[O@A x JV] 21st Century Families: LGBTQ+ and Allied Parenting Panel

Peter Gandolfo

Executive Coach

Parker Management Center & Gandolfo Group

(Anderson MBA, Class of 2003) is a certified executive coach and part-time career advisor at the Parker Career Management Center. Coaching combines his 20+ years of professional experience in marketing, management, and consulting with his love for helping others find their own path. He's passionate about supporting parents who want to continue to grow in their careers while also being present parents. He lives in Los Angeles with his husband Andrew and their two young sons.

Audra Langley Ph.D.

Clinical Child Psychologist & Professor

UCLA Department of Psychiatry and the Jane and Terry Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at UCLA

Audra is a Clinical Child Psychologist and a Professor in the UCLA Department of Psychiatry and the Jane and Terry Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at UCLA. Dr. Langley’s body of work has sought to increase access to quality mental health interventions for underserved populations of children, including those in schools and involved with the child welfare system. She is the Director of UCLA TIES for Families, an innovative interdisciplinary program for children in foster care or adopted through foster care (ages birth to 21) and their families in Los Angeles County. Audra is also a lesbian mom with 3 amazing kids.

Mercedes Fernández Oromendia, Ph.D.

Psychology Postdoctoral Fellow

UCLA TIES

Mercedes is a bilingual/bicultural psychology postdoctoral fellow at UCLA TIES for Families (TIES). TIES is an interdisciplinary program that serves to optimize the growth and development of foster/adoptive children and support their families. UCLA-TIES provides educational training, adoption-sensitive services, and advocacy for children and families in individual, community, and governmental spheres. Families served at TIES are greatly diverse- clients are primarily youth of color, 40% of families are interracial, and 40% of families have a parent/caregiver that identifies as LGBTQ+.  Dr. Fernández Oromendia attained her PhD from UC Santa Barbara and her BA in Psychology from University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. Dr. Fernández Oromendia is interested in identity development, adolescent mental health, transcultural/ethnic/racial adoptions, and fostering the wellbeing of families brought together by foster care.  

Jamie Henderson

VP of Diversity

Joint Ventures

Jamie is the VP of Diversity from Joint Ventures, a community of UCLA Anderson students who know how to have fun while balancing school, career and relationships. Its membership encompasses students and significant others (Sig-Os) from all types of relationships (married, dating, etc.), family sizes and sexual orientations.

Dr. Suzanne L. Seplow

Asst. Vice Chancellor, Student Development

UCLA

Margaret Shih

Board of Advisors Term Chair in Management

UCLA Anderson