Faculty & Staff
ISEE faculty include some of the top experts in the U.S and Canada. Well known and well respected, ISEE teachers challenge, inspire, and inform, holding a holistic philosophy and remaining connected to lenses of social justice, ecology, and highly conscious embodiment.
ISEE Team:
Dr. Rosalyn Dischiavo, MA, CSES - Director & Founder / Supervisor
Dr. Rosalyn Dischiavo is the Founder and Director of Institute for Sex Education and Enlightenment. She was President of the American Association of Sex Educators, Counselors and Therapists (AASECT) from 2022-2024 and served as Professional Education Steering Committee Chair on the AASECT Board of Directors from 2018-2020. She is the author of “The Deep Yes: The Lost Art of True Receiving.” Roz is a professor, author, an AASECT Certified Sexuality Educator (CSE) and Sex Educator Supervisor (CSES), She has a Master of Arts in Marriage and Family Therapy and a Doctor of Education in Human Sexuality.
Dr. Dischiavo was the Director of both the Women’s Center and the Health Education office at the University of Hartford from 1999-2006. While there she received multiple honors for securing grant funding each year she worked there. She also received a national award for Best Advisor for a Peer Education group from the BACCHUS & GAMMA Peer Education Network. Dr. Dischiavo taught Health Education, Gender, Adult Development and Human Sexuality classes at graduate and undergraduate levels at the University of Hartford for many years.
Rosalyn's career includes a nightly women’s interest radio show on WTIC FM in Hartford in the mid 2000's. She took part in a 3-year Tantra Teacher Training program with Dr. Rudolph Ballantine (Swami Ravi), author of “Radical Healing”, former president of the Himalayan Institute for Yoga Science and Philosophy.
Roz is also a poet who loves to walk the beaches of Cape Cod and the deserts of Arizona, where she lives with her dog, Peanut, and her calico cat, Abby.
Dr. Dischiavo’s book “The Deep Yes: The Lost Art of True Receiving,” is available on Amazon and Kindle.
Comments about Roz
“Roz is a visionary. She founded the Institute for Sexuality and Enlightenment and filled a very much needed niche for sex therapists and educators, who are looking – previously in vain – for local training and continuing education in the field of sexuality and sexual health. My associates have benefited greatly, as have I, from the workshops and trainings provided by the Institute. Roz is a creative, innovative and effective Director, able to write outside the lines of traditional educational boundaries and bring in a much needed wide-angle lens for conceptualizing sexuality education. Her institute is a wonderful resource – and Roz is a collaborative and enthusiastic colleague.”
-Jassy Timberlake, MEd, LMFT
Director & Founder of Northampton Sex Therapy Associates
“Roz is one of those rare individuals in our field who combines the warm heart and soul of a therapist with the discerning mind of skeptical scientist. The result is an individual who uses her understanding of science and research to guide her therapy and her therapeutic skill to give context to the interpretation of data. I come away from interacting with Roz glad to be in the field of human sexuality.”
– Michael Sand, PhD, MPH
Clinical Sexologist
“Dr. Dischiavo is truly a teacher for the new millennium. Her grasp of the diverse topic of Human Sexuality is deep and constantly evolving. She has the keen ability to meet students where they are at balancing personal development and revelation with teaching information and concrete skills. Her commitment to the personal being political, learning and teaching in an anti oppressive way and her joyful dedication to being a sexual revolutionary are a breath of fresh air in the sex education community.”
-Dr. Liam Snowdon
“Roz and the amazing staff at the Institute for Sexuality Education and Enlightenment foster an environment where you can thrive both personally and professionally. The community Roz has created is a family that supports each other in our development as professionals in the field of sexuality. It is rare to have the opportunity to learn from an expert in the field that also makes herself so available to her students. Roz’s integration of the self, coupled with her extensive knowledge of the field make her classes unlike any other I have taken throughout my years of education, courses that nourish the mind and feed the soul. I consider myself lucky to get to learn and grow in a field I love under the guidance such a talented educator and mentor.”
Miranda Hughes, Student
Vision
Sex education has been an integral part of my career from the very beginning. In the late 1980’s, HIV and AIDS prevention was a major health concern, and I knew I needed to be comfortable with the open discussion of sex in order to effectively work toward their prevention. I worked with young people, parents, teachers and community as a health promotion specialist.
In my professional development, I was shocked to find that my graduate degree program in Marriage and Family Therapy had no courses in human sexuality. We were told we could take the subject as an elective. Since then I have learned that many Social Work, Counseling and MFT programs have a similar lack of sexuality education. There might be one course in sexuality, or none, despite the fact that sexual concerns are a major reason why couples seek therapy, and a common concern in individual therapy as well.
