Reframing our Stories: The Podcast

Episode 29: Navigating the Landscape of Sexuality: Nadine Thornhill

Nadine never expected to find herself in sex education, but once she did she couldn’t imagine doing anything else. She has been an educator now for 15 years helping youth, parents, and many others learn about the depth of sexuality while also helping them recognize their worth. She reaches people by being herself and being okay with the mess. 

Nadine Thornhill is a Certified Sex Educator from Toronto, Ontario. She strives to be sex-positive, queer-positive, anti-oppressive, and prochoice in her teaching ethic. She is often sought after by the media for her expertise which you can find in Today’s Parent, Huffington Post, and Oprah Magazine.  Nadine is the co-host for the web series Every Body Curious, which is absolutely amazing and a wonderful teaching tool. 

https://www.nadinethornhill.com
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https://everybodycurious.com

Episode 28: Women’s Health & Taking Back Our Power: Nisha McKenzie

It is no surprise to any person identifying as a woman or femme that there are disparities in the medical community around our health. This is why our guest Nisha McKenzie became a Physician’s Assistant and opened her own practice to help specifically with women’s health issues. In this episode, we discuss these disparities along with validating those who may have had experiences of not being seen or heard, menopause, STIs, and what it means to treat the whole person. 

Nisha is the owner and founder of the Women’s Health Collective in Grand Rapids, Michigan.  She is a Certified Physician’s Assistant, Menopause Practitioner, Sexuality Counselor, and an ISSWSH fellow. Her center is women owned and operated and focuses on the multiple areas women need health care from gynecological, breast examinations, STI testing, fertility care, and more.  Nisha also spends her time teaching at a number of collegiate institutions such as Grand Valley State University, Western Michigan University, and University of Michigan’s Sexuality Health Certificate Program. She was recognized as one of West Michigan’s most influential women.

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Episode 27: Sexuality Education with the Puberty Prof: Lori Reichel

So much of sexual health education around puberty and beyond revolves around healthy relationships and communication. Lori takes a deep dive into what that means in her classroom with students going through puberty and the young adults she teaches in college. 

Lori Reichel is the Puberty Prof. Lori loves to provide hands on education to children that is not lecture based to help them learn about their bodies and relationships. With over 30 years of experience as a sex educator she knows the tools that kids and families need to have important conversations. 

Lori has her own podcast called: The Puberty Prof, has developed an app for families to help with conversations called: The Talk Puberty app, and now with her experience teaching as a college professor she is developing The Talk B4 Sex app. 

Learn more about Lori on her website: https://www.lorireichel.com/

Episode 26: Negotiating in Sex and Listening to the Inner Child: Francesca Gentille

There is so much richness in this episode around relationships. Kara and Francesca start their conversation with BDSM and end with talking to your inner child and how our relationships mirror the unmet expectations and trauma of childhood. Francesca talks at great length about the way our brain plays a role and how we can learn how to care for ourselves to have an enriching sex life with ourselves and or partners. 

Francesca Gentille, Certified Clinical Sexologist and initiated shaman, inspires transformation through combining the science and soul of sexuality. For over 20 years, she´s compassionately empowered thousands of clients and students around the world to reclaim the spark, bridge sexual differences, heal from trauma, and deepen self love.

An expert in the field of integrating sexuality, consciousness, healing, Tantra, and the use of BDSM as therapeutic modality, she is professor at the International Institute of Clinical Sexology, where she is studying to receive her PHD. She has conducted workshops and presented at conferences in the United States, Netherlands, Italy, Malta, Israel, England, Ireland, Canada, Mexico, and Puerto Rico, and England.

Episode 25: Let’s Talk About Sex - No Shame: Dr. Lea Lis

With shared enthusiasm for talking about sex to parents and kids shame free, Kara and Dr. Lea Lis get right to it with the help from her book: No Shame: Real Talk With Your Kids About Sex, Self-confidence, and Healthy Relationships. In this episode we highlight the importance of being able to talk with our children about sex and to not fear it as often as we do. Dr. Lea helps to dispel myths and provides insight into what she learned from her clients.

She is uniquely positioned to help parents and children face many mental health challenges and live healthy lives. During her training and residency at St. Vincent’s Hospital in New York and New York University, and her private psychiatric practice (Mindful Kid), she has developed expertise in working with modern families of all types.  

Psychiatry and medicine has been Dr. Lis’ calling since age 15 when she started working at Hillside Psychiatric Hospital. She has a thriving clinical practice where she sees adults and children with all types of mental health issues in Southampton, New York. She has a well-received column on Psychology Today and Thrive Global, and has appeared as an expert on parenting in programming by ABC, CBS and NBC. She has been featured in numerous media outlets such as The Chicago Tribune, The Washington Post, and in niche publications like Good Housekeeping, Modern Beach Luxury and Psychiatric News. She has been interviewed as an expert on multiple podcasts.

