Education

As the Director of Education for the Institute for Sexual & Gender Health, I am passionate about educating our students, clients, and the general public about sexuality and sexual health. I spent the last decade at University of Kentucky and the three  years before that at Indiana University teaching in the areas of sex education, sexual health, healthy relationships, LGBTQIA+ health, women’s health, health behavior theory, research methods, and statistics, so I have a lot of experience teaching at the collegiate level. In my role at University of Minnesota Medical School, I am the Course Director for the 2SLGBTQIA+ MPact course and the Life Stages Thread. I also direct the elective clerkship courses in LGBTQ+ Health (FMCH 7527) and Sexual Problems in Clinical Practice (FMCH 7585).

Additionally, I am the Director of Graduate Studies for our Master’s in Sexual Health and three stackable graduate certificates in Sex Education, Sex Therapy, and Transgender and Gender Diverse Health. Our program provides the core knowledge area training necessary to work toward the American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors and Therapists (AASECT) certification as a sex educator, counselor, or therapist. We are an AASECT-approved CE provider and this program is entirely online so it caters to those looking to gain this knowledge in areas where access is limited or while working a full time job.

I believe it is our responsibility to translate the knowledge we have as researchers, educators, and clinicians to the public. Not everyone has access, time, resources, etc. to be able to take graduate courses or enroll in graduate school and engage in research. Therefore, it is critical that we digest the information that we have to the public in as many different ways as possible. One way that we do this is through Sex Science Happy Hour, a bi-monthly event series where I interview experts and we take audience questions in an approachable environment. We rotate through different breweries in the Twin Cities, with Fulton, Urban Growler, and Sociable Cider Werks as our main partners in this venture.