I have had twin careers in therapy and health education, and I have found that of all the major health concerns and systems of our bodies, minds and hearts, sexuality is the least understood and the most trivialized. Sex is seen as frivolous, dangerous, sinful, self-indulgent, or solely a means to reproduce. Yet it can be a source of tremendous joy, intimacy, and spiritual connection if we heal the split that has been created by sex-phobia in our culture.
I believe that we cannot have full healing, true wellness or real happiness until we delve into this part of ourselves. I also believe that this delving can and should be thoughtful, fun, intellectual and spiritual. Too many sex educators are merely mechanics. We must have a more holistic view of sex to be more whole as people.
I have a vision to create a steady stream of well-trained and clear-thinking counseling professionals, health care providers and health/sex educators who can return to their offices, clinics or schools with a happier and healthier message about sexuality to offer the world.
I have a vision that regular people can be freed from the common attitudes of sexual shame and fear so that they can make the best individual choices for their own happiness and health as well as the health and happiness of their partners and families.
If this vision sounds good to you, I hope to meet you soon. Whether we are counseling professionals, health care providers, single people looking for enlightenment or parents wondering how to teach our children, we are all pioneers in this field.
Amy - Office Manager
Our go-to manager has been with us since 2019, and is an essential member of the ISEE team. She is capable, determined, confident and well-organized. She has extensive corporate experience in supporting mid to senior-level management. Amy has over 12 years of experience in occupational health, safety and regulatory compliance, and risk reduction for multiple industries. Amy is passionate about safety and education. Anyone who has collaborated with Amy has experienced, firsthand, her passion, warmth, and humor.
Amy is a veteran of the stage appearing in many local theatre productions over the years. She has also spent several years as a professional wrestler (yes, you read that correctly.) In her free time, Amy enjoys playing the ukulele and entertaining children at the local library. These experiences have given Amy the ability to connect with people from all walks of life.
Nekale - Learning Technology Specialist
Nekale {she/her} joined the ISEE team in 2021, and hails from Houston, Texas where she lives with her partner and three wonderful children. She spent 7 years with a charter school in multi-dimensional capacities including librarian and administrative assistant. Her innovative and collaborative style assisted the schools’ transition to online learning during the worst part of the COVID pandemic. Nekale’s experience is invaluable to ISEE’s community. She serves as the point of contact for students needing assistance with rescheduling classes, Learning Platform tech questions, and course logistics. During her free time, she enjoys creating art and traveling the world with her family. Contact Nekale
ISEE Faculty:
Jess Alder, MPA
Jess Alder is the Program Director of the Start Strong: Building Healthy Teen Relationship Initiative at the Boston Public Health Commission. They hold their Masters in Public Administration from Suffolk University. For 4 years Jess was an educator, advocate, and consultant for rape crisis centers in Denver, CO and Boston, MA. They have been working in the field of teen dating violence for the past 10 years in Boston, MA and have over two decades of experience working with young people as an educator, coach, and mentor.
Zach Budd
Zach Budd is a self-proclaimed nerd, sex geek and consent junkie. Zach became interested in consent as a topic over 5 years ago as a personal research project and is currently completing his Masters of Social Work degree at University of Houston to be of even more benefit to his community. Zach serves as the Gulf Coast Advocate for the National Coalition for Sexual Freedom (NCSF), attending professional social work conventions, providing info on kink & polyamory to social work and mental health professionals. He is currently an intern of social work at Houston’s local LGBTQ Center, where he serves as a group facilitator and clinical student intern. Zach is a member of the Board of Loving More (www.lovemore.com), the nation’s oldest Polyamory Advocacy organization. Zach puts his Consent Educator muscles to work on www.consentwarrior.com, where he consults and schedules presentations on the topics of ‘The Five Pillars of Consent’©, ‘Radical Self-ish Care’, ‘BDSM & the Law’ and does consultation sessions for self care.
Sadia Arshad, MPH, MSN, WHNP-BC
Sadia is a brown woman with experience as a peer sex educator, registered nurse, and reproductive justice advocate. She never planned on being any of those things, but life has its way of bringing experiences to Sadia. Growing up in a home full of violence and neighborhood full of health inequalities, Sadia saw several things related to reproductive and sexual health that were often silenced and shamed.
She didn’t really know what to do, so she started reading about sex on her own and what it means to have sex as a woman, a brown woman, and a brown woman in America. This, in turn, led her to work with some cool organizations, like Planned Parenthood, Fenway Health, SaheliBoston, Advocates for Youth, the National Minority AIDS Council, HEART Women and Girls, and the Repeal Hyde Art Project.