Dr. Lea is double board certified as an Adult and Child Psychiatrist. She is an Assistant Clinical Professor at New York Medical College. She is active in the American Psychiatric Association, having served as a member of their National Ethics Committee and on the Board of Trustees. She has presented numerous symposia and workshops at the annual APA meetings and at the meetings of the Institute of Psychiatric Services. Her Academic publications have appeared in the Journal of Psychiatric Practice and the Journal of Academic Psychiatry.

Learn more about Dr. Lea on her website.

Episode 24: The Fullness of our Sexuality: Todd Malloy

Todd Malloy, a North Carolina Certified Sex Therapist and Educator, talks with Kara about the fullness that we can experience in our sexual lives when we allow intimacy to take the lead instead of our mindset based on performance. They also discuss how our childhood experiences shape the narratives we bring into the bedroom and how we can work to change them. We can learn how to take the hardships and turn them into the fuel to move forward and create a better world for ourselves and others. 

A bold and innovative thinker who delivers solutions for the big issues of life in an inspiring way, Todd is a rare individual. With over 30 years of experience and training as a marriage and family therapist, certified sex therapist, certified sexuality educator, lecturer, producer, and author, Todd tackles some of the most complex problems of our time.

Todd is Founder and Clinical Director Inner Peace Counseling Center, Co-author - A Time to Rise, Trailblazers Award Recipient - Pfeiffer University, Producer & Host Man Cave Conversations Weekly Radio Guest Speaker, V101.9 Love and Consequence, and the Janine Davis Show.  He has also served on staff with the Sexual Health Certificate Graduate Program at the University of Michigan. 

Learn more about Todd and his work at Inner Peace Counseling Center.

Episode 23: Dancing Through Grief: Kelsey Beebe

Kara and Kelsey share a love for dance. It is their preferred way of communicating. In this episode, you will hear the way dance and ministry were integral for Pastor Kelsey in the way she interacts with the divine and grief. She values connection and the way our bodies hold the stories in our lives that sometimes need reframing, celebrated, or released.

Episode 22: Intersex, Gender and God: Megan DeFranza

In this episode Kara and Megan discuss intersex and how learning about those with varying sex chromosomes opened their world up more to faith and understanding gender. Gender and our biology are fascinating and there is a lot to learn. Megan has done intensive studies into both the theology and science around the intersex population and advocates on their behalf in church and community spaces. 

Megan holds a PhD in religious studies. She is a theologian, author, speaker, and film-maker. She is best known for her book, Sex Difference in Christian Theology: Male, Female, and Intersex in the Image of God. To help educate churches and the wider community about people born with bodies that fall between the medical definitions of male and female, she directed the documentary Stories of Intersex and Faith in which four intersex Christians and a Conservative Jewish intersex person share their stories of being. She recently completed a video curriculum for churches: Fearfully and Wonderfully Made: Scripture and the New Science of Gender. Learn more about her at her website www.megandefranza.com.

Episode 21: Sexuality Education Our Whole Lives: Amy Johnson

Welcome to Season 2! Kara catches up with Amy Johnson to discuss their shared love of sexual health education as well as the need to talk about it openly and without shame in our church communities. Amy has twenty+ years of experience talking to church communities and her wisdom on this topic runs deep.

Amy Johnson, MSW, LICSW, CSE is a Commissioned Minister for Sexuality Education in the United Church of Christ (UCC), where she serves as Minister of Sexuality Education and Justice in the national setting. Amy is co-author of Our Whole Lives: Sexuality Education for Grades 4-6, 2nd Ed., and The Parent Guide for Our Whole Lives Grades K-1 and 4-6, 2nd Ed. Amy facilitates trainings and workshops for schools, agencies, and faith communities. Her passion for helping adults and youth think intentionally about their relationships is evident in her work as a trainer, educator, coach, and author. 

Learn more about Amy and her work at Diligent Joy.

Episode 20: Season Finale - Reflecting on the Past Year

In the last episode for Season One of Reframing our Stories: The Podcast, Kara and Jenny spend time reflecting over the last year about their business and personal lessons they have learned related to racism, intimacy, connectedness, and when to seek help.

You will also learn of projects they are working on and how they are continuing to create tools to help families, schools, and churches to use and make it easier to have the conversations we need around sexuality.

They want to hear from you on the stories you have been reframing this past year. Please reach out to them via their website at www.reframingourstories.com or their Facebook page.

Please stay tuned for Season 2 this September!