History and Sociology of HIV/AIDS
I am interested in identity-affirming, sex-positive HIV prevention materials created by community-based AIDS service organizations in the 1980s and 1990s. Unapologetically queer, destigmatizing, and often crafted by young community members with little formal training, I argue that these campaigns helped lay a foundation for prevention and harm-reduction in the 21st century.
In collaboration with the Binghamton Human Sexualities Research Lab, I study the history of Gay Men’s Health Crisis (GMHC), the world’s first HIV/AIDS service organization and a leader in these community-based prevention campaigns. This project has involved (a) the collection of 120+ oral history interviews with former members of the GMHC workforce and (b) curation of additional GMHC archival materials, particularly from those who previously served as young paraprofessionals within the organization. These interviews and records have been donated to the New York Public Library’s Division of Manuscripts, Archives, and Rare Books (“Sean Massey Gay Men’s Health Crisis Collection” & “GMHC Stories: An Oral History Project,” each available in August 2025).
I am authoring “Sexy Innovations,” a book chapter on GMHC’s critical and sex-positive model of HIV prevention, created by young members of New York’s LGBTQ community. I have presented findings and detailed the team’s methods at a number of panels, exhibits, and national conferences. My lead-author papers on this topic are forthcoming in the American Journal of Public Health (2025) and the Oral History Review (August 2025).
Read more about this project in our article in The Conversation.
Community-Based Health Promotion
for Adolescents and Emerging Adults
Born from my study of historic HIV prevention materials, I am interested in empowering contemporary communities of marginalized young people to create culturally-responsive health promotion strategies. Relatedly, this includes inquiry into how LGBTQ adolescents navigate complicated policies and cultural messages to access important forms of sexual and reproductive healthcare (see my editorial in the American Journal of Public Health).
Through the Program for Youth Development and Engagement, I partner with youth-serving organizations across the U.S. to create and evaluate positive youth development programs. I also coordinate and co-lead trainings in youth participatory action research (YPAR) for diverse audiences of adolescents — empowering these young people to ask critical questions about their lives, then encouraging them to craft strategies for keeping their communities safe.
Teaching and Mentorship
I am responsible for mentoring and supervising a cohort of 20 undergraduate PRYDE Scholars — highly motivated students in the College of Human Ecology at Cornell University, each participating in various community-engaged and youth-focused research projects. Beginning in August of 2025, I will also co-instruct the BCTR Scholars Program through the Bronfenbrenner Center for Translational Research, a similar opportunity for undergraduate students to forge meaningful research-practice partnerships with community organizations.