After seeing the non-profit life and witnessing serious mishaps in healthcare, Sadia decided that she wanted to go back to school. She completed her nursing studies during COVID-19 and is a board-certified women’s health nurse practitioner. She also earned her Masters in Public Health (dual concentration in Maternal and Child Health and Social and Behavioral Sciences) and Bachelors of Arts in Psychology. Feel free to connect with her on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/nursesadia/) and visit her website (https://www.digitalhealthcommunicator.com)
Dr. Janice Brundage, PhD
Janice received her Bachelors in Arts (B.A) degree from the University of Michigan in 1974, and attended the Department of Counseling and Guidance at the University of Arizona, receiving a Masters in Education in 1980. In 1987, she completed a Doctorate in Counseling with a minor in Psychology from the University of Arizona. Later, she was recognized by the State Board of Examiners as a Certified Psychologist in 1988, and as state statute changed I was accepted as a Licensed Psychologist in 1991.
Now, a Clinical Member and an Approved Supervisor of the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT). As a member of the American Society of Clinical Hypnosis (ASCH), Janice, has elevated to an Approved Consultant within this organization. In addition, she is a Certified Sex Therapist and has a Diplomate of Sex Therapy for the American Association of Sex Educators, Counselors and Therapists (AASECT) Additional professional affiliations include American Psychological Association (APA), Arizona Psychological Association (AzPA), and Southern Arizona Psychological Association (SAPA).
Renee Burwell, LCSW, MPA, CST/S, CSE-SIT
Renée Burwell, LCSW, MPA, CST/S is a skilled psychotherapist and educator with specializations in sex therapy and trauma. She is an AASECT Certified Sex Therapist and Supervisor, Certified Sex Educator, and Supervisor in Training for Sex Educators. Her practice, Pandora’s Awakening, offers services and educational outreach that help de-stigmatize mental and sexual health services. She is a skilled facilitator offering trainings and workshops to healthcare and social services professionals on mental health, sexual health, and reproductive justice.
Dr. Nicole Crawford
Dr. Nicole O. Crawford is the owner and lead therapist of Keep Moving Forward Consulting. As a licensed clinical therapist, guided by a preparedness mindset with a strengths-based and solution-focused approach, she walks with her clients on their therapeutic journeys to reach their defined wellness goals. Dr. Crawford uses her over 10 years of behavioral health experience to advocate against ageist beliefs and address the aging population's needs in her communities through educational presentations, individual consultations, and research.
Nicole Daley, MPH
Nicole Daley is the former Program Director of the Start Strong: Building Healthy Teen Relationships Initiative at the Boston Public Health Commission. She holds a BA from Wesleyan University and a Master in Public Health from Boston University School of Public Health. Her expertise is in the field of teen dating violence prevention and healthy relationship promotion. Her work has been featured in the Boston Globe and The New York Times and she firmly believes that if we let teens rule the world our lives would be so much better.
Travis Damico, PLLC
Travis is a graduate from the University of Washington as an Adult Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner. He has been in private practice in the Seattle area since 2011. Prior to this, he worked as the Nurse Manager of Behavioral Health Services which includes an inpatient psychiatric unit and the electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) department and as Nurse Manager of the Addiction Recovery Services unit both at Swedish Medical Center.
He has also worked at Group Health Behavioral Services in the role of medication prescriber and in the diagnosis and treatment of clients presenting with various mental health disorders including Major Depression, Bipolar Disorder, PTSD, Panic Disorder, ADHD, Borderline Personality and Schizophrenia, among others.
In addition, he has worked in healthcare for over 25 years with experience as a staff RN in various medical/surgical and psychiatric settings that has allowed him the opportunity to work with a very diverse and clinically challenging patient population. In 2013, he became a Certified Sex therapist with AASECT (American Association for Sexuality Educators, Counselors, and Therapists). He treats cisgender, trans and non-binary individuals and couples facing various sexual dysfunctions with an emphasis on removing shame from sex, improving communication and implementing strategies to enhance sexuality.
He enjoys running, good food, travel and feels privileged to have the best job in the world where people confide their most personal stories that demonstrate the resilience of the human spirit.
Melanie Davis, PhD, CSC, CSE, CSE-S {she/her}
Thanks for stopping by! I look forward to helping you meet your goals for sexuality counseling and education, whether for your professional or for personal use.
My work in sexuality education began in 1984, when I became a Planned Parenthood patient educator. In 1999, I was trained to facilitate the Our Whole Lives Lifespan Sexuality Education program for young teens, and their parents’ questions led me to create workshops and write Sexuality Talking Points.
That response to my programs and parent manual led me to enter Widener University’s Graduate Program in Human Sexuality Education, from which I earned MEd and PhD degrees. My dissertation was titled, “Sexuality Education as Perceived by Physicians and Therapists: An Assessment of Attitudes about and Interest in Referring Patients to Sexuality Educators.”
My mission is to help people learn about and enjoy healthy sexuality.
