EDST COLLABORATORS & CLASS FACILITATORS
below ARE our confirmed facilitators. our faculty is growing fast!
CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE FACULTY AT EDST’S “SISTER” ORG, EVERYONE DESERVES SEX ED (EDSE).
Anne Hodder-Shipp
Anne Hodder-Shipp, CSE (they/she) is EDST’s founder, as well as a class facilitator. She also is the founder of EDST’s “sister” org, EDSE. Anne is an AASECT Award-winning, multi-certified sex and relationships educator and curriculum developer with professional training in breathwork and natural dreamwork. They boast a unique understanding of trauma-transformative healing, sexual identity development, body “literacy,” and the power of critical thinking and core values.
Anne has worked in the sexuality field since 2007 and uses a fun, friendly, and interactive facilitation style that celebrates curiosity, body-mind awareness, and humor as powerful learning tools. Utilizing a non-judgmental and no-b.s. approach, Anne happily helps students of all ages, experience levels, and lifestyles learn, grow, and build confidence in themselves.
Anne is also the author of Speaking from the Heart: 18 Languages for Modern Love and its accompanying workbook, The Speaking from the Heart Workbook: A Practical Guide to the Modern Love Languages, and a contributing author of Fundamental Concepts and Critical Developments in Sex Education: Intersectional and Trauma-Informed Approaches. Most recently, Anne was welcomed as a member of the board of directors for SIECUS - Sex Ed for Social Change, a historic sex ed policy, advocacy, and coalition-building non-profit.
Anne Mauro
Anne Mauro, LMFT, DHS, CSE, CST-S (she/her) is a Licensed Couples and Family therapist, American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors (AASECT) certified sex therapist, sexuality educator, sex therapy supervisor, and American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT) clinical supervisor. Her sex therapy private practice is nestled in the interwebs on the unceded territory of the Coast Salish peoples in Washington State.
She has served on the AASECT Ethics Advisory Committee (EAC) and Awards Committee (AC), serving as the AC chair for one term. Anne is in continued service to the sexuality community by serving as the AASECT Western Representative to the Nominating Committee and the Membership Steering Committee. She is also an active member of the AASECT BIPOC Special Interest Group.
Bianca Palmisano
Bianca Palmisano, MSN, RN, SANE-A (they/them) teaches Sexually Transmitted Infections & Care for EDSE and is a nurse, sex educator, and the owner of Intimate Health Consulting. They specialize in training healthcare providers to better address sexual health and the needs of systemically marginalized communities. Bianca works in the Washington, DC area as an abortion nurse, and is also a trained Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner. They also serve as a Genito-Urinary Teaching Associate (GUTA), teaching medical, physician assistant, and nurse practitioner students how to perform competent and trauma-informed breast and pelvic exams. They have been a guest lecturer for multiple medical education programs, including George Washington University, Johns Hopkins, and University of Chicago.
Brandon Hunter-Haydon
Brandon Hunter-Haydon, MSW, CSE, (he/him; they/them) is a sex and relationship professional based in the settler colonies of New England. He has over 10 years of experience in the field dedicated to helping individuals and partnerships navigate challenges, explore possibilities, and improve their relationships.
With a background in clinical social work, they bring an intersectional approach that considers people within their social, cultural, and economic context and acknowledges the systemic factors that impact their lives and relationships. They offer Intimacy Coaching, Professional Cuddling, and Surrogate Partner Therapy to help clients develop and enhance their emotional, physical, & erotic intimacy through building confidence, improving communication, and deepening their connections with others. As an expert in human sexuality and intimacy, they provide consultation for therapists, counselors, medical professionals, life coaches, and other wellness providers to foster humility, curiosity, and competency in these domains.
Cyndi Darnell
Cyndi Darnell, MSW, MHSc, MNT, G.Dip Couns., (she/her) is a leading sex therapist, relationship counselor, educator, and author based in New York City. Known for her compassionate, somatic-affirming and evidence-based approaches, she supports individuals, couples and multi-partner relationships in creating fulfilling, authentic connections.
Cyndi is the author of Sex, When You Don't Feel Like It: The Truth About Mismatched Libido and Rediscovering Desire (Bloomsbury 2022) . She offers online courses to professionals and lay people, as well as case consulting, clinical supervision and faculty roles with The Embody Lab and Pink Therapy UK. Her academic works are published in The Journal of Sexual and Relationship Therapy and The Journal of Sex Education. She's a contributor to academic texts Relationally Queer (Routledge 2023) and #MeToo & The Politics of Social Change (Palgrave MacMillan 2019). With a commitment to inclusivity, empowerment, and holistic well-being, Cyndi continues to shape the future of modern sexology and relationship counseling.
