Staff
Matt Amore
He/Him
Group Facilitator
Matt Amore (M.Ed., M.A) is currently an elementary school teacher for the New York City Department of Education. He has taught a range from 2nd to 7th graders (general and special education) during his nine years in the classroom. In addition to teaching the core subjects, Matt is dedicated to guiding students in work around understanding their identity and incorporating social justice themes throughout the curriculum. He is preparing to transition out of the classroom and into school administration within the next couple of years. Matt lives in Brooklyn with his husband and their dog, Duncan.
Nicole Avallone
She/Her
Training & Capacity Building Associate
Nicole Avallone, LCSW, is a clinical social worker, trainer and educator with nearly 20 years of direct practice and management experience in LGBTQ and youth settings. Her most recent roles include serving as Director of Youth Services, and later Deputy Director of Programs and Policy, at the NYC Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Community Center. She now provides psychotherapy in private practice, as well as consultation on a range of progressive causes. Nicole has trained thousands of people on best practices in working with LGBTQ communities, with a focus on providing core training on gender identity and expression, as well as strategies for more effectively engaging family support.
Nicole obtained her Masters in Social Work from NYU in 2004, where she currently teaches group work practice to aspiring (and inspiring) social workers. She lives in Brooklyn with her incredible partner and two adorable cats, has a passion for all things crafty (from afghans to apple butter), and recently discovered the joys of improv theater.
Marcelo Dedini
He/Him
Program Assistant
mdedini@ackerman.org
Marcelo Dedini, AKA Cello, is the Program Assistant for the Ackerman Institute’s Gender & Family Project. Cello has a Master’s degree in Business Administration at Fundação Instituto de Administração in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and a diverse background with small business entrepreneurship. When he moved to New York in 2013, he began volunteering with nonprofits related to transgender and gender expansive causes, and with gender conferences in New Jersey and New York City. Since Gender Conference East in 2017, he has been developing mentoring skills with transgender youth, and ultimately decided to switch careers to work directly with the LGBTQ+ community. Cello is also interested in returning to school for a second degree in Psychology.
Alexis Diaz
They/She
Director of Services
Alexis Diaz, LMSW, has been a social worker since 2011 and has experience working in youth development and school-based programs from early childhood through college. Alexis’s prior experience with adults includes work in street homelessness, incarceration, and mental health in primary care settings.
They’re particularly passionate about working within communities of color and queer communities to elevate our voices, make visible our strengths, and celebrate our beauty and complexity. Alexis is also a trainee at the Ackerman Institute in the Clinical Externship Program in Family Therapy.
Kristina Garcia Bonhomme
She/Her
Group Facilitator
Kristina Garcia Bonhomme received her Bachelor’s Degree in Exercise Science from the Inter American University and her MSW from Hunter College. She completed an internship with the Ackerman Institute’s Social Work and Diversity Program and after graduation completed Ackerman’s Live Clinical Supervision program.
Kristina currently works at NYU Langone as a School Behavioral Therapist in a High School in Brooklyn. In her role, she provides ongoing therapy to students in her caseload.
Kristina moved from Puerto Rico to New York after she finished her Bachelor Degree. In New York, she met her partner, got married, and together they are raising their three children.three children.
Elizabeth Glaeser
She/Her
Coordinator of Research & Dissemination
Elizabeth (Lizzie) Glaeser is the Coordinator of Research & Dissemination at the Ackerman Institute’s Gender and Family Project. She has worked with GFP Director, Jean Malpas since 2012 through GenFamNYC, a networking group for providers of gender expansive youth. She previously served as the GFP Program Manager (2013–2016) and is currently helping to implement research and developing programs and protocols at the Gender and Family Project.
A 2012 graduate of New York University, she earned a B.S. in Applied Psychology, with minors in Gender and Sexuality studies and Child and Adolescent Mental Health. She is currently pursuing her PhD in Counseling Psychology from Teachers College, Columbia University. Her work now focuses on multicultural and social justice in mental health specifically with the gender-expansive community. Previous to TC, she worked as a Research Associate at the IDEAS Center at The Child Study Center at NYU Medical Center on various projects aimed at improving mental health services for children and families in low resource environments. Her work has been featured in journals, textbooks of cultural sensitivity, and best practices with transgender individuals. She has also worked with Bellevue’s Survivor of Torture Program, the Center for Health, Identity, Behavior and Prevention Studies (CHIBPS), and in non-profit work in with refugee populations in West Africa.
