or some other type of column. For more information about PERSPECTIVES and ways to contribute, you may want to check out the publication website (https://perspectivesongsod.blogspot.com/) or contact Kat directly (katherine.arenella@alliant.edu). The Summer 2026 issue of PERSPECTIVES is expected to be published in July 2026.   

Lastly, Section leaders started planning for the 2026 APA Co
nvention in DC. You will soon see an invitation from Arlene Noriega to attend the Section’s symposium and other Section activities that are being planned for the convention. Nina Dours and Hannah Seidman are also working on programming for graduate students specifically. You will hear from them as well. Additionally, Section IV sponsors several research and travel awards for graduate students, early career professionals, and seasoned psychologists who are working to advance feminist approaches to gender and sexuality in psychology. You will soon see a call for award nominations from Monica Ghabrial. Please consider nominating yourself or someone else for one of these awards that are presented at convention.

I conclude this presidential report with much appreciation for you. In a world where there is so much misinformation about gender and sexuality, I feel privileged to be part of a group of like-minded psychologists committed to increasing dialogue, research, education, and advocacy around issues impacting LGBTQ+ individuals and communities in the US and abroad. Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you want to be actively involved in the work of the Section. I look forward to hearing from you.   

Cristina Magalhaes, PhD (cmagalhaes2@alliant.edu).

President, APA Division 35 Section IV