Experience

Consultant
October 2009–Present

  • Create content and material for not-for-profit and business clients including Advocates for Youth, American Sexual Health Association, Aspen Institute, Church and Dwight (the manufacturer of Trojan condoms and First Response pregnancy tests), National Coalition of STD Directors, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, and SIECUS.

Freelance Writer
December 2009–Present

  • Cover sexuality and sexual health for an online sites including rewire.news, thebody.com, whattoexpect.com, bedsider.org, and others. Articles explain the latest research, comment on current events, analyze political and social trends, challenge myths, provide sexual health and parenting advice.

Montclair State University, Montclair, NJ
Fall 2014-Present

  • Adjunct Instructor for undergraduate course including the Sociology of Sexuality and Introduction to Human Sexuality.

Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States (SIECUS)
February 1998–October 2009

Vice President for Information and Communications;June 2006–October 2009
Director of Public Information;October 2003–June 2006
Associate Director of Information & Education;January 2002–October 2003
Education Coordinator; June 1999--January 2002
Education Associate, Community Advocacy Project; February 1998–June 1999

Publications

  • Oversaw the development, writing, editing, and distribution of all SIECUS publications, including booklets, articles, fact sheets, and other resource materials.

  • Edited all publications and website content to ensure quality, consistency with the organization’s message, and suitability for specific audiences such as policy makers, parents, educators, funders/donors, and young people.

  • Served as editor of the SIECUS Report, a quarterly journal dedicated to sexuality education, sexual health, and reproductive rights. Planned issues, solicited articles from outside authors, edited articles, and contributed column to each issue.

Communications/Message Development

  • Shaped organization message and communications strategy, ensured that all members of the staff presented a consistent message, and increased media exposure for SIECUS and its mission.

  • Worked with President and senior staff to prepare them for media interviews.

  • Responsible for the agency’s internet presence, including websites as well as Facebook, Twitter, blogs, and other new media venues. Worked with staff and designers to create three new websites for diverse audiences as well as to completely overhaul the organization’s main site.

  • Crafted mission statement, position statements, and strategic plan.

  • Represented agency at meetings, conferences, and other events.

Project Management

  • Oversaw Community Advocacy Project, including monitoring, analysis, and reporting of trends and controversies in sexuality education.

  • Reviewed fear-based, abstinence-only-until-marriage curricula as well as other sexuality education curricula, videos, and materials.

  • Provided technical assistance to education and health professionals, community leaders, and parents.

Press Relations

  • Served as primary spokesperson on sexual health and current events related to sexuality; provided comment for national and local television, radio, print, and internet media outlets.

  • Supervised communications staff in developing and maintaining relationships with reporters, television and radio producers, new media outlets, and colleague organizations.

Speaking/Training

  • Facilitated workshops, trainings, and speeches on a variety of topics related to sexuality.

Management/Supervision

  • Managed all aspects of department, including supervising staff, implementing projects, planning, and budgeting.

  • Served as a member of the senior management team collaborating on strategic planning, organizational management, annual plans and budgets, and overall programmatic direction.

  • Collaborated with development department to generate new project ideas, write grant proposals/reports, and interact with funders as necessary.

Selected Publications

  • 50 Myths of Human Sexuality, with Pepper Schwartz, Wiley-Blackwell, 2015.

  • Encyclopedia of Sexuality, chapters on Sexuality Education and Abstinence , Wiley-Blackwell, 2015.

  • Sex Education: Past, Present, and Future, Judy Kuriansky and Elizabeth Schroeder, editors (Santa Barbara, CA: Praeger Publishing, 2009).

  • 21st Century Sexualities: Contemporary Issues in Health, Education and Rights, Gil Herdt and Cymene Howe, editors (New York: Routledge, 2007).

  • Talk About Sex, with Monica Rodriguez, SIECUS, 2005.

  • 50 ways to Improve the Lives of Women (San Francisco: Inner Ocean Publishing, Inc. with the National Coalition of Women’s Organizations, 2005).

  • Community Action Kit, SIECUS, 2005.

  • Guidelines for Sexuality Education: K-12, Third Edition, with Monica Rodriguez, SIECUS, 2004.

Selected Media Appearances

  • The Brian Lerher Show, discussing NYC Condoms.

  • Huffington Post Live, discussing Affirmative Consent Laws, November 11, 2015

  • Fox News Radio (affiliates in Florida, Maine, Ohio, and Rhode Island), June 25, 2009.

  • Philadelphia Inquirer, “Researchers say coitus interruptus somewhat effective,” June 16, 2009.

  • The Today Show, September 9, 2008.

  • New York Times Magazine, “Students of Virginity,” Randall Paterson, March 30, 2008.

  • The Guardian, “U.S. Election: Advocates hope Bristol Palin’s pregnancy will open US sex education debate,” Elana Schor, September 2, 2008.

  • CNN Headline News, Primetime, August, 2007.

Education

New York University, New York, NY

Masters of Arts, Health Education: Human Sexuality, Marriage, and Family Life, 1998

University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA

Bachelors of Arts, Political Science, Magna Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa, 1994