Georgan Gregg

Biography: L. Georgan Gregg, M.Ed., brings a wealth of personal & professional experience to counsel & support people on emotionally charged health issues. Since 1969 Georgan has done work directly related to human sexuality & has been certified by the American Association of Sex Educators, Counselors, & Therapists as a sex counselor & sex educator. She worked with individuals, couples & groups, including those with physical disabilities, regarding sexual dysfunction/dissatisfaction &/or sexual lifestyle issues. She served special populations - physical disabilities including HIV, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, swingers, polyamorists, & dominates/submissives - to deal effectively with the complexities & individualization of human sexuality. Georgan knows psychological needs change during each individual's battle with disability. Her philosophy of community counseling (working with individuals, groups, & the general public) accepts each person where they are, focusing on quality of life issues. Among her many achievements, Georgan served as the Assistant Director of Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) National AIDS Hotline (beginning in 1987), the largest health-related hotline in the world. Under her leadership the Hotline took calls 24/7 from all 50 states, Guam & Puerto Rico, & was made accessible to people with hearing impairments and people who spoke Spanish. Over 1 million callers each year learned technical, medical & sexual information. Two years after Georgan's life partner died of AIDS in 1992, she decided to leave the Hotline to expand her counseling practice & take on two additional roles. Georgan became coordinator of local hospice volunteers in working with terminally ill patients & their families & case managed people living with HIV to ensure support, information, referral & advocacy. She received an award from the local HIV/AIDS Council for training AIDS buddies. Georgan publishes a flyer, Hot Safe(r) Sex!, for free distribution to counseling clients, at public presentations, & the annual safe(r) sex booth at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Health Fair. Her theory is people are less likely to become infected, or reinfected, with HIV or other STD by learning sex can be safe(r) & fulfilling, or "hot." In 1997, Georgan survived a traumatic brain injury. Georgan now lives with a disability & uses the Internet as the method for her lifework.