Tania Israel (born 1966)
Tania Israel.
' (n.d.). Psychology's Feminist Voices. Retrieved July 29, 2020. is an American psychologist and professor in the

Gevirtz Graduate School of Education The UC Santa Barbara Gevirtz Graduate School of Education is a graduate school at the University of California, Santa Barbara The University of California, Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara or UCSB) is a Public university, public Land-grant un ...

at the

University of California, Santa Barbara The University of California, Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara or UCSB) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Tracing its roots back to 1891 as an ...

(UCSB). Her research focuses on the development and implementation of interventions to support the mental health and well-being of LGBTQ individuals and communities. Israel has presented about dialogue across political lines and is the author of ''Beyond Your Bubble: How to Connect Across the Political Divide, Skills and Strategies for Conversations That Work'' (American Psychological Association, 2020)Lefferts, D. (2020, May 1)
Agree to disagree: PW talks with Tania Israel.
''Publishers Weekly.'' Retrieved July 30, 2020. and ''Facing the Fracture: How to Navigate the Challenges of Living in a Divided Nation.'' She is also known for writing song lyrics,Buffering the Vampire Slayer. (2017, December 27).
I love a podcast
'

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Youtube. memoir,Personal stories.
(2018, February 1). ''Edhat Santa Barbara.'' Retrieved July 30, 2020. and bisexual haiku.Israel, T. Tania_Israel (2018, July 20).
I am not confused/I am not indecisive/I’m bisexual #bisexual #haiku #biku
' weet Twitter.

Early life and education

Israel was born in

Pomona, California Pomona ( ) is a city in eastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. Pomona is located in the Pomona Valley, between the Inland Empire and the San Gabriel Valley. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city's population was ...

to a Chinese-American mother and Jewish-American father, and she grew up in

Charlottesville, Virginia Charlottesville, colloquially known as C'ville, is an independent city (United States), independent city in Virginia, United States. It is the county seat, seat of government of Albemarle County, Virginia, Albemarle County, which surrounds the ...

. In 1988, she graduated from the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

(Penn) with a double major in Psychology and Women's Studies after having been exposed to intersectional feminism by

Michelle Fine Michelle Melody Fine is a distinguished professor at the City University of New York and has her training in Social and Personality Psychology, Environmental Psychology, American Studies, and Urban Education. Her research includes the topics of soc ...

. After graduating, Israel worked at the Cherry Hill Women's Center in New Jersey and then oversaw AIDS education programs at the American Red Cross of Southeastern Pennsylvania. Israel returned to Penn and received a master's degree in Human Sexuality Education in 1992. She earned her Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public university, public research university in Tempe, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 as Territorial Normal School by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, the university is o ...

in 1998, receiving awards for her dissertation on training counselors to work with LGB clients.

Academic career

Israel has been a professor at the Gevirtz School's Department of Counseling, Clinical, and School Psychology (CCSP) since 2000 where she became the Associate Dean for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in 2022. She is also an affiliated faculty member in UCSB's Department of Feminist Studies. Israel is the director of Project RISE (Research & Interventions for Sexual and Gender Minority Empowerment). Projects include online interventions that help LGBTQ people persevere in the face of stigmas and effective LGBTQ-inclusive training for law enforcement and therapists. The local LGBTQ community research her team conducted in collaboration with Santa Barbara nonprofits resulted in a mandatory LGBTQ-focused training for City of Santa Barbara police officers.Carbajal, S. O. (CA)
Recognizing Dr. Tania Israel.
165 Cong. Rec. E432 (daily ed. April 9, 2019). Retrieved July 30, 2020. The training sessions fostered awareness and better understanding of LGBTQ needs and concerns and were found to improve LGBTQ community-police relations. In 2013, Israel testified at a U.S. Congressional briefing, speaking in support of expanding the

Violence Against Women Act The Violence Against Women Act of 1994 (VAWA) is a United States federal law (Title IV of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act, ) signed by President Bill Clinton on September13, 1994. The Act provided $1.6billion toward investigat ...

to include LGBTQ women's needs. She is recognized as an expert on bisexuality, having participated in the inaugural White House Bisexual Community Policy Briefing in 2015, presented at the 2019

National Institutes of Health The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in 1887 and is part of the United States Department of Health and Human Service ...

(NIH) Bisexual Health Research Workshop, and presented an invited plenary on bisexuality at the 2016

American Psychological Association The American Psychological Association (APA) is the main professional organization of psychologists in the United States, and the largest psychological association in the world. It has over 170,000 members, including scientists, educators, clin ...