Dawn Serra
Dawn Serra, RCC, CCC (she/her) is an EDST collaborator, as well as a class facilitator. She is a registered clinical counsellor, facilitator, and graduate faculty whose work lives at the intersection of sex, relationships, trauma, and fat liberation. She is the co-founder and co-owner of Tend and Cultivate Counselling, the first group therapeutic practice in Canada dedicated to providing non-stigmatizing mental health care for people in larger bodies.
Dawn brings over a decade of clinical, teaching, and entrepreneurial experience to her work, with a particular focus on fat mental health, pleasure-inclusive sex education, body trust, and relational healing. She is known for translating complex ideas into accessible, compassionate, and often playful learning experiences that invite curiosity rather than shame.
As a white, cisgender, queer, superfat, disabled woman, Dawn understands that bodies do not exist outside of culture, power, and oppression. Her teaching offers therapists both a critical lens and a deeply human approach to working with fat clients — one that centers dignity, nervous system safety, and the radical belief that bodies are not problems to be solved.
Dawn’s work is an invitation: to think more bravely, practice more ethically, and remember that pleasure, connection, and liberation belong in the therapy room.
Dr. Dulcinea/Alex Pitagora
Dr. Dulcinea/Alex Pitagora, MSW, MEd, PhD (they/them) is a NY-based psychotherapist and sex therapist (also licensed in NJ, PA, and CO). They have a brick-and-mortar private practice in NYC that includes individual, couples/multi-partner relationship, and poly/leather family therapy, as well as supervision and mentorship. Dr. Pitagora is an out and proud member of the queer, trans, kink, and polyamory communities, and is equally proud to be a former sex worker, as well as an anti-racist/-oppression/-exploitation activist.
Dr. Pitagora holds a Master of Arts in Psychology from the New School for Social Research; a Master of Social Work from New York University; a Master of Education and a Doctorate in Clinical Sexology from Widener University; and is an AASECT Certified Sex Therapist, CST Supervisor, and CE provider along with their colleague Dr. Jillien Kahn at Manhattan Alternative Wellness Collective.
Dr. Pitagora teaches sexual health at New York University; has published articles and chapters in peer-reviewed journals and books; and presented at conferences on the topics of alternative sexuality and gender diversity. Dr. Pitagora is the founder of ManhattanAlternative.com, a nationwide alternative lifestyle affirmative provider listing; and was a co-founder and -organizer of the AltSex NYC Conference.
Dr. Grace Abruzzo
Dr. Grace Abruzzo, PT, DPT, CAPP-OB, CD(DONA), PYT-C, (they/them) is a licensed physical therapist and wellness coach specializing in pelvic health for women and people with vaginas. A certified specialist in obstetric and pelvic physical therapy, Dr. Grace uses an integrative approach to treating people in preparation and recovery from childbirth. Dr. Grace also spends time in birthing spaces, supporting mamas during labor and birth.
Dr. Grace utilizes an integrative approach to wellness, which includes interventions like education; manual therapeutic techniques, including visceral, myofascial, and internal pelvic mobilizations; yoga therapy; meditation practice; and general life coaching.
Ignacio G Hutía Xeiti Rivera
Ignacio G. Hutía Xeiti Rivera, M.A. (they/them/elle) is a queer, trans, gender-fluid, Black-Boricua, and Taíno educator, writer, and cultural sociologist with over 30 years of experience in sexual liberation and community healing.
As co-founder of Heal Sweet Home, they center the prevention, healing, and eradication of childhood sexual abuse as key to ending sexual harm in all its forms. Their work blends intersectional analysis, trauma-informed care, and abolitionist praxis to create transformative spaces where embodiment, connection, and collective joy thrive.
Ignacio invites you to explore more about their work at igrivera.com and healsweethome.org
Dr. Jared Boot-Haury
Dr. Jared Boot-Haury, PsyD, ABPP (they/them) is a queer licensed and board-certified clinical psychologist, AASECT Certified Sex Therapist, and Certified Sex Therapist Supervisor based in San Francisco. They are kink- and poly-affirming, and their clinical areas of interest include identity exploration, psychosexual concerns, relationship dynamics, ADHD, and autism spectrum disorder.