Dr. Mesha Ellis, Ph.D
Mesha Ellis, Ph.D. is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist and Sex Therapist, certified by the American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors, and Therapists (AASECT) as both a Sex Therapist (CST) and a Sex Therapist Supervisor (CSTS). She is additionally a Certified Gottman Method Therapist. Dr. Ellis has held faculty appointments at Pepperdine’s Graduate School of Education and Psychology and Morehouse School of Medicine. She is licensed to practice as a psychologist in California, Georgia, Nevada, and Tennessee.
Dr. Ellis earned BA degrees from the University of California at Santa Barbara, an MA from Pepperdine University’s Graduate School of Education and Psychology, and completed her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology at The University of Alabama where she specialized in working with children, adolescents, and their families. She completed a predoctoral internship at the University of Chicago Hospitals and received formal forensic training as a postdoctoral fellow in juvenile forensic psychology and adolescent inpatient treatment at The University of Washington.
Dr. Ellis has been practicing for over 15 years and has co-authored several peer-reviewed publications. Her professional memberships include AASECT, the American Psychological Association, The California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists, The Los Angeles Bar Association, and the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts. In her private practice, she specializes in treating sex and relational challenges and provides individual, couple, and family treatment services. She also conducts psychoeducational and court related evaluations. Dr. Ellis additionally provides supervision for those pursing AASECT Sex Therapist certification.
Mia D. Fine, PhD, LMFT, CST/S, CSE
Dr. Mia Fine (they/she) is an intersectional and holistic sex, relationship, and trauma therapist who approaches sexual concerns from a person-centered, anti-oppressive, and non-judgmental way. They are a co-founder of The PNW Sex Therapy Collective, educator for multiple organizations, and offer clinical supervision. They are an AASECT Certified Sex Therapist, AASECT Certified Supervisor, WA state clinical supervisor, EMDR Certified Therapist, EMDR CIT, and Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. Mia is passionate about EMDR, Queer Theory, and Polyvagal Theory and their areas of focus for both clinical work and teaching include genito-pelvic pain concerns, sexual trauma, Queer identities and orientations, intimacy and eroticism, kink/BDSM, and Polyam/multiple relationships.
Rod Froseth, CHSE, BA
Rod Froseth has developed and directed community, career, and personal development programs in the US and Russia for over 30 years. He writes articles, books, and curriculum, trains groups, and coaches individuals in sexual growth and reproductive health.
Rod works with groups and individuals who find themselves in transitional places looking for their sexual uniqueness and a new direction. He teaches about those elusive places where sexuality intersects with expression, spirituality, health, identity, aging, community, play, and pleasure.
Rod always enjoys discovering a new approach and writes under the pseudonym Sean Christopher at his site OrgasmicGuy.com. Rod Froseth is an ISEE holistic certified sex educator with a BA from Metropolitan State University in Minnesota with a focus in Communications.
Brian Gibney, MA
Brian is a surrogate partner and a sex and intimacy coach. Trained by IPSA, he comes to the profession with diverse life experiences that include degrees in molecular biology and microbiology as well as work as an educator, professional artist, and circus performer. These experiences have exposed him to a wide variety of people and lifestyles and helped him appreciate the common threads that bind us all together.
As a surrogate partner and intimacy coach, Brian seeks to use his knowledge to help people overcome obstacles to physical and emotional intimacy. Applying techniques pioneered by Masters and Johnson, he uses a holistic approach to help others find balance in their intellectual, emotional, and physical selves. Brian guides clients through the resolution of a variety of presenting issues in a safe, non-judgmental environment. His practice is rooted in patience, authenticity, vulnerability, touch…and sometimes a little bit of humor.
Brian believes that advocacy, outreach, and professional education are essential parts of his work. In addition to his work with clients, Brian is a passionate advocate for surrogate partner therapy and an experienced presenter, frequently lecturing at private practices, workshops, and conferences. Brian is a member of IPSA, IMBT, and AASECT.
Catasha Gordon, CHSE
Catasha Gordon, hailing from Spencer, Oklahoma, is a certified Sexuality Educator and the
visionary behind Expression Over Repression. Dedicated to fostering sexual expression and
knowledge, she has empowered individuals since 2015 through her curriculum focused on
sexual confidence, education, and pleasure within Black communities.
Graduating with a Bachelor's in Communications from Langston University, Oklahoma's sole
HBCU, Catasha furthered her expertise at the Institute for Sexuality Education and
Enlightenment (ISEE), earning certification as a Holistic Sex Educator.
Known affectionately as "Coach Catasha," she shares her insights as a published author, offering invaluable sexual self-help manuals that teach sex education from a technical lens. In addition to her educational endeavors, Catasha serves as the BIPOC (Black, Indigenous,
and People of Color) Liaison and facilitates accreditation courses with ISEE. Correspondingly, she hosts monthly group meetings through ISEE to support BIPOC students and professionals in navigating their unique challenges as sexual professionals.