Annual Convention. Israel's 2015 TEDxUCLA Talk, “Bisexuality and beyond,” has amassed over 100,000 views on YouTube as of May 2021. Israel's book, ''Beyond Your Bubble: How to Connect Across the Political Divide, Skills and Strategies for Conversations That Work,'' grew out of a workshop that she provided to non-profit and faith organizations. She aims to help people articulate their thoughts about difficult issues and facilitate understanding between people from different political backgrounds. In her 2021, TEDx Talk “How to Win a Political Disagreement,” she asserted that “winning an argument is not about asserting one's position, but rather about strengthening a connection.” In her 2023, TEDxTalk “What Halibut Fajitas Taught Me About Bridging the Political Divide” she described biases that narrow our view and noted that “a single perspective is limiting.” Israel's professional leadership includes President of the Society of Counseling Psychology, Lead Coordinator for the 2009 National Multicultural Conference and Summit, and member of the American Psychological Association Committee on Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity.

Awards and honors

* 2021 Next Generation Indy Book Awards Winner in Self Help and Finalist in General Non-Fiction (for Beyond Your Bubble) *Order of the Pearl,

Kappa Delta Kappa Delta (, also known as KD or Kaydee) is an American collegiate social sorority. Established in 1897, it was the first sorority founded at the State Female Normal School (now Longwood University), in Farmville, Virginia. Kappa Delta is one ...

sorority (2021) *Congressional Woman of the Year (2019) * Shining Star from the National Multicultural Summit (2015) * Asian and Pacific Islander Heritage Award of Excellence in Mental Health from the California Asian and Pacific Islander Legislative Caucus (2012) * Emerging Leader for Women in Psychology from the APA's Committee on Women in Psychology (2012) * Woman of the Year Award from the SCP Section for the Advancement of Women (2011) * Early Career Award for Contribution to LGBT Psychology from the (SCP) Section for LGB Awareness (2008) * Mentored Research Scientist Career Development Award (K01) from the

National Institute of Mental Health The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) is one of 27 institutes and centers that make up the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The NIH, in turn, is an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services and is the primar ...

(2003) Israel is also a fellow in five divisions of the

, including the Society of Counseling Psychology (Division 17) and the Society for the Psychological Study of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity (Division 44).

Political and community engagement

Israel was a 2008

Democratic National Convention The Democratic National Convention (DNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 18 ...

delegate. Locally, she has served as a member of the Santa Barbara County Democratic Central Committee and the Grassroots Organizing Committee. In her local community, she has been involved with the LGBT Community Collaborative of the Central Coast, the Fund for Santa Barbara Board (of which she was the president in 2013), the Lose Your Appetite for Hate Coalition,Magnoli, G. (2013, February 6)
Two sides of the bun on Santa Barbara Chick-fil-A opening.
''Noozhawk.'' Retrieved July 30, 2020. and the Santa Barbara County Commission for Women.

Creative activities

Israel writes and performs personal memoir live and co-hosted podcast, Dr.Waffle & Friends. Two of her plays were selected for readings in Breakfast with Smartasses, part of Playfest Santa Barbara. She writes bisexual haiku (#biku). Israel is a fan of ''

Buffy the Vampire Slayer ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' is an American supernatural fiction, supernatural drama television series created by writer and director Joss Whedon. The concept is based on the Buffy the Vampire Slayer (film), 1992 film, also written by Whedon, a ...

'' and credits the show as an inspiration. She is also a fan of the podcast ''

Buffering the Vampire Slayer ''Buffering the Vampire Slayer'' is a podcast about the TV series, ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer.'' Hosted by fans Jenny Owen Youngs and Kristin Russo. Each podcast episode analyzes one episode of ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer,'' and concludes with an ...

,'' for which she wrote and performed a tribute song. She practices

Buddhism Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

and is co-hosted the podcast, Prajna Sparks, for which she wrote songs about Dharma teachings.

Publications

Books

* Israel, T. (2024). ''Facing the Fracture: How to Navigate the Challenges of Living in a Divided Nation.'' Greenleaf Book Group. * Israel, T. (2020). ''Beyond your bubble: How to connect across the political divide, skills and strategies for conversations that work.'' American Psychological Association Books. * Toporek, R.L., Gerstein, L., Fouad, N., Roysircar, G., & Israel, T. (2005). ''Handbook for social justice in counseling psychology: Leadership, vision, and action.'' Sage Publications.

References

External links

Personal website

Faculty bio

Project RISE website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Israel, Tania 1966 births Living people American women psychologists 21st-century American psychologists University of California, Santa Barbara faculty University of Arizona alumni University of Pennsylvania alumni American LGBTQ people of Asian descent LGBTQ Buddhists Bisexual Jews 20th-century American women academics 21st-century American women academics 20th-century American psychologists LGBTQ psychologists Jewish LGBTQ women American academics of Chinese descent 20th-century American Buddhists 21st-century American Buddhists 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American women writers Jewish women writers American Buddhists