The Attic Youth Center conferred its Leadership Achievement Award on Lee Carson, PHMC research associate, at The Attic's annual gala at the Philadelphia Ritz-Carlton on November 15. The Attic Youth Center is Philadelphia's only agency exclusively serving LGBT youth and is one of only 13 LGBT youth centers nationally.

"Lee Carson is a man on a mission," says The Attic's executive director, Carrie Jacobs, Ph.D., of the activist, researcher, educator and social worker. "He is an individual who already has and will continue to make a huge difference in the LGBT community, particularly in the LGBT community of color."

I am grateful to receive an award... and at the same time, I am fully aware that my work is only one small part within a larger mosaic of efforts..."

Carson has worked in the areas of HIV prevention and substance abuse rehabilitation in the LGBT population for the past 10 years. "I am grateful to receive an award from The Attic," says Carson, "and at the same time, I am fully aware that my work is only one small part within a larger mosaic of efforts put forth by many toward creating a better quality of life for Philadelphia's LGBT citizens."

At PHMC, Carson works on several projects related to HIV prevention among men who have sex with men. "We are very proud of Lee and his recognition by The Attic," says Lynne Kotranski, vice president of PHMC's Research and Evaluation component. "Lee brings a unique set of skills to his work and commitment to the community. He has great clinical training blended with an understanding of conducting research on vulnerable populations."

Carson also works part-time as a mental health therapist for the Mazzoni Center, a health center serving Philadelphia's LGBT population, and he serves as an adjunct instructor in the graduate social work department at Temple University.

Carson's activism in the LGBT community began in 2000, when he joined the New York-based Men of Color Health Awareness Project (MOCHA), an HIV prevention organization. While at MOCHA, Carson served as a board member for the New York State Black Gay Network. After moving to Philadelphia, Carson co-founded and became president of Black Gay Men's Leadership Council, a nonprofit organization for black gay men in Philadelphia. He also is a founding member of the LGBT People of Color Coalition, whose 14 member organizations represent a broad cross-section of LGBT communities.

Carson's commitment to the LGBT community has garnered him both local and national recognition. He serves on Philadelphia Mayor Michael A. Nutter's advisory board on LGBT affairs and the Centers for Disease Control selected him as an expert advisory panel member for a new HIV prevention campaign targeting black gay men.

Carson earned a bachelor of arts degree from S.U.N.Y. Brockport and a master of social work degree from Nazareth College. He is a licensed social worker in Pennsylvania.