Dr. Joli Hamilton, PhD, CSE, CBI
Joli is an AASECT certified sex educator, coach, and professor. She is currently the Chair of the Professional Education Steering Committee for AASECT. She holds a doctoral degree in depth psychology from Pacifica Graduate Institute with a specialty in Jungian and Archetypal studies. Her research on jealousy as experienced in polyamorous individuals takes a closer look at how people in any type of relationship can change the way jealousy works (and doesn’t work!) for them. This study is now being repeated with monogamous participants. She also gave a TEDx talk on compersion featuring this research.
Joli is passionate about research and finding ways for everyone to access and understand the best our sciences have to offer. She first trained in sexuality issues as a childbirth/postpartum doula and lactation counselor, where she learned quickly that sexuality forms a central part of the human experience from birth onward.
Currently, Joli’s focus is on helping people design consensually non-monogamous or creative monogamous relationships that are custom-built for their specific situation.
Dr. Zelaika Hepworth-Clarke, MSW, LSW, LMSW
Dr. Clarke (or Dr. Zel) is a sexosopher, sexual epistemologist, cultural and clinical sexologist, sexecologist, African-centered social worker, and decolonizing autoethnographer. Dr. Clarke has studied internationally in Ghana, Kenya, Uganda, Trinidad, Jamaica, Netherlands, Barcelona, and Cuba. In 2014, Dr. Clarke conducted decolonizing research in Salvador da Bahia, Brazil, which focused on exploring Ọ̀ṣunality, an African-centered, sex-positive, post-colonial paradigm that affirms diversity in sensuality, sexual pleasure and eroticism.
Dr. Clarke is committed to undoing negative effects of colonialism while combating internalized oppressions; healing; the decolonization project; human empowerment; sexual-sensual liberation; intersectional mindfulness; expanding consciousness; self-knowledge; self-reflexivity; self-actualization; counter-oppressive discourses; critical thinking; empowerment; and increasing sexual epistemic justice and diversity. Dr. Clarke holds multiple certificates, include a certificate from the National Academy for African-Centered Social Work.
Dr. Clarke co-founded an anti-racist sexuality studies program at Goddard College in Vermont where they co-created the Decolonial Sexual Attitude Restructuring/ Reassessment (D-SAR). The D-SAR is a unique and innovative sexuality training program that assists participants understand the impact of settler-colonialism, imperialism, white supremacy, capitalism, and cisheterpatriarchy on their and other’s relationships to sex, gender, sexuality, and relationships. Dr. Clarke is the director of the Pluriversity which provides therapeutic, educational and consulting services. Dr. Clarke specializes in working with people of the African diaspora, kinky, non-monogamous, queer, gender expansive and erotically-marginalized communities and is committed to sexual justice, erotic sovereignty and decolonization.
EDUCATION
- Ph.D., Human Sexuality, Widener University
- MSW, Widener University
- MEd, Education in Human Sexuality
- BA, Sexuality, Culture and Oppression, Gallatin School of Individualized Studies, New York University
AREAS OF EXPERTISE
Human Sexuality, Sexuality Education, Ethnography, Gender and Sexuality, Social Work, Cultural Studies
Jasmine Johnson, MSW, MA, LCSW
"Jet Setting Jasmine" is a licensed clinical therapist, co-owner of the award-winning Royal Fetish Films, and founder of Blue Pearl Therapy. With over 20 years in the adult entertainment industry, she specializes in Intimacy Post Injury and Intimacy Post Illness. A Master Fetish Trainer and advocate for marginalized communities, Jasmine is a trailblazer in decolonizing sex and pleasure.
Dr. Roger Kuhn, PhD, LMFT
Dr. Roger Kuhn is a Poarch Creek Two-Spirit Indigiqueer soma-cultural sex therapist and sexuality educator. Roger’s work explores the concepts of decolonizing and unsettling sexuality and focuses on the way culture impacts and informs our bodily experiences. In addition to his work as a licensed psychotherapist, Roger is a faculty lecturer of American Indian Studies at San Francisco State University. He is a board member of the American Indian Cultural Center of San Francisco, a community organizer of the Bay Area American Indian Two-Spirit powwow, and a member of the LBBTQ+ Advisory Committee of the San Francisco Human Rights Commission. www.rogerjkuhn.com
Paula Leech, LMFT, CST, CSTS / Supervisor
I received my Bachelor’s Degree in Family and Human Development at Arizona State University and then went on to receive my Master’s Degree in Marriage and Family Therapy at the University of Massachusetts. Post family therapy licensure, I became AASECT certified as a Sex Therapist and worked with individuals, relationships, and families in private practice in Quincy, Massachusetts for over ten years.
