Tara Sullivan (they/she) is a doctoral student in the Clinical Psychology Ph.D. program, working under the mentorship of Dr. Ethan Mereish. Tara graduated from Stanford University in 2022, having earned their bachelor’s degree in Psychology with a specialization in Health and Development. Following her graduation, Tara served for two years as the Lab Manager for the Lavender Lab at UMD, assisting with studies aimed at exploring how intersectional minority stress influences mental health outcomes and substance use patterns in Queer and Trans Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (QTBIPOC) adolescents.

Tara is broadly interested in understanding how converging systems of oppression (i.e. racism, heterosexism, and cissexism) can contribute to health disparities for QTBIPOC communities. Simultaneously, they are also interested in using strengths-based approaches to explore protective factors at the structural, community, and individual levels, which can inform culturally-informed and scalable interventions to improve the mental health and resilience of QTBIPOC communities.

Their research is driven by a desire to work in tandem with community-based partners to support the mental health, well-being, and liberation of all QTBIPOC community members.