Xaelah Jarrett
She/Her
Group Facilitator
Xaelah Jarrett is a Black trans woman pursuing her interests in public health and queer and trans liberation. She’s particularly interested in cultural and intergenerational trauma, youth empowerment, and critical engagement with ideas of love and intimacy. She holds a BA in Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies from Columbia University.
Xaelah currently works as the Senior Manager, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at Peer Health Exchange, NYC, where she is primarily responsible for determining barriers to sustained programmatic participation, retention, and development for volunteers of color and others from historically marginalized and oppressed communities as well as engendering more inclusive spaces for young people in collegiate institutions. She also works as a facilitator, educator, and presenter in various capacities, engaging folks around the intersections of her aforementioned foci, particularly for the well-being of Black trans peoples.
Derrick T. Jordan
He/Him
Family Therapist & Group Facilitator
djordan@ackerman.org
Derrick T. Jordan, M.Div, LMSW, is a classically trained musician who earned a Bachelor of Music in Music Education, cum laude, from Virginia Commonwealth University as well as a Master of Divinity from Union Theological Seminary, and a Master of Science in Social Work from Columbia University. For years, Derrick has led spiritually-based educational initiatives while serving in various ministerial capacities at nationally recognized faith organizations. Derrick’s pastoral care and counseling experience helps guide his clinical work; navigating the complexities of faith and spirituality at the intersection of race, ethnicity, culture, gender identity/expression, and sexuality.
Derrick trained with Ackerman Institute’s Social Work and Diversity Program, Gender & Family Project: Unity Project in Family Engagement and Acceptance, The Minuchin Center for the Family, and has experience as a therapist working with those impacted by the child welfare system. The lens through which Derrick’s work is informed is one that celebrates the richness of diversity and culture to create a greater sense of wholeness and wellbeing. Derrick is currently a family therapist and group facilitator at the Ackerman Institute for the Family’s, Gender & Family Project. In his leisure time, Derrick is a long-distance runner, avid reader, foodie and music enthusiast.
Rodney Lin
She/They
Clinical Research Intern
Rodney is a Research Intern at the Gender and Family Project. They received their Bachelor's Degree in Applied Psychology and Global Public Health at New York University. Prior to their work on the Gender and Family Project, Rodney served as the project coordinator for the Transgender Identity Formation Study (TIFS), a qualitative study focused on the narratives of 27 transgender individuals in New York City. They were also the lab manager for the Chinese Families Lab (CFL), which examined gender narratives from two longitudinal studies of children and adolescents from Nanjing, China. Rodney is determined to work towards a world where diverse gender identities are celebrated across all settings.
Jean Malpas
He/Him
Founder & Executive Director
jean@jeanmalpas.com
Jean Malpas, LMHC, LMFT was trained by leading psychologists and family therapists in Belgium, France and the United States. After graduating from Brussels University with a master’s degree in clinical psychology and psychotherapy, he attended NYU’s Psychology Department on the prestigious Belgian American Educational Foundation Scholarship. He completed his post-graduate training at the Ackerman Institute for the Family.
Jean is the Founder and Director of the Gender & Family Project at the Ackerman Institute for the Family, Director of International Training, and a psychotherapist in private practice in New York City. He has presented nationally and internationally on topics of gender, sexuality, addiction, couple and family therapy. His work with lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals, couples, and families has been published in numerous books and journals. Media appearances include the TEDx Talk “The Gift of Gender Authenticity,” National Geographic’s “Gender Revolution: A Journey with Katie Couric,” and PBS Frontline: “Growing Up Trans.” Founded in 2010, the Gender & Family Project’s groundbreaking work has been recognized by the Stonewall Community Foundation 2016 Visionary Award and the American Family Therapy Academy Social Justice 2018 Award.