In that time, I received AASECT certification as a Supervisor of Sex Therapy, and co-founded a sex therapy agency and training institute where we saw clients in addition to training therapists to become competent, confident sex therapists themselves. I continue to regularly present at various training institutes as well as Universities and therapy agencies across the US.
My areas of specialization include treatment of common sexual dysfunctions utilizing Sensate Focus (aka, ED, RE, DE, Vaginismus, Sexual Pain, Anorgasmia, etc), sexual trauma, relationships, non-monogamy, kink, problematic or compulsive sexual behavior, and working with LGBTQ+ clients.
David Ley, Ph.D.
David Ley, Ph.D., is a clinical psychologist in practice in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He earned his Bachelor’s degree in Philosophy from Ole Miss, and his Master’s and Doctoral degrees in clinical psychology from the University of New Mexico. Dr. Ley is licensed in New Mexico and North Carolina, and has provided clinical and consultative services in numerous other states. He is the Executive Director of New Mexico Solutions, a large outpatient mental health and substance abuse program in Albuquerque, NM.
Dr. Ley has been treating sexuality issues throughout his career. He first began treating perpetrators and victims of sexual abuse, but expanded his approach to include the fostering and promotion of healthy sexuality, and awareness of the wide range of normative sexual behaviors. Insatiable Wives is his first book and won a Silver Medal in the Foreword Magazine Book of the Year contest for 2009. Dr. Ley wrote Insatiable Wives following two years of interviews with couples around the country.
His controversial second book, The Myth of Sex Addiction was released in March 2012, challenging the concept of sexual addiction and exploring a different model of male sexuality. The Myth of Sex Addiction triggered a firestorm of debate, allowing people to finally challenge the media hype of this pseudo-disorder. His new book Ethical Porn for Dicks, A Man’s Guide to Responsible Viewing Pleasure is due out in Summer/Fall 2016. Dr. Ley may be contacted via email through the Psychology Today website.
Samantha Manewitz, MSW
Samantha Manewitz, is currently a PhD candidate at University of Toronto's Factor-Inwentash School of Social Work, with a graduate specialization in Sexual Diversity Studies. She's been teaching for ISEE faculty since 2016. At ISEE, Samantha has presented on a broad range of topics related to sex therapy and sexual diversity. She is an educator and AASECT Certified Sex Therapist, who is still towards certification as a sex therapy supervisor. As a clinician, Samantha provides client centered and gender/sexuality affirming therapy to individuals, couples, and non-monogamous configurations.
Samantha has experience working with trauma (including complex PTSD), LGBTQ issues (especially non-binary and other trans clients), consensual non-monogamy, and BDSM.
Safety Beyond Safewords
[email protected]
www.beyondsafewords.com
Emily Nagoski, Ph.D.
Emily Nagoski is the author of the bestselling book, "Come As You Are.: The Surprising New Science That Will Transform Your Sex Life." She began her career as a sex educator in 1995 when she became a peer health educator at the University of Delaware. She was trained to teach her fellow undergraduates about stress, nutrition, physical activity, and, above all, sex. Soon she added sexual violence prevention and response to that work, and suddenly she was a sex educator. The plan was to use her degree in Psychology (with minors in cognitive science and philosophy) to become a clinical neuropsychologist, working with people with traumatic brain injury and stroke. But even though she loved brain science, her work in sex education and violence prevention made her like who she was a person, in a way the academic stuff couldn’t. So that’s the path she chose.
She went to Indiana University for a M.S. in Counseling Psychology, completing clinical internships at the Kinsey Institute Sexual Health Clinic and the IU GLBT Student Support Services Office. She continued on to earn a Ph.D. in Health Behavior with a concentration in human sexuality. She taught graduate and undergraduate classes in human sexuality, relationships and communication, stress management, and sex education. Her time at IU was characterized by stumbling with unwarranted luck into opportunities to work with some of the greatest minds in the world of sex science, and she will spend the rest of her career trying to earn those opportunities.
For eight years, she worked as a lecturer and Director of Wellness Education at Smith College, before transitioning to full-time writing and speaking. She now travels all over, training professionals, teaching college students and other lay people, and learning more every day about the science and art of sexual wellbeing. She is a trained Gottman Seven Principles educator, with extensive specialized training in bystander intervention, motivational interviewing, and cultural inclusivity, including race, gender, and class.
Emily’s mission in life is to teach women to live with confidence and joy inside their bodies.
Her second book, Burnout: the secret to unlocking the stress cycle, is co-authored with her twin sister Amelia. It’s for women who feel overwhelmed and exhausted by all they have to do, yet worrying that they’re not doing “enough.”
