Athena D. F. Sherman (xe/they) is an Assistant Professor at Emory University Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing. As a queer person and survivor of violence, Dr. Sherman seeks to lift the voices of
LGBTQ+ survivors of violence and build a foundation of research to improve care delivery and mental
health outcomes among LGBTQ+ communities. To do this, their research is two-fold. Their health
research focuses on improving our understanding of how complex systems of racism, cisgenderism, and
heterosexism influence health and health equity for racial, ethnic, sexual, and gender minoritized
populations, with a focused lens on the impacts of stigma on mental health among transgender and
gender diverse people. Their educational research focuses on improving the inclusion of LGBTQI+ health content in nursing curricula. Lastly, Dr. Sherman works in end of life care throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. Dr. Sherman holds a DNP from Johns Hopkins University and a BSN from San Jose State University.