By: Molly Adler, LCSW, CST

I am honored to accept the appointment of the new Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) Board Position by our AASECT President, Dr. Lexx Brown-James. I am excited about this new role, and I am up for the challenge! I know many AASECT members of Color have been working toward a more inclusive organization for many years.

I am grateful to the visionary leaders in AASECT that have helped our organization grow over the years. Many BIPOC members of AASECT have given countless hours, created the DEI committee, chaired AASECT committees, and helped build strategic plans to help our organization evolve.

I have seen over the years how volunteering in AASECT can truly make an impact and shape the organization’s future. I joined AASECT in 2017, have been on the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) committee since 2018, and became a certified sex therapist in 2019. I also served on the AASECT Awards Committee from 2021-2024.

Volunteering on the DEI committee has allowed me to contribute in meaningful ways to supporting policies that increase access, participation, and true inclusivity in the organization. I have had the privilege of getting to know badass sexuality professionals from across the country, and felt excited to know we’re increasing scholarship opportunities, making conference locations more accessible, considering whose voices are missing in decision making roles, and holding our professional organization accountable to the values aligned with our professions.

I want to acknowledge the privilege and responsibility of taking on this role as a cisgender white woman. I hope to model service leadership that centers racial justice, transparency, humility, and listening to and lifting up the voices of the most marginalized members in our organization. I’d love to share a little bit about myself and my approach to the role.

I am a queer, Jewish, anti-zionist, abled, white, cisgender, mid-size, polyamorous, pansexual femme. I’m married to someone transgender/non-binary. I’m a sister, daughter, aunt, social worker, and I’m originally from New Jersey. I grew up with class privilege and have former careers as a union organizer and a sex shop owner. I’ve been a settler on Tiwa land, known as Albuquerque, New Mexico since 2006.

I am an AASECT certified sex therapist with a private practice. I co-own an office space, Aliso Roots Community Collective, a collaborative healing space centering BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ communities. I am on the Board of the New Mexico Queer & Trans+ Provider Network.

Having a white, cis therapist in this role means modeling white and cis engagement in racial justice and trans centric policy. As the first person in this new JEDI role, I will be starting with listening to you – my colleagues and friends – and putting some systems in place with y’all to create a structure with JEDI values built into its bones. I hope we can create collaborative, creative, and radically loving ways of working, learning, and supporting each other. I will be collaborating with our current DEI committee members and engaging the Disability, BIPOC, and other SIGS to hear what JEDI centered, sustainable change looks like to you.

I welcome questions, feedback, ideas, and suggestions and look forward to engaging with you soon.

In solidarity,

Molly Adler, LCSW, CST