Joleen M. Nevers, MAEd, CSE, CSES
Joleen (she/her) is passionate about comprehensive sexuality education inclusive of all identities, ethics & boundaries, peer education with a sexual health focus, and justice, equity & inclusion through a lens of de-centering & interrupting white, cisgender, ableist, & heteronormative culture. She is excited to facilitate educational spaces where she can learn with and from the students, while also fostering their learning and growth. At ISEE she has taught several classes including Anatomy & Physiology, STIs, Sexability, and has co-facilitated SARs and white accountability spaces for faculty and staff of ISEE.
She has several published articles focusing on sexuality including “Ethical decision-making for sexuality educators: a new model” ( Nevers, et al., 2022). Her articles can be found through this link: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Joleen-Nevers.
Isaac Paulman
Isaac is a passionate teacher, dedicated to exploring and facilitating deep human connections at the powerful intersection of sexuality, spirituality, and nature. With a unique background in Wildlife Biology, Tantric Yoga, and Sacred Sexuality his work is a calling to intertwine the raw beauty of the natural world with the intricate tapestry of human emotions and relationships.
Through rich experience as a teacher, guide, and coach, he brings a palette of methodologies to his work, creating safe, nurturing, and transformative spaces for individuals and groups alike. His coaching is deeply inspired by the principles of classical Tantric spirituality and the profound wisdom of nature, aiming to guide clients towards recognition of their true selves and forming meaningful, authentic connections within the world.
At the heart of his approach lies the embrace of the union of sexuality and spirituality. When cultivated together, they have the capacity to heal, empower, and revitalize our lives. He created Laughing Tree Life, as an expression of his commitment to offering experiences that are not only transformative but also imbued with joy, laughter, and the unspoken magic that binds us all.
Isaac strives to be a beacon for those seeking to deepen their understanding of themselves and others, to navigate the complexities of human relationships with grace, and to find bliss in the exquisite art of being human.
Kellie Ryan, LMT, CHSE, CSE
Kellie Ryan, CSE is one of the longest-standing ISEE faculty members, and her visions for embodiment, sexuality and spirituality have helped to shape ISEE from its conception. Kellie is as much interested in her expertise in body awareness, somatic exploration, and deep listening as she is her irreverence for the human experience. She loves to play, and encourages others to play with her. Kellie has been a practicing massage therapist for 17 years, is a certified sexuality educator through ISEE, an AASECT Certified Sex Educator, and has had the honor and privilege to be on this team of visionary’s from the founding years.
Kellie has offered many of ISEE’s Body Enrichment classes, where students get to dive into the material of self exploration through dance, movement, music, and playful intimacy exercises.
Just some of her major contributions to ISEE have been as a co-facilitator for SAR, teaching the Joy of Intimacy and Embodied Homework for Couples. Her professional work outside of ISEE looks like hands on healing work and finding ways to use somatic and embodied intelligence practices to help clients virtually. Through guided mediations, playful movement research, and the use of the imagination, Kellie brings her clients a unique way of remembering their body’s wisdom.
Her leadership inside and outside of ISEE focuses on permission, pleasure, humor, improv, trusting the process of the people, and creating a container that allows people to be curious, open and introspective.
Let the body lead you to your own knowing.
Emily Rothman, ScD
Emily F. Rothman, ScD, is a Professor and Chair of Occupational Therapy at Boston University, and Professor at the Boston University School of Public Health with a secondary appointment at the Boston University School of Medicine in Pediatrics. She is also a visiting scientist at the Harvard Injury Control Research Center. Dr. Rothman’s primary areas of research expertise are adolescent dating abuse, sexual and intimate partner violence prevention, and human trafficking. Dr. Rothman has appeared on the Today Show, NPR, CNN, Teen Vogue and other media outlets. She has authored one book Pornography and public Health, has over 130 peer-reviewed research articles, and numerous book chapters.
Diana Sadat, MCP, RCC, CST
Diana is a Registered Clinical Counselor, an AASECT Certified Sex Therapist, and the founder and Clinical Director of Allura Sex Therapy Centre, a leading counseling practice that exclusively focuses on sex, sexuality, and relationships in Vancouver, Canada. Her passion for this work spans across a variety of issues including lack of desire, painful sex, and sexual trauma, as well as less common issues related to paraphilias.
Her mission is to help people find pleasure in their lives, develop an authentic and connected relationship to their sexuality and relationships, and throw out the messaging and beliefs that society has given them that holds them back. She loves supporting other therapists in developing their skills in this work and loves that she gets to spend her day helping as many people as possible become more comfortable and confident approaching the topic of sex and sexuality, both personally and clinically.
Kaitlyn Scalisi, MPH
Kait Scalisi, MPH, is an advocate for the revolutionary power of pleasure inside the bedroom and out. Through her platform Passion By Kait (www.passionbykait.com), she harnesses her science education, social justice insight, and radical empathy to empower people to get more in tune with their bodies, discover what brings them pleasure, and integrate it into their lives and relationships in ways that are both practical and powerful.
