Dr. Karen Berkman Selected as Faculty Recipient of USF PRIDE Award
Congratulations to Dr. Karen Berkman, Executive Director of the Center of Autism and Related Disabilities at USF (CARD-USF), who was selected as the faculty recipient of this year's USF PRIDE award at the 5th Annual USF Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) Community Gala event, held March 24 at the USF Alumni Center.
The USF LGBT Alumni Society, in coordination with the Committee on Issues of Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (CISOGI), Safe Zone, the USF Alumni Association and the USF Student PRIDE Alliance hosted the annual event. Faculty, Alumni, Student and Community Awards were given for contributions made to the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) community.
Dr. Berkman was honored for her work as Chair of the CISOGI. She was recognized for organizing the Vickie Shaw fundraising event, helped create the first USF endowed LGBT Student Scholarship, facilitated the creation of the USF Virtual online LGBT Center, and is working with community businesses to develop the USF LGBT student mentoring program.
“I am very honored to have been selected as this year's faculty recipient," said Dr. Berkman. "I must acknowledge the efforts of the entire committee, specifically Dr. Mark Hafen and Merrell Dickey without whom we would not have been able to successfully meet our goals.”
The overall goal of CISOGI is to assist the President in creating a positive climate and bringing equity and fairness for LGBT faculty, staff and students in order to maximize their talents and their contributions to the university and community.
This year's speaker was Former USF President Betty Castor. She discussed "Global Diversity in Action," and focused on the importance of inclusionary practices and USF’s role in a global environment.
Additional awards presented were:
Staff Award
Susan Hurley – Implemented the Safe Zone program to the USF Lakeland Polytechnic campus in 2005, resulting in 33 faculty and staff trained as Safe Zone Ally’s. She also formed and Chairs a Sexual Orientation Committee (SOC) on the Polytechnic campus.
Alumni Award
Lynn Mattiace - completed her BA and two Master’s degrees through USF. Within the Pinellas County schools, she helped establish 16 Gay Straight Alliances; provides numerous trainings to school personnel on helping LGBTQ students succeed; presented workshop conferences on the topic, and serves on the Pinellas County Juvenile Welfare Board’s Sexual Minority Youth Committee.
Student Award
Kristen Shalosky – president of the USF PRIDE student group, increased weekly participation to 60 students, planned and implemented campus events such as the Drag Show in which 400 people attended, and gave an inspiring talk at the Vickie Shaw Scholarship Fundraiser event.
Community Award
Suzanne Noe – created a LGBT community website to connect and unite lesbians locally and nationally; the group has several thousand members. She also supports and promotes other LGBT community efforts such as the USF Vickie Shaw Scholarship Fundraiser event.
The Department of Child and Family Studies (CFS) is committed to improving the well-being of individuals, children, and families within communities across the country through promoting respect, inclusion, development, achievement, mental health, and an optimum quality of life. CARD-USF, housed within CFS, is a community-based project that provides information and consultation to individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders and related disabilities.