Plenary Sessions

All Audiences

AASECT – 1.5

NASW – 1.5

Join Representative Zooey Zephyr for a conversation about building relationships and making change in an era where fear-based politics seek to make bogeymen out of LGBTQ people and other marginalized communities. This talk will discuss Representative Zephyr’s path to politics, strategies for identifying areas where change can be affected, and advice for how to center kindness while holding those who seek to do harm accountable for their actions. The talk will include political theory as well as specific strategies to achieve these goals.

Representative Zooey Zephyr represents Montana’s 100th House District in the Montana House of Representatives and is the first trans woman to hold public office in the state of Montana. Throughout her time in office, Representative Zephyr has been a fierce advocate for affordable housing, healthcare, and human rights throughout Montana.

Prior to the legislature, Representative Zephyr worked at the University of Montana, where she oversaw the administration of the university’s curriculum approval process. She also worked as an activist, helping people file discrimination claims, drafting human rights policies for the city of Missoula, and working as a de-escalator at protests to ensure protester safety.

When the Legislature is not in session, Representative Zephyr works with people across Montana, the nation, and the world to help them get involved in the fight for progressive policies.

All Audiences

AASECT – 1.5

NASW – 1.5

NBCC – 1.5

Black males are disproportionately victims of sexual violence, intimate partner violence/homicide (IPV/IPH), and suicide. Recent data from the CDC’s National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey (NISVS/2022) indicate that 58 percent of Black males report sexual violence, physical violence, and or stalking by an intimate partner. Black males overwhelmingly report being made to penetrate, sexual coercion, and unwarranted sexual contact where the primary perpetrators are female. Frameworks such as intersectionality fail to adequately capture Black male vulnerability. Most frameworks that attempt to explain the experiences of Black males are deficit and pathology-oriented frameworks that lack empirical evidence and are inherently racist. This presentation provides comprehensive information on Black male sexual victimization that fills a critical and urgent void in the mental health field. Therefore, professionals will be able to begin to adequately recognize and articulate the sexual victimization of Black males and provide responsive care and clinical interventions that inform treatment approaches.

Dr. Yamonte Cooper is a scholar, author, professor of counseling, adjunct professor of clinical psychology, Clinical Director of the West Coast Sex Therapy Center, Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor (LPCC), and Certified Sex Therapist Supervisor (CST-S). He specializes in working with couples, trauma, sexual dysfunctions, gender & sexual identity, depression & anxiety, borderline personality, grief, and other mental health problems. Dr. Cooper is the author of Black Men and Racial Trauma: Impacts, Disparities, and Interventions and co-editor of Black Couples Therapy: Clinical Theory and Practice. Further, as a Fulbright scholar, Dr. Cooper has exchanged best practices globally in career counseling and development.

All Audiences

AASECT – 1

NBCC – 1

This presentation explores the journey towards intersex liberation, encompassing the complexities of identity, advocacy, and sexual health. Pidgeon Pagonis, a prominent intersex activist, shares personal anecdotes and societal insights to shed light on the challenges faced by intersex individuals. By delving into historical contexts and contemporary narratives, attendees gain a deeper understanding of the intersections between intersex rights and sexual health. Through empowering discourse, Pidgeon invites participants to envision a future where intersex individuals are fully recognized, respected, and embraced within society.

Pidgeon Pagonis has worked for over a decade as an intersex advocate, speaker, consultant, photographer and filmmaker to shed light on the human rights violations endured by intersex people. Their goal is to help end the non-consensual irreversible medical procedures meant to discipline unruly intersex bodies. Pidgeon’s accessible advocacy helps people complicate their preconceived binary notions about “biological differences”. Their work has been essential for those who want to show up for intersex people in their lives, but aren’t sure where to start.

Whether advancing the intersex cause as the co-founder of the Intersex Justice Project (IJP), co-producing viral informational videos, creating art that centers intersex voices, appearing on the cover of National Geographic “Gender Revolution” special issue or being honored as a LGBT Champion of Change in by the Obama White House, Pidgeon has staked out a place at the fore of debates on intersexuality. In 2020, IJP’s #EndIntersexSurgery campaign succeeded in getting Lurie Children’s to become the first hospital in the nation to apologize and halt surgeries.

All Audiences

AASECT – 1.5

Join the co-hosts of the AASECT award-winning podcast, www.ourbetterhalf.net, for a live recording of an episode exploring the richness and complexity of sexuality in the latter half of life. Co-hosts Drs. Jane Fleishman, Jay Galarza-Patterson, and Rosara Torrisi will share insights from the past years of Our Better Half, interview a very special guest, debrief the interview, and then open up the mic to your questions about older adults’ sexuality and podcasting. This keynote session emphasizes celebrating the aging body and mind, promoting inclusivity of the multidimensionality of older adults’ sexual orientations and gender identities, and fostering intergenerational dialogues about sexual health. This fast-paced and exciting keynote aims to challenge societal narratives around aging and sexuality, advocate for the sexual rights of older adults, and provide valuable insights and resources to clinicians, educators, and counselors.

