Understanding Transgender Health and Legal Issues

Transgender persons have been in the news lately as they face challenges in achieving societal acceptance and understanding. They have faced difficulties in the workplace, in the military and especially in jails and prisons across the United States.  Please join The New York Academy of Medicine and its Section on Psychiatry for "Understanding Transgender Health and Legal Issues," an evening addressing health and legal issues specific to the transgender community.

Richard R. Pleak, MD, Director of Education and Training in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell, will give a presentation, "Clinical Strategies to Address Health Care of Transgender People," in which he will discuss specific health issues, disparities, and care options for transgender people and how physicians can assist in meeting and providing best care practices for this population, particularly for adolescents and young adults.

Federal criminal defense attorney, Carlos M. Santiago, Jr., will discuss his experiences as a district attorney while he was investigating and prosecuting allegations of hate crimes targeting the trans community. He will also address the perspectives of trans clients held in federal detention while pending the resolution of a criminal matter.   

SPEAKERS:

Richard R. Pleak, MD, obtained his MD from Wayne State University in Detroit, completed his General Psychiatry Residency at Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic at the University of Pittsburgh, his Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Fellowship and a NIMH-Sponsored Research Fellowship in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at New York State Psychiatric Institute, Columbia University. Dr. Pleak is the Director of Training and Education in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (1996-present) and Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell, Zucker Hillside Hospital, Northwell Health, NY; Adjunct Clinical Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY; and Adjunct Assistant Professor of Medical Education, City University of New York, CUNY School of Medicine. He is a past president and continuing Board Member of the New York Council on Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and a delegate to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry’s (AACAP) Assembly of Regional Organizations (2003-present). Dr. Pleak is Co-Chair of the AACAP HIV Issues Committee and a Past Chair and current liaison of the AACAP Sexual Orientation & Gender Identity Issues Committee. He is a member of the American Psychiatric Association’s Work Group on Gender Dysphoria, a founding member of the Lesbian and Gay Child & Adolescent Psychiatric Association, and a member of the World Professional Association for Transgender Health. Dr. Pleak has a faculty private practice in child, adolescent, and adult psychiatry. He is a medical student instructor at the CUNY School of Medicine (1995-present) and at the Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell (2012-present). 

Carlos M. Santiago, Jr., is a federal criminal defense attorney operating primarily within the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York. A portion of his work is also dedicated to handling civil rights litigations from discriminatory behavior from employers based on an employee’s association with a protected class, and to injuries sustained by clients while under the supervision of the police or while in custody. Before entering private practice, Carlos was an assistant district attorney with the Kings County District Attorney’s office in Brooklyn, NY. During his tenure there Carlos was a sex crimes prosecutor and eventually went on to prosecute police misconduct and hate crimes. Before entering law school, Carlos was a supervisor at a non-profit that provided comprehensive youth development services for at-risk youth located in in New York City.