AASECT Awards

This past weekend, the American Association of SexualityEducators, Counselors, and Therapists (AASECT) honored several members with awards. Here are the honorees.

Distinguished Service Award

Patti Britton, PhD, MPH, ACSE, ABS, ACS, FAACS, MSC

Dr. Patti is in the very top leadership and is a well respected pioneer in the field of sexology: Dr. Britton possesses a Ph.D. and Masters in Public Health, both in Human Sexuality. Dr. Patti is a Master Certified Sex Coach. She has stellar credentials including Past-President of AASECT; Clinical Fellow, American Academy of Clinical Sexologists; Diplomate, American Board of Sexology; AASECT Certified Sexuality Educator; Lifetime Member of the American College of Sexologists; Member of the Society for Scientific Study of Sexuality; Associate Professor of Sexology, for the Institute for the Advanced Study of Human Sexuality; and Adjunct Faculty at the Chicago School of Professional Psychology in Southern California. In her capacity as professor she has also chaired approximately 20 doctoral dissertations and serves as the expert reader for many more. She has a private practice in Los Angeles and leads couples’ workshops and seminars at sea. Dr. Patti is the Co-Founder of SexCoachU, the world’s premier credentialing and training institute on sex coaching.

Watch Dr. Patti receive the AASECT Distinguished Service Award here.

Russell J. Stambaugh, PhD, DST

Dr. Stambaugh earned his PhD in Clinical Psychology from the University of Michigan in 1988. He conducted 500 psychological evaluations in cases of child abuse and neglect.  These included projective and actuarial tests and clinical interviews.  In 1991 he began working on psychological issues in infertility treatment, and made AASECT as his professional community. 

He has since served AASECT in many ways, including Bylaws Committee Chair (2002-2009, 2012-present), Treasurer (2005-2009), service to the AASECT Advocacy Committee, and Chair of the AASECT AltSex Special Interests Group.  He is partially responsible for many AASECT innovations, including all Bylaws revisions since 2002, a rewrite of the entire AASECT Policies and Procedures, and he contributed to the AASECT Vision of Sexual Health (2004).

Dr. Stambaugh provides sex therapy and psychotherapy to individuals and couples, and creates community dedicated to promoting sexual health and freedom.  He is the author of the blog “The Elephant in the Hot Tub: Kink in Context”.

Watch Dr. Stambaugh receive the AASECT Distinguished Service Award here. 

Professional Standard of Excellence Award

Gina Ogden PhD, LMFT

Dr. Ogden has had a distinguished career as a sex therapist, family therapist, researcher, author, and clinical supervisor.  She conducts retreats and trainings internationally, lectures widely, leads teleseminars attended by professionals all over the world, and has appeared on the media from talk radio to Oprah.  In the late 1990s she conducted the only national survey to explore the feelings and meanings of sexual relationship: “Integrating Sexuality and Spirituality” (ISIS), whose results inform a training model for a growing ISIS  Network of practitioners. Dr. Ogden has written eight books on women’s sexual health and pleasure; the most recent are: The Return of Desire, Women Who Love Sex, and The Heart & Soul of Sex. Her 2013 book is Expanding the Practice of Sex Therapy: An Integrative Model for Exploring Desire and Intimacy, addressed to therapists and other health providers and widely praised by leaders in the field. 

Watch Dr. Ogden receive the Professional Standard of Excellence Award here.

Schiller Prize

“Mormon Sexuality: Conducting Sex Therapy within a Mormon Population”
Natasha Parker, MS, LCMFT

Natasha Helfer Parker is a Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist and Certified Sex Therapist who has been practicing for 15 years.  She received her bachelors degree from BYU in Psychology and her masters degree in Family Therapy from Friends University in Wichita, KS.  She began her career working in a drug addiction treatment center in Detroit, then contracted with the Chicago chapter of LDS Family Services while living in the Milwaukee area, and has been in private practice for the last 10 years.  She is a clinical member of both the American Association of Marriage & Family Therapists and the American Association of Sexual Educators, Counselors and Therapists.  She started her blog The Mormon Therapist in February of 2009 as a way to reach out to LDS members in “advice column” format and currently runs the Mormon Mental Health podcast series.  She has been married for 17 years and has 4 children.

Adam Fisher, M.A., NCC