TIGRIS: Training Institute for Gender, Relationships, Identity, and Sexuality

The Training Institute for Gender, Relationships, Identity, and Sexuality (TIGRIS) provides trainings and educational workshops aimed at increasing diversity awareness among individuals and organizations. Housed in the Capital District, TIGRIS offers trainings locally, nationally, and internationally. Through modern technology, including webinars and educational portals, TIGRIS is at the forefront of delivering current, practical, evidence-based information to local and long-distance learners at beginner and advanced levels.

Arlene Istar Lev, LCSW-R, CASAC - Training Director
Acey A. Mercer, MSW - Senior Consultant

Workshops & Conferences

• Plenary Session, World Professional Association of Transgender Health, Complex Clinical Cases, September 24, 2012.
  
  
• Webinar, Pride and Joy Families, Gender in LGBTQ Families, January18, 2012
  
  
• Workshop, GLAP The Third Bi-Annual Trans-Clinical Symposium, Complex Clinical Cases, February, 25, 2011.
  
  
• Webinar, Pride and Joy Families, Talking with Children in LGBTQ Families about their Origins across Developmental Stages, March 7, 2012
  
  
• Workshop, Gold Rush Conference, Envisioning Clinical Practice with Families of Gender Nonconforming Children and Transgender Youth, Denver, Colorado, March 24, 2012.
  
  
• Plenary Session, Gold Rush Conference, Standards of Care Denver, Colorado, March 23, 2012.
  
  
• Panel Presentation, Empire Conference, Supporting Gender Nonconforming Children and Youth, Albany, New York, April 13, 2012.
  
  
• Panel Presentation, In Our Own Voices, A National LGBT POC Health Summit,: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer (LGBTQ) Family Diversity: The Intersection of Racial and Queer Identities, October 16,2011
  
  
• Panel Presentation, National Multicultural Conference, Intersections of Trans Identities, January, 28, 2011.
  
  
• Workshop, Gay and Lesbian Affirmative Psychotherapy, Transgender Symposium, Advanced Clinical Cases, New York City, February, 20, 2010.
  
  
• Workshop, Power of Social Work Conference, Transgender Emergence in Families: A Social Work Perspective, Albany, New York, March 12, 2010.
  
  
• Panel Presentation, Aging into Feminism, Lesbians in the 70’s and 80’s & LGBTQ’s in the 21st Century: Voices Back Then/Voices Right Now, Wheelock College, Brookline, MA, March, 20, 2010.
  
  
• Workshop, Family Week, Boys Will Be Boys and Girls Just Love Pink: How Our Families “Do” Gender, Provincetown, MA, August 5, 2010.
  
  
• Workshop, VISIONS, Inc., Becoming a Trans Ally: A Workshop with Arlene Lev, Boston, Massachusetts, November 7, 2009.
  
  
• Workshop, In Our Own Voices, A National LGBT POC Health Summit Conversation across boundaries: Building cultural competence and fostering respect for racial, ethnic, and sexual minorities across organizational and institutional divides. Albany, New York, October, 15, 2009.
  
  
• Workshop, Pride and Joy Family Weekend Parenting Gender-Variant Children, Utica, NY, April 25, 2009.
• Workshop, Pride and Joy Family Weekend Boys Will Be Boys and Girls Just Love Pink: How Our Families “Do”Gender, Utica, NY, April 25, 2009.
  
  
• Workshop, St. Peter’s Addiction Recovery Center, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LBGT) Substance Abuse Training, Albany, New York, March 20, 2009.
  
  
• Workshop, Mental Health Consumer Forum, AIDS Council of NENY, Albany, New York, February 26, 2009.
  
  
• Workshop, National Multicultural Conference, Gender Identity Disorder, New Orleans, Louisiana, January, 15, 2009.
  
  
• Workshop, World Professional Association for Transgender Health, Developing an Ethical Standard of Care for Children, Youth and Families, Chicago, Illinois, September 8, 2007.
  
  
• Workshop, Pediatric Academic Societies Annual Meeting, Gender-Variant Youth: The Role of the Healthcare Provider Caring for Adolescents, Toronto Canada, May 6, 2007.
  
  
• Workshop, American Family Therapy Academy Annual Conference, Vancouver, B.C., Transgender Youth, June 21, 2007.
  
  
• Workshop, International Foundation for Gender Education, Moving Beyond Gatekeeping and Medical Model, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, April 12, 2007.
  
  
• Workshop, Philadelphia Mazzoni Center Trans-health Conference, Provider’s Day, Trans-Positive Family Therapy, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, April, 5, 2007.
  
  
• Workshop. Gender Identity Project, Lesbian and Gay Community Center New York City, Trans-Families: A Guide for Building Healthy Families, March 17, 2007.
  
  
• Lecture, Syracuse University LGBT Resource, Working with Gender-Variant Youth and Their Families, Syracuse, New York, October 27, 2006.
  
  
• Training, Fenway Community Health, Transgender Emergence, Boston, Massachusetts, October 24, 2006.
  
  
• Workshop, NYS Affirmative Action Advisory Council, Civil Rights in the 21st Century, Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity, Saratoga Springs, New York, September 20, 2006.
  
  
• Workshop, Pink Therapy, 2nd Biennial Conference, Intimate Affairs: Sexual Minorities and Relationships, LGBT Families: Moving beyond "we have a right to exist,” London, U.K., June 16, 2006.
  
  
• Workshop, Transgender Umbrella: Clinical Skills for Empowering Transgender and Gender Queer Clients, Couple and Family Therapy, Mesa, Arizona, June 3, 2006.
  
  
• Lecture, Sunshine Club, Family and Gender Issues, Hadley, Massachusetts, May 20, 2006.
  
  
• Workshop, Pediatric Academic Societies Annual Meeting Transgender Children and Youth – The Role of the Pediatrician, San Francisco, California, April 29, 2006.
  
  
• Workshop, Gender-Variant People and their Families, Therapy Issues in Working with Gender-Variant & Ambiguous Sexed Clients & Family, Topeka, Kansas, April 21, 2006.
  
  
• Workshop, NASW Massachusetts, Symposium 2006, Marlboro, Massachusetts, LGBT Families and Social Work: A New Frontier, April 6, 2006.
  
  
• Workshop, NASW-NYS, The Power of Social Work, LGBT Families and Social Work: A New Frontier, Albany, New York, March 24, 2006.
  
  
• Lecture, TransNYC, CUNY Graduate Center, TransSexuality: Myths and Truths about Transgender Embodiment and Eroticism, New York City, Oct. 20, 2005.