Dr. Jane Fleishman

As an older adult, Dr. Jane Fleishman loves talking about sex with just about anyone and, in particular, other older adults and the professionals who work with them. She is on a mission and provides training to promote the sexual well-being of older adults in continuing care communities.

Jane has conducted research on the sexuality of older adults in same-sex relationships and has written a book about LGBTQ elders’ who came of age at the time of Stonewall.

She loves teaching, writing, and answering questions about sex. That’s why she loves being a co-host of this podcast. In her mind, she thinks of herself as a bit of a local media mogul with a column, Sexuality and Aging in the Daily Hampshire Gazette and is a regular guest on WHMP, her local independent radio station.

In her 60s, Jane received a Master’s in Education and a Ph.D in Human Sexuality from Widener University. She’s been a lifelong activist and as she gets older she likes mentoring younger people taking leadership roles in social and political movements.

Dr. Jayleen Galarza

Dr. Jayleen Galarza Patterson (Dr. Jay; they/them) is a Latinx, scholar activist, licensed clinical social worker in Pennsylvania, and an Associate Professor within the Social Work & Gerontology department at Shippensburg University. They are also an AASECT certified sex therapist. They completed their PhD in Human Sexuality at Widener University with a focus on exploring the intersections of queer, Latina identities and experiences.

In addition to their academic and clinical work, Dr. Jay is involved in various national and local service initiatives focused on advocating for sexuality social justice and increasing inclusivity and equity, centering the experiences of marginalized racial, sexual, and gender diverse communities.

Dr. Jay’s research and practice is firmly rooted in their passion for sexuality social justice and areas of interest include: intersectionality, Latinx sexuality, sexual/gender identities and experiences, and use of narrative and feminist therapeutic approaches in addressing sexuality related concerns. They are also co-editor of Sexuality Social Justice, an open access educational resource: https://pressbooks.pub/sexualitysocialjustice/

Dr. Rosara Torrisi (she/her/Dr. T) 

Dr. Rosara Torrisi is the director of the Long Island Institute of Sex Therapy in New York. She is a licensed clinical social worker and AASECT Certified Sex Therapist and Supervisor. Dr. Torrisi graduated from Columbia University with a Master of Science in Social Work and earned a Master of Education in Human Sexuality from Widener University where she also earned her PhD in Human Sexuality. She is a tenure-track Assistant Professor at Widener University and the Director of Clinical Sexology in the Center for Human Sexuality Studies. Her research focuses on clinical recommendations, with a specific focus on accessibility and sex. Dr. Torrisi is an Our Whole Lives comprehensive sexuality educator for youth, young adults, adults, and older adults. She is recognized as a welcoming and kink-aware therapist by the National Coalition for Sexual Freedom (NCSF) and is also a recommended therapist by the Long Island LGBT Network.

All Audiences

AASECT – 1.5

NBCC – 1.5

Does Latinidad (the experience of a pan-Latino identity) exist? And if so, is there a common experience of sexuality? Latine(x/a/o) peoples come from 32 countries across the world and are a heterogenous mix of Indigenous, European, and African ancestries (González Burchard, et. al., 2005). Using a frame of “y” the Spanish word for “and,” the plenary will focus on duality as an integral experience of Latine(x/a/o)s living in the United States. As a collective of sexuality professionals we will explore concepts that seem in opposition, such as sexual indulgence and purity, through a mixture of data y música. We will also consider how professionals may be using whitewashing interventions in the treatment of sexual trauma through rationality, boundaries, and individualism without considering the importance of familismo, personalismo, dichos, aguantarse y desaguarse. Participants will also be asked to add more conexión y sazón to their work across populations.

My name is Juan Francisco Camarena Jr. I am the son of Juan Francisco Camarena, a Mexican immigrant, and Linda Rios Ramirez, who was born in the United States to Mexican parents. My people come from the Mexican states of Jalisco, Zacatecas, and Michoacan. I was born in Fresno California and resided there until I left for college to attend San Diego State University in 1996. I have been married to the same man since 2006 and we’ve raised a few dogs and spent two years raising a teenager.

I really care about working in partnership with graduate students, psychotherapy clients, and providing educational experiences for sexuality professionals. I work at San Diego State University as an Assistant Professor, I maintain an independent sex therapy practice, and I teach sexuality courses at the California Institute for Integral Studies.

I love education and graduated with a master’s degree in counseling from San Diego State in 2003, a master’s degree in human sexuality in 2013, and a doctorate in human sexuality in 2016.

I am proud of having been a therapist and supervisor in non-profit community mental health for over 12 years, of working as a part-time lecturer for 18 years, maintaining an independent psychotherapy practice for 15 years, and being a tenure track professor for two years.

I feel passionate about exploring Latinidad y sexualidad, researching how identity helps Queer Black and Brown men thrive, making psychotherapy better for gender diverse peoples, providing clinical support for Queer and Trans BIPOC relationships, and helping adults explore alternatives
to monogamy.