In addition to supervising other clinicians and performing psychological assessments, Dr. Boot-Haury is a certified member and mentor of the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH). Their research has been published in several scientific journals, and they have presented widely on LGBTQ+-affirmative psychological practice at national and international conferences.
N. Jasmine Johnson
N. Jasmine Johnson, MSW, MA, ICSW, LCSW, (she/her) is a licensed clinical social worker in four states, gerontologist, educator, and clinical director whose work sits at the intersection of sexuality, mental health, aging, and culturally grounded care. She is the Founder and Clinical Director of Blue Pearl Therapy, where she provides virtual psychotherapy specializing in kink literacy, trauma‑informed practice, and pleasure‑centered approaches for diverse adult populations.
With nearly two decades of experience, Jasmine has developed nationally recognized programs—including the Caregiving and Intimacy Program for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs—and serves as on‑set mental health support for performers and production teams across adult and mainstream media. She is also the co‑founder of Royal Fetish Films, an award‑winning ethical adult film company centering consent, representation, and decolonized narratives.
Jasmine is a frequent presenter for AASECT, SisterSong, the Sexual Health Alliance, and other national organizations, teaching on topics such as ethical pornography, porn literacy, aging and sexuality, and the politics of pleasure. Her work has been featured in Variety, Psychology Today, Cosmopolitan, Essence, Refinery29, Rolling Stone, and more.
Her publications include peer‑reviewed research on Black women’s experiences with kink and BDSM, a book chapter on porn literacy in sex education, and a decade‑long manuscript examining BDSM trends among BIPOC communities. She is committed to expanding access to kink‑informed, culturally responsive clinical education nationwide.
Jodi Williams
Jodi Williams, MA, LPC, CST, CST-S (she/her) is a Licensed Professional Counselor in the state of CT, an AASECT Certified Sex Therapist and Supervisor, a Certified EMDR Therapist, and a Registered Drama Therapist. She owns a private practice in New Haven, CT. Jodi is a proud Mama of two magical kiddos.
Jodi works with clients who are experiencing the impacts of trauma, anxiety, and issues around sex, sexuality, and identity. She does this work because she is passionate about offering her clients a safe space to explore, heal, and move from survive to thrive. Jodi brings creativity, body-based awareness, humor, and warmth into her therapy work.
Jodi’s practice is sex-positive, she is kink and poly/CNM friendly and affirming, and offers LGBTQIA* affirming care.
Joli Hamilton
Joli Hamilton, PhD, (she/her) is a depth psychologist, relationship coach, AASECT certified sex educator, and leading voice in consensual non-monogamy. She is the founder of the Year of Opening®, a yearlong experiential program supporting people through relational transitions with integrity and care. Joli’s work blends Jungian psychology with practical relational skills to help people navigate jealousy, desire, and change without self-abandonment. She is the co-host of the only depth psychological non-monogamy podcast, Playing with Fire.
Kate Van Wagner
Kate Van Wagner, MSW, BSW, LICSW (she/they) is a licensed independent clinical social worker and proud alumna of UVM's Master of Social Work (MSW) program.
Kate's areas of expertise include generalist social work practice and interprofessional practice. Always centering transformative social work practice, big themes across her work include choice, agency, autonomy, and power (and the forces that surveil, expand, and constrict these); reproductive justice; identity and meaning; and grief and ambiguous loss.
In her previous social work practice settings, she worked with pregnant people and their support systems, parents involved with the state child welfare system, first/birth parents, adoptees, and interprofessional providers and teams. With her extensive experience providing full-spectrum pregnancy options counseling, she is a respected trainer and consultant for medical teams and service providers.
Kate previously worked as a union organizer, birth doula, small business owner, and summer art teacher. Actively involved with community service and advocacy work, she has served on the non-profit boards for the Vermont Chapter of the National Association of Social Work (NASW-VT) and Outright Vermont.
Kenneth Jaimes
Kenneth Jaimes, MS, LMFT (he/him/el) is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and the founder of Re-Story Therapy in south Seattle. Drawing from his experience growing up in a multigenerational Latinx family, Kenneth specializes in helping teens, families, couples and individuals navigate messy family systems and rewrite "stuck" or unhelpful narratives. His therapeutic approach is deeply intersectional, integrating Internal Family Systems (IFS), Narrative Therapy, mindfulness, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and other modalities to help clients build preferred and life-giving stories.