Pamela Mendelsohn
She/Her
Group Facilitator
Pamela Mendelsohn is a clinical social worker who has worked with young people in NYC in a variety of school-based and after-school settings since 2005. Some of her favorite professional moments include launching a Gender and Sexuality Alliance for students at a public high school, co-leading week-long camping and boating trips for adolescents, leading elementary school cooking classes, organizing a feminist mentorship program for teens, and creating and facilitating an LGBTQ-affirmative parenting workshop for incarcerated mothers. She currently works as a psychotherapist at MytherapyNYC, specializing in work with LGBTQ individuals and couples.
Pamela earned her MSW from Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College in 2012 with a focus on Community Organizing and Group Work. She has since completed postgraduate clinical training in Gestalt Therapy at the Gestalt Center for Psychotherapy and Training. Pamela lives with her wife and one-year-old in Brooklyn. As a queer parent herself, working with LGBTQ families is close to her heart.
Farhat Rahman
They/He
Development Associate
frahman@ackerman.org
Farhat Rahman is the Development Associate at the Gender & Family Project. Raised in Bangladesh, and a recent immigrant to the United States, Farhat is a trans and queer Muslim filmmaker, organizer & curator based in The Bronx. Their work largely engages with issues affecting queer, trans, non-binary and people of color identities. Their advocacy on transgender issues and Bangladeshi Muslim representation have been featured on The Guardian, Esquire Magazine, BBC Radio, etc.
Farhat is a B.A. and M.A. graduate from Bryn Mawr College and The New School. They are also the Founder of Moving Genders NYC, a film festival that showcases movies made by diasporic trans and queer filmmakers of color.
Jane Rennert
She/Her
Director of Development & Communications
jrennert@ackerman.org
Jane Rennert is the Coordinator of Development & Communications for the Gender & Family Project and has been involved with the GFP community since its inception.
Prior to joining the GFP team Jane was a special events planner, editor, full-time parent, and entrepreneur. All of these varied experiences give her a broad worldview and a wide range of skills and insight that inform her role raising awareness for GFP’s mission. Jane is a native New Yorker and a parent of 3 children who are never far from her thoughts.
Renee Reopell
They/Them
Group Facilitator
Renée Reopell, LCSW, has served the LGBTQ community for over 10 years. Renée received their undergraduate training in Human Development and Family Studies at The Pennsylvania State University, graduating with the university’s first minor in Sexuality and Gender Studies. Campus activism work encouraged Renée to pursue a master’s degree in social work at New York University. During their time in New York, Renée served as a counselor at the Hetrick Martin Institute supporting LGBTQ homeless youth, and worked overnights at Trinity Place Shelter for LGBTQ youth as a shelter coordinator.
Currently, Renée is the Program Coordinator and lead social worker for the Umbrella Program, a program empowering LGBTQ youth and families, through the Adolescent AIDS Program at Montefiore Hospital in the Bronx, providing medical care and mental health counseling.
Nat Roberts
He/They
Group Facilitator
Nat Roberts is a Ed.M student in the Counseling Psychology at Teachers College of Columbia University. After completing their Bachelors in English Literature, Nat spent four years working as a community organizer before returning to academia. Currently, their research focuses on the intersection of gender and racial identity development for trans and gender non-conforming POC and the development of accessible alternatives to traditional counseling.
Nat dreams a world where trans and gender non-conforming folks can live safely and authentically. Their hobbies include dance, puppet making, reading psychology articles and breaking the gender binary.
Ariel Roland-Waring
They/Them
Group Facilitator
Ariel Roland-Waring, LCAT in-progress, is from Queens, New York. They completed their BA in Forensic Psychology at John Jay College. In May 2019, they graduated from School of Visual Arts with a MPS in Art Therapy. Ariel’s prior experience includes youth development in after-school programming, family therapy for domestic violence survivors and their children, and anti-oppressive art therapy for LGBTQ+ youth experiencing street homelessness.
They are interested in building systems of care outside of the medical model and providing culturally-relevant mental health services for trans youth of color. Their pastimes include embroidery, painting, and gender anarchy.
