Dr. Herek received his Ph.D. in social psychology from UC Davis in 1983, then was a postdoctoral fellow at Yale University. He subsequently served as a faculty member at Yale and the Graduate Center of the City University of New York before returning to UC Davis, first as a research psychologist and later as a tenured professor.

An internationally recognized authority on prejudice against lesbians and gay men, anti-gay violence, and AIDS-related stigma, Dr. Herek has published numerous scholarly articles on these topics. His edited and coedited books include Hate Crimes: Confronting Violence Against Lesbians and Gay Men (1992, Sage Publications), AIDS, Identity, and Community: HIV and Lesbians and Gay Men (Sage, 1995), Out in Force: Sexual Orientation and the Military (University of Chicago Press, 1996), Stigma and Sexual Orientation (Sage, 1998), and a special issue of the American Behavioral Scientist on "AIDS and Stigma" (1999). He is currently writing a book on sexual prejudice, which will be published by the University of Chicago Press.

Dr. Herek serves as consulting editor for several academic journals, including Basic and Applied Social Psychology, The Journal of Sex Research, the Journal of Homosexuality, and Psychology of Men & Masculinity.

Dr. Herek is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association (APA) and the Association for Psychological Science (APS). He is the recipient of the 2006 Kurt Lewin Memorial Award for "outstanding contributions to the development and integration of psychological research and social action," presented by the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues (APA Division 9). In 1996, he received APA Early Career Award for Contribution to Psychology in the Public Interest. In 1992, he received the Outstanding Achievement Award from the APA Committee on Lesbian and Gay Concerns. In 1989, and again in 1999, he received APA Division 44's annual award for "Distinguished Scientific Contributions to Lesbian and Gay Psychology." He is past chairperson of the APA Committee on Lesbian and Gay Concerns. He also served on the APA Task Force on Avoiding Heterosexist Bias in Research and the APA Task Force on AIDS. He currently serves as chairperson of the Scientific Review Committee for the Wayne F. Placek Award, sponsored by the American Psychological Foundation.

Dr. Herek's other professional involvements also have focused on lesbian and gay concerns and AIDS issues. In 1997, he was an invited participant at President Clinton's White Conference on Hate Crimes. In 1993, he testified on behalf of the American Psychological Association (APA), the American Psychiatric Association, and four other national professional associations for the House Armed Services Committee's hearings on gays and the U.S. military. In 1986, he testified on behalf of the APA for the House Criminal Justice Subcommittee's hearings on antigay violence.

He has assisted the APA in preparing amicus briefs in numerous court cases. These include challenges to the constitutionality of:

• state laws prohibiting marriage by same-sex couples (e.g., Andersen et al. vs. King County et al., Washington Supreme Court; Lewis v. Harris, New Jersey Superior Court; Li et al. vs. Oregon, Oregon Supreme Court; Hernandez v. Robles, New York Appellate Court)
   
• state sodomy laws at the federal and state levels (e.g., Lawrence v. Texas and Bowers v. Hardwick, U.S. Supreme Court; Campbell v. Sundquist, Tennessee Court of Appeals)
   
• state antigay ballot propositions (Romer v. Evans, U.S. Supreme Court)
   
• military policies excluding lesbians and gay men (Watkins v. U.S. Army, Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals)
   
• the parenting rights of lesbians and gay men (Bottoms v. Bottoms, Virginia Court of Appeals)
   
• the right of the Boy Scouts of America to exclude gay people (Boy Scouts of America v. Dale, U.S. Supreme Court).