Meet The Organizers

Laura Baams, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor in the Department of Pedagogy and Educational Sciences at the University of Groningen. She is also Chair of the Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity/Expression Caucus of the Society for Research in Child Development (2023-2025) and co-editor of the volume Sexually and Gender Diverse Adolescents: Critical Perspectives on Risk and Resilience (Routledge, 2025). Dr. Baams’s research spans several areas, including the mental health and wellbeing of LGBTQ+ youth, the impact of stigma and victimization, and the role of school, policy, and community contexts in shaping adolescent development. Her work is grounded in equity-focused frameworks and aims to inform inclusive educational practices and public health interventions. In recognition of her contributions, Dr. Baams received the Mid-Career Award for Research Excellence from the Society for Research on Adolescence.

Jessica Fish is Associate Professor of Family Health and Well-being in the Department of Family Science at the University of Maryland School of Public Health and Director of the CDC-funded UMD Prevention Research Center. She has published over 120 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters documenting how sexual and gender minority youth and young adult mental health, substance use, and development are shaped by experiences with family, schools, and community. Her research program emphasizes sexual and gender minority health inequities as contextual, mutable, and developmentally situated and works to inform policies, programs, and practices that promote the health of sexual and gender minority people during adolescence and across the life course. In recognition of her contributions, Dr. Fish received the 2022 National Institutes of Health Sexual and Gender Minority Research Office Early-Stage Investigator Award and the 2024 Society for Prevention Research John B. Reid Early Career Award.

Salvatore Ioverno, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor in Clinical Psychology at the Department of Education of Roma Tre University. His research centers on identifying the risk and protective factors influencing minority stress, mental well-being, and academic success among LGBTQ individuals within educational environments. Employing cross-national methodologies, he seeks to explore these critical aspects across diverse cultural contexts, ensuring a comprehensive understanding of the challenges and opportunities faced by LGBTQ individuals. His ongoing research projects are dedicated to: 1) Investigating the factors influencing the mental health and academic performance of LGBTQI+ university students; 2) Exploring predictors of bystander intervention in instances of online hate speech targeting LGBTQI+ individuals; 3) Examining the role of theory of mind in bystander interventions against incidents of discriminatory bullying during childhood.

Stephen Russell (he/him) is Priscilla Pond Flawn Regents Professor in Child Development and Amy Johnson McLaughlin Director of the School of Human Ecology at the University of Texas at Austin. He is an expert in adolescent and young adult health, with a focus on sexual orientation and gender identity. His 2016 book, Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Schooling: The Nexus of Research, Practice and Policy, won awards from the American Psychological Association and the Society for Research on Adolescence. He was President of the Society for Research on Adolescence (2012-2014), and currently serves on the governing boards of: the Society for Research in Child Development; the Council on Contemporary Families; the National Scientific Council on Adolescence; and the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine Board on Children, Youth and Families. He is a fellow of the National Council on Family Relations, and in 2025 he was elected to the National Academy of Education.