Gabriel San Emeterio
He/They/She
Social Work Intern
Gabriel San Emeterio is a social work intern with the Gender & Family Project. He is a queer activist who was born and raised in Mexico City. They hold a degree of their own design in Unique and Interdisciplinary Studies from CUNY, focusing on Gender Studies and Community Organizing. Gabriel’s passion for social justice guides all their work, which includes advocacy and grassroots organizing around policies and issues that affect the LGBTQIA+ community, low income college students, and people living with HIV.
An integral part of his activism is co-hosting the radio show Rainbow Notes NYC. They’re currently pursuing a master’s degree in Community Organizing and Program Development at the Silberman School of Social Work.
Simone Satchell
He/Him
Group Facilitator
Simone Satchell, an all borough New Yorker identifies as a Black Trans Non Binary Queer artist. Simone’s pronouns are Simone, he, or they. Simone earned a BFA from Queens College in 2008. He was a Public Allies fellow at the Queens Museum as the Coordinator of OST Youth and Family Programs from 2015-2017.
Simone is drawn to community engagement and sharing the combination of art, community and healing, especially, to folks who have not had to space or time to consider it. In 2016, he organized and facilitated the Set on Freedom retreat with 4 other interdisciplinary artist to explore the question: How do we work as a community to open up space and support for artists and communities whose main concern is daily survival in order to thrive?
He created a 3 part drawing series for families at Immigrant Movement International Corona in 2016 and became a Visionarixs Imaginarixs/ Consejo member in 2017. Simone is excited to be a part of the Gender & Family Project.
Delilah Luna Seligman
She/Her
Coordinator of Training & Capacity Building
Delilah Seligman, LMSW is the Coordinator of Training & Capacity Building with the Gender & Family Project at the Ackerman Institute for the Family. Originally from Boston, MA, Delilah attended Wesleyan University in Middletown, CT, graduating in 2016 with a BA in Psychology. The following fall, she relocated to NYC in order to begin her training as a licensed social worker at the Columbia University School of Social Work, receiving her MSW degree in 2018.
Delilah has worked with various LGBTQ+ nonprofit organizations, including PFLAG Greater Boston, The Center, and the Sylvia Rivera Law Project, focusing on psychoeducation; community organizing and activism; program and materials development; communications; and capacity building. More recently, she has been engaged in political advocacy with groups such as NYTAG and the NYS Gender Diversity Coalition, working towards the liberation of the transgender, gender non-conforming, and non-binary (TGNCNB) community, as well as communities of color and those struggling under oppression.
In her spare time, Delilah enjoys performing music with various DIY punk bands around the East Coast, as well as expressing herself creatively through art and songwriting. She is also an avid gamer and enjoys discussing pop culture and media. Delilah’s experiences as a multiracial transgender woman have inspired her to fight injustice for all marginalized communities, and through her advocacy, clinical, and educational work, she hopes to create sustainable social change for those most impacted by oppression.
Futaba Shioda
He/Him
Social Media Consultant
Futaba Shioda is an advocate for intersectional justice in a variety of racial and queer oriented spaces and is passionate about uplifting marginalized voices in the performing arts.
In addition to his work at Gender & Family Project, Futaba is a film, stage, and musical actor as well as a consultant and resource provider for arts spaces seeking to be more inclusive of LGBTQIA+ and AAPI (Asian American/Pacific Islander) identities. They also work freelance as a sensitivity and authenticity reader, having read for The New York Times and Penguin Random House, and occasionally revisits his love as a theater educator. He is inspired by the next generation and strives to create a safer, freer world for them and for all of us.
Mel Signore
She/her/hers
Clinical Research Intern
Mel is a Research Assistant and Intern at the Gender and Family Project. She is currently an undergraduate student at NYU studying Psychology, Gender and Sexuality Studies, and Child and Adolescent Mental Health Studies. Her career goal is to get a Master’s degree in Counseling in Mental Health and Wellness and to continue doing mental health work within the LGBTQ+ community.
She is also in the process of learning American Sign Language in her studies with hopes of being able to provide services to even a wider array of folks when she ultimately begins working directly with patients.