Trainer Biographies

Dorie J. Gilbert, PhD, is Associate Professor of Social Work and a faculty affiliate of the Center for African & African American Studies at the University of Texas at Austin. In addition, she is a Visiting Research Scholar at the University of California at San Francisco, Center for AIDS Prevention Studies. Dr. Gilbert’s scholarly work investigates the mental health, behavioral, and social consequences of structurally-imposed stigma on vulnerable populations, with an emphasis on HIV/AIDS prevention for African American women. As a Research Associate with the Institute for the Advanced Study of Black Family Life in Oakland, CA, Dr. Gilbert is certified in the African-Centered Behavior Change Model, a culturally congruent model based on the principle of re-instilling traditional African and African American cultural values into women to enhance health promotion behavior. As such, Dr. Gilbert’s work is uniquely centered on advocating for prevention programs which emphasize African-centered philosophies of health promotion and disease prevention. Her research interests also extend to HIV prevention work in Ghana, West Africa.

Dr. Gilbert is co-editor of the book, African-American Women and HIV/AIDS: Critical Responses, a multidisciplinary volume written by African American female contributors from across the country representing the fields of social work, psychology, nursing, theology, and public health. She has received National Institute of Health and university funding to study the impact of cultural mistrust on antiretroviral medication adherence, life experiences of women living with HIV, AIDS service utilization among African Americans, and the psychosocial concerns of HIV-positive parents with latency-age children. Her current project, Project Mother-Daughter Talk, involves in-depth interviews with 12-16 year-old African American daughters whose mothers are living with HIV/AIDS. Her publications related to HIV/AIDS and vulnerable populations have appeared in journals and edited books. Additionally, Dr. Gilbert is co-editor of the Journal of HIV/AIDS and Social Services.

Dr. Gilbert has served as a consultant on several community-based funded projects and has participated in church outreach and HIV/AIDS Town Hall meetings to address HIV incidence rates in Austin’s Black community.

Clifton Mitchell, PhD, Licensed Psychologist, has a love for teaching and over 20 years experience as a trainer and keynote speaker. He delivers practical information in a uniquely entertaining, fast-paced style that is filled with examples from his years of experience in mental health. For the past ten years, he has studied and presented seminars on methods for dealing with resistance in therapy. In his book, Effective Techniques for Dealing with Highly Resistant Clients, he presents the best cutting-edge approaches available for managing resistance. He has also been the keynote speaker at conventions and has taught hundreds of businesses, leadership groups, and civic organizations effective techniques for improving communication and for creating change through the precise use of language. He has published in numerous professional journals, including the Journal of Personality Assessment, Perceptual and Motor Skills, Psychology and Education, Journal of Psychological Type, The Professional School Counselor, and The Advocate. His research includes investigations of subliminal message tapes, stress and coping, PMS, personality types, legal and ethical issues in counseling, and resistance. His ideas and writings have also been published in Men’s Health Today and Barron’s Financial Weekly. Dr. Mitchell is currently a professor of counseling at East Tennessee State University in Johnson City, Tennessee, where he received the Teacher of the Year award in 2002.

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