In addition to his private practice, Kenneth has spent several years supporting the Rainier Scholars, a community of BIPOC middle school and high school students intending to be first generation college students, in multiple capacities. As a mental health clinician, he conducts holistic assessments, coordinates essential care resources, and delivers psychoeducation at the intersection of education and mental health.
Kenneth holds a Master of Science in Marriage and Family Therapy from Seattle Pacific University, where he was an AAMFT Minority Fellow. When he isn’t doing "shrinky things," he spends his time fostering cats, scouring fantasy baseball stats, and binging past seasons of Survivor.
Dr. Lucie Fielding
Dr. Lucie Fielding, PhD, LMHC, LPC (she/they) is a white, queer, trans misogyny-affected femme, and a therapist licensed in Virginia and Washington State. She received her MA in Counseling Psychology at Pacifica Graduate Institute (2018). They also hold a PhD in French from Northwestern University (2008), where she specialized in histories of sexualities and erotic literature. Their background in literature and history attunes them to the many ways that image, metaphor, and cultural scripts shape the narratives we carry with us as we move through the world as well as how these narratives inscribe themselves on our bodies and (in)form how we erotically embody.
In addition to their work as a therapist, Lucie is a sex and kink educator and a workshop facilitator. She is the author of the book Trans Sex: Nurturing Trans Erotic Embodiment and Gender-Pleasure (2nd Ed). The first edition of Trans Sex (2021) was shortlisted for a 2022 Lambda Literary Award in the Transgender-Nonfiction category and was awarded the 2022 AASECT Book Award (Book for Sexuality Professionals), the 2024 SSTAR Health Professionals Book Award, and the 2024 APA Division 44 Distinguished Book Award.
Nathaniel Hodder-Shipp
Nathaniel Hodder-Shipp, CADC-II, B. Msc. (he/him) has worked as a professional healer for almost 15 years. Using an array of techniques with a special focus on breathwork, Nathaniel has helped thousands of people process trauma, disarm negative thought patterns, and maintain healthy and happy relationships with themselves and loved ones. Nathaniel’s client base ranges from those seeking relief from everyday anxiety to people suffering from severe emotional and physical trauma and desperate for help, and his specialty includes working in addiction treatment facilities to help accelerate clients’ journey to recovery.
Nathaniel is the founder of Breathwork for Recovery, the first and only national organization comprised of certified mental health breathwork professionals with special training in healing trauma, recovery from substance use disorder, chemical dependency, eating disorders, compulsive behaviors, and other mental health issues.
Nathaniel also is EDST founder Anne Hodder-Shipp’s partner in life and marriage.
Nhakia Outland
Nhakia Outland, MSW, SIFI, CSE (she/her) is a queer, Black, woman and mother of three children. She is a social worker, AASECT-certified sexuality educator, sex therapist, speaker, certified social work field instructor, adjunct professor and consultant with more than 15 years' experience working primarily with people of color, Black, Latinx/a/e/o and LGBTQ+ communities in different capacities.
Nhakia has worked in diverse clinical, community, private sectors, non-profit and healthcare settings throughout her career. Currently, she is the executive director of Prevention Meets Fashion Inc (PMF), a grassroots non-profit that she founded in 2017 after being frustrated with the way many Black and Black LGBTQ people were being treated when accessing sexual and reproductive health services. PMF utilizes a fashion-based approach, creativity and innovation to educate about the unique sexual and reproductive health needs of queer and Black communities.
On the academic front, Nhakia received her Bachelor's degree from Chestnut Hill College in Human Service and Women Studies in Philadelphia, PA before earning her Master's in Social Work (MSW) degree in Community and Policy with a focus on Children, Youth and Families from Temple University in Philadelphia, PA, and a post-graduate certificate in Sex Therapy from Council For Relationships. She also has a host of other certificates and certifications and has been honored with numerous awards for her leadership and advocacy in Black, LGBTQ+ and disability communities.
In addition, she is a board and committee member for the Professional Association of Social Workers in HIV & AIDS (PASWHA); a coalition member for the PA Comprehensive Sex Education (PACSE); a member of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) and a member of the PDPH LGBTQ Community Advisory Group.
Paula Leech
Paula Leech, LMFT, CST, CSTS (she/her) is EDST’s lead collaborator, as well as a class facilitator. She is an AASECT-certified sex therapist who specializes in bringing relationships and individuals toward a greater sense of intimacy and a thriving, evolving connection (to self and other(s)) that can grow alongside them. She also works as a Supervisor of Sex Therapy and trains sex therapists to become more competent, confident providers, and she is inspired by the inevitable transformation of the therapists themselves as they witness and become part of fantastic growth and change in their clients.
