By Eduardo Morales, Ph.D.–
One of our unsung heroes in the Bay Area is J. Antonio Aguilar-Karayianni, M.A. He has worked in a variety of health and service promotion agencies in San Francisco and has also extensively volunteered for many nonprofits. Antonio specializes in integrated mental health, substance abuse HIV/AIDS, and primary care in varied roles as project manager providing staff supervision and volunteer training.
His over 30 years of experience include doing outreach and recruitment, qualitative interviewing, and group facilitation as well as Spanish-English translation strategies, networking, community building, editing, event planning, interpreting services, and creating curriculum modules. Antonio is very dedicated to his work for the community and strongly focuses on immigrant issues and monolingual Spanish speakers. He is passionate about mental health services, especially Expressive Arts therapy, support group facilitation, and psycho-educational workshops. His experience includes working internationally while building proverbial bridges for newcomers to the U.S.
Born in Guatemala, Antonio immigrated and obtained advanced academic degrees in the U.S. He is keenly aware of the unique challenges immigrants face and has dedicated his career to addressing those needs. He is one of the founding members of AGUILAS and has served in a variety of roles, including being a group intervention facilitator. He received his Master’s degree in counseling psychology from the California Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco and has participated in a wide range of research efforts focused on Latinx individuals.
Issues of importance for Latinx LGBTQ+ include the lack of utilizing critical thinking based on Latinx cultures. The poverty mentality and lack of constant, accessible role models are challenges for those who are Latinx, he believes. The divisiveness of the LGBTQ+ spectrum is typically dismissed by using a flippant attitude toward their own lives and experiences, especially after relationship break-ups and issues about our bodies and selves. Complicating these challenges is the apparent absence of a centralized, accessible, respectful, and kind immigrant navigation center in San Francisco for the daily influx who just arrived.
What motivates Antonio to be involved in Latinx LGBTQ+ issues? He told me for the San Francisco Bay Times: “Latinx communities are quite complex, which is something that escapes most people who see us as an amorphous mass. Our needs are actually complex and constantly evolving, as are the social, political, and environmental forces in our native countries, to mention a few. Based on my own experience as an immigrant trying my best to make a positive contribution to this society, but having no internal map to guide me or role models to emulate, I had to basically feel my way in the dark, hoping I wouldn’t make too many mistakes. I realized early on that nobody else was going to provide me with what I truly needed, as nobody else truly understood the journey that brought me here, or what I left behind, and why.”
He chose from that point on to become a well-informed service provider, an activist, community organizer, and an advocate for disenfranchised groups among our multiple minority groups, such as for those who are indigenous, trans women, people without a basic education or who are unable to read/write, and for people with mental health issues or other “invisible” challenges. These include being a recent immigrant, being a young queer man from Central America, professionals engaged in the political asylum process, and more. Pursuing a Master’s degree, he said, “was part of my constant effort to become a better man, to find daily satisfaction in my life choices, to continue to learn and expand my mind, and to be of service to others. Stepping into a leadership role has been a lifelong process of self-scrutiny, self-challenging, and self-care.”
Antonio is a great example of numerous unsung heroes who have contributed greatly to raising issues and to applying their professional training and careers for the betterment of Latinx marginalized individuals, and especially those who identify as LGBTQ+. We are extremely fortunate to have Antonio here in our San Francisco community where we have collectively benefited from his many contributions.
Eduardo Morales, Ph.D. is a Professor Emeritus, retired Distinguished Professor, and current adjunct professor at Alliant International University. He is also a licensed psychologist and a founder and current Executive Director of AGUILAS, an award-winning program for Latinx LGBTQ+. Of Puerto Rican decent, he has received numerous distinguished awards and citations, including being named a Fellow of 12 divisions of the American Psychological Association.
Nuestra Voz
Published on February 23, 2023
Recent Comments