Charlotte J. Patterson is a Professor in the UVA Department of Psychology and in the Center for Children, Families, and the Law, and is Director of UVA’s interdisciplinary program, Women, Gender, and Sexuality (WGS). Her research focuses on the psychology of sexual orientation, with an emphasis on sexual orientation, human development, and family lives. In the context of her research, Patterson has worked with children, adolescents, couples, and families; she is best known for her studies of child development in the context of lesbian- and gay-parented families.