We at NCSF will miss our beloved friend and colleague.
Russell J. Stambaugh, Ph.D., served on the NCSF Board for eight (8) years and was appointed Kink-Aware Professional Advocate in 2017. He was subsequently reelected in 2018, 2020, and 2022. His official role in NCSF was primarily to manage our relationships with the professional communities that provide services to members of the kink, lifestyle, and non-monogamy communities. This involved presenting our work and our constituents and staffing tables at professional conferences such as the American Psychological Association, AASECT, TASHRA, CARAS, and similar organizations.
After winning the NCSF Advocacy Award in 2017, he renamed it the Race Bannon Advocacy Award. He led the effort to recognize other notable advocates for our communities, including Race, Gayle Rubin, Vi Johnson, Charles Moser, Janet Hardy, and Susan Wright.
Due to his wide range of skills, Russell was also crucial to NCSF Research efforts, including the 2014 and 2020 Consent Violations surveys and the current development of the 2025 survey. NCSF will have the honor of publishing his final work.
However, Russell did so much more than that. He spent his entire life fighting stigma and discrimination. He was never satisfied with “how things are done” or with the constraints of convention. His legacy in NCSF and the world stemmed from his unmatched strategic thinking and his boldness in asking difficult and often unpopular questions. While you may not think his work is related to you, his efforts have made everything easier for all of us. He used his influence and position to benefit those without the same advantages. He took on challenges that no one else would or could. He risked his professional standing and reputation to do the right thing every single time.
Russell was a clinician licensed in the State of Michigan from 1983 until he retired in 2015, practicing psychodynamic psychotherapy, marital therapy and sex therapy, as well as a Certified Sex Therapist Supervisor. He received the Distinguished Service to AASECT Award in 2013 and 2015. His other professional associations include: American Psychological Association Division 44 BDSM Task Force, Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality, Community-Academic Consortium for Research on Alternative Sexualities, Professional Speakers Association of Michigan, and the National Speakers Association.
We are proud to announce that one of the newest APP Division 44 Awards is the Russell Stambaugh Memorial Travel Award, sponsored by the BDSM Task Force, which aims to support graduate students, early-career professionals, individuals with financial need, or underrepresented groups in attending and presenting on kink / BDSM at the annual American Psychological Association (APA) Convention. This award is designed to help individuals who demonstrate a strong commitment to advancing the field of psychology as it relates to kink and adjacent communities, and who would benefit from the opportunity to engage with the latest research, network with professionals, and gain exposure to the diverse and vibrant community at the APA Convention.
If you’d like to learn more about Russell or his work and perspective, we are working on restoring his blog, Elephant in the Hot Tub. This is a treasured resource, and we hope you will spend some time getting to know him.