A certified sex educator with a background in neuroscience and public health, Kait works with private clients, media, and other public platforms to help people understand and access their sexual pleasure in ways that are free of shame, inadequacy, and expectation. Her experiences living and loving as a person with chronic illness add an extra dimension to her perspective on what it really takes to make pleasure a priority—no matter what lives throws your way.
Kait’s wisdom has been featured in top media outlets including Cosmopolitan, Teen Vogue, Redbook,Women’s Health, Shape, Elle, Livestrong, Health, and more, and she is the weekly sex and intimacy columnist for Blood & Milk. She’s also a sought-after public speaker, having brought her unique blend of science and woo to esteemed institutions including Stanford University, Yale School of Public Health, and Johns Hopkins Medical Institute, among others.
Kait has a BS in Neuroscience from Stonehill College and a Master’s of Public Health from Johns Hopkins University. She currently lives in NYC with her partner of over a decade and their rescue pup.
Dr. Sheila Silver MA, DHS (she/her)
Sheila is a clinical sexologist, sex educator, and group facilitator in private practice in Portland, Oregon on traditional lands of the Multnomah, Kathlamet, Clackamas and Cowlitz tribes. She has a Master’s degree in Marriage, Family & Child Therapy and a Doctorate in Human Sexuality. She has 30 years experience helping individuals and couples around sexual issues, and offers women’s groups and workshops to facilitate personal growth and healing.
Her specific areas of expertise are sexual trauma, orgasm difficulties, pain with intercourse, and alternative relationship styles. She is also an expert on the topic of maintaining intimacy when managing chronic illness, specifically Parkinson’s Disease. She has traveled the globe speaking to patients, care partners, and the medical community serving this population. She is one of the co-creators of ParkinSex, an award winning kit that includes an educational guide designed to help strengthen relationships between partners navigating PD.
She volunteers her time with the Human Awareness Institute and helps staff their workshops based on the values of respect, acceptance, reverence, choice, consent, and love. www.drsheilasilver.com
Liam Snowdon, MPH, DHS
Dr. liam ‘captain’ snowdon lives uninvited on the territory of the Lekwungen and WSÁNEĆ peoples on Vancouver Island, in what is now known as Canada. Their background is in street outreach, harm reduction, social justice, sexualized and gender-based violence, counseling, somatic sex education and poetry with youth and adults. They have a doctorate in Human Sexuality. Their workbook, "Queer Dying," has become a tremendous resource as an aid for LGBTQ folks at the end of a life.
Dr. Snowdon created the wildly successful Institute for the Study of Somatic Sex Education and they have been teaching, writing, and doing Sexological Bodywork since 2008. They are currently studying death and end of life care with deep wonder about our queerness and eros and making home for them in our end of life care.
Their own journeys with learning disabilities, gender, queerness, causing and experiencing harm, privilege and oppression continue to deeply inform their ever-changing practice. Captain is passionate about social justice, embodiment, joyful accountability, community care, elemental magic, co-facilitating groups and the The Sea.
For more information see Captain Snowdon
Elle Stanger, CSE, CHSE
Elle Stanger is an AASECT Certified Sex Educator, ISEE Certified Holistic Sex Educator, and Co-President of the Oregon Sex Workers Committee. Elle is a writer and has worked in adult entertainment since 2009. They created the popular “They Talk Sex” podcast, and has worked as a therapy-group facilitator for sex workers and survivors of sexual exploitation. Elle is queer, loves poodles and parenting while living in Portland Oregon. Visit ElleStanger.com to see their writing and other works.
Sharaine Webster, LISW, IADC
Sharaine Webster, LISW, IADC, is a clinical social worker and Certified Alcohol and Drug Counselor practicing in Iowa. She earned her bachelor’s degree in social work with an emphasis in education and sexuality studies from the University of Iowa, and her master’s degree in clinical social work from the University of New England. When not practicing in her mental health practice, she serves as a Clinical Assistant Professor at the University of Iowa. Throughout her career, Sharaine has been dedicated to educating others about sexuality and sexual health. She credits the COVID-19 pandemic and her interest in the debate surrounding sexual addiction as major influences for deepening her passion through the ISEE Institute.
Sharaine is passionate about education and continues to provide and organize trainings for mental health professionals across the Midwest on topics related to human sexuality and wellness. She currently serves as the Iowa representative for AASECT (American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors, and Therapists) and is the 2nd Vice President for the Iowa Chapter of NASW (National Association of Social Workers). Her areas of specialization include healthy relationship dynamics, sexual trauma, non-monogamy, compulsive sexual behavior, kink, and sexual dysfunctions.
Supervisors
ISEE has many AASECT Certified
supervisors, allowing
you more choice in supervision.