Sam Kaplan
Sam Kaplan, RCC, RCC-ACS (they/them) is a Registered Clinical Counsellor and Approved Clinical Supervisor based in Canada. They are non-binary, neurodivergent, and of European and Arab Jewish background. Sam is Pro-Palestine and anti-genocide, and they strive towards anti-oppressive, social justice oriented practices, and also recognize that this is ongoing work of listening and learning and unlearning.
Sam often works alongside folks processing personal, collective, and systemic traumas. Specifically, they often work with current and former youth in care, neurodivergent folks, folks navigating chronic pain/disabilities, queer/trans folks, sex workers, poly folks and topics around identity exploration. Sam sees people as experts in their own lives and it is really important to them to work collaboratively alongside people and to co-create space for healing.
Sarah Tomchesson
Sarah Tomchesson, CSE (she/her) is a certified sex educator and intimacy coach with 18 years' experience. She supports clients to release shame and step into deeper self-love, acceptance, liberation, pleasure, and connection.
Sarah has also shaped some of the most influential pleasure brands in the world, a path that led to her current role as Director of Marketing for the iconic Magic Wand brand. She serves as Vice Chair of the Board of Directors for SIECUS: Sex Ed for Social Change.
Dra. Serina Payan Hazelwood
Dra. Serina Payan Hazelwood, PhD, MAIS, CSE (Dra/She/Ella) is a queer, detribalized-Indigenous Chicana scholar, holistic sexuality educator, AASECT Certified Sexuality Educator and CE Provider, and an AASECT Supervisor in Training. She earned her PhD in Sustainability Education at Prescott College. Her dissertation, Re-Animating Chingonisma: Creating Indigenous Elsewheres Through Liberatory Praxis, re-animates Chingonisma as a Body of Knowledge grounded in ceremony, memory, and ancestral resilience. Guided by the Mexica cosmology of the Nahui Ollin, the Nopal Phases, and the Table of Power, her research confronts the violence of the Ivory Tower that represents the systems of colonialism and enacts relational accountability, spirit restoration, and cultural sovereignty.
Dr. Shanéa Thomas
Dr. Shanéa Thomas, LICSW, CSE (he/she/Dr.) is a bold lecturer, seasoned scholar–practitioner, TEDx Speaker, AASECT’s 2024 Sexuality Educator of the Year, and has more than 20 years of professional clinical social work experience in the Washington, D.C. metro area. Dr. Thomas’ main commitment in the field is training and strategizing with social workers, educators, and service providers around building safer therapeutic, educational, and workplace spaces for all people. He has facilitated over 120 workshops centering needs around diversity, equity and inclusion, grief and loss, mental health, sex and gender, and LGBTQIA+ populations. Today, she partners with clinicians, educators, and healthcare leaders to build strategies and cultures rooted in empathy, accountability, and transformative growth through the lens of grief, legacy and equitable strategy.
Taylor Spaziani
Taylor Spaziani, LMFT, LPC, CSE (she/her) is a collaborator and Operations Coordinator at EDST. She is a Denver-based therapist that specializes in relationships and sexuality. She is also an AASECT-certified sexuality educator. Her work is rooted in the belief that pleasure is healing — that when we release sexual shame and reconnect with our authentic desires, we open the door to deeper joy, intimacy, development, and connection.
Her interest in the field was sparked through curiosity and compassion — a fascination with what happens when we stop performing and start truly feeling, and through wonders as to why something that is such a core part of our humanity, often gets silenced & shamed. Taylor has experience facilitating courses on human sexuality and creating and organizing course curriculum for sexuality certification courses, which is what led her to contributing to the mission at EDST!
Yema Rosado
Yema Rosado, MFT, (they/them) is a queer, trans, fat, mestiza Latine sex therapist and sex educator based in Philadelphia. They are trained in systemic Marriage and Family Therapy and their work is rooted in anti-oppressive, liberatory, and abolitionist frameworks. They support queer, trans, neurodivergent, disabled, kinky, non-monogamous folks and sex workers through narrative, somatic, parts work, and attachment-based approaches.
Their approach to therapy is deeply informed by her intersecting identities and a strong commitment to social justice, and they bring a unique perspective to clients’ struggles and goals, viewing them through an anti-oppressive lens. This means Yema always considers how structures such as racism, capitalism, fatphobia, queerphobia, and ableism impact their lived experiences.