I wasn't always like this...

I was raised Catholic and got sent out of the room during sex scenes when I watched movies with my dad as a kid.  When I was in high school my mom told me she thought I had "intimacy issues" because I made a grossed out face about the sexy anniversary card she'd received from my dad.  I remember writing my best friend a letter in my early 20s telling her about a recent sexual encounter where I couldn't talk during sex.  Like at all.  My partner would ask me a direct question about what I desired or what felt good and...nothing.  I couldn't get a word out.

I think that was the turning point.  I just started talking about sex.  All the time.  And I got curious, and I started reading.  And asking questions.  And taking classes.  And talking more.  And eventually...well, here we are.

I believe that sexual energy is our most direct access to life force energy and that, if you look closely enough, erotic energy runs through everything.  Our sexuality is essential to our humanity.  It's that simple, and in this modern moment, it's that complicated.  But that's why I do what I do. xo

““Agency” is the technical term for the feeling of being in charge of your life: knowing where you stand, knowing that you have a say in what happens to you, knowing that you have some ability to shape your circumstances…Agency starts with what scientists call interoception, our awareness of our subtle sensory, body-based feelings: the greater that awareness, the greater our potential to control our lives.”
— Bessel Van der Kolk, "The Body Keeps the Score"

education

  • Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC, B.A., English and Philosophy (1999)

  • San Francisco Sex Information, San Francisco, CA, Certified Sex Educator (2007)

  • Certified Bondassage Practitioner, Capitola, CA (2012)

  • Cleo DuBois Academy of SM Arts, San Francisco, CA, Erotic Dominance Intensive: The Pro Course (2012)

  • The Institute for the Advanced Study of Human Sexuality, San Francisco, CA, Certified Sexological Bodyworker (2013)

  • San Francisco School of Massage, San Francisco, CA, Swedish Massage Certificate (2013)

  • John F. Barnes Myofascial Release Seminars, various locations: Myofascial Release 1 (2014), Myofascial Unwinding (2014), Fascial Pelvis Myofascial Release (2014), Women's Health Seminar (2014)

  • Somatic Sex Educators Association, Victoria, BC, Canada, Certified Somatic Sex Educator (2016)

  • Betty Martin's Like A Pro Course, Berkeley, CA, Trained in the Wheel of Consent for Practitioners, (2016)

  • Tension and Trauma Releasing Exercises, Bay Area, CA, Certified TRE Instructor, (2017)

 

My professional Associations and other Projects

I maintain membership in two professional organizations.  I also serve as adjunct faculty at the Institute for the Study of Somatic Sexology and co-founded the Bay Area Sexuality and Disability Network.  Click on any of the images below to learn more about these organizations and projects!