research fellow gathers facts about our families

My name is Rachel Farr and I am working for Family Pride as a
research fellow this summer. The idea is that I will help to
organize the results of past and present research of LGBTQ families
and summarize articles published on this research. The goal is to
have these results and summaries accessible to the public on Family
Pride’s website through a database and search engine. I am very
excited to be working on this important project!

In addition to working with Family Pride, I am a graduate student
at the University of Virginia in the Developmental Psychology Ph.D.
program where I work with Dr. Charlotte Patterson. We are currently
involved in an adoptive families project based in the D.C. area
that includes same-sex and opposite-sex parenting couples.

Before moving to Charlottesville, I spent lots of time in New York
State. I grew up in upstate New York, and then attended Cornell
University in Ithaca for undergraduate and graduate school.
Following my masters degree in teaching, I taught high school
biology for a year in Rochester.

During my years at Cornell, I became very involved in LGBTQ student
activities. I was a student leader in Haven (Cornell’s umbrella
LGBTQ organization), and I helped plan and organize numerous
events. I also facilitated a weekly support and discussion group
for women. I continue to be involved at UVA, where I serve on the
operating board of the LGBTQ Resource Center and help to lead the
Queer Grads group and a women’s social group.

I will be posting blogs periodically throughout the next few months
to give updates on the research database project, so stay tuned! I
am looking forward to a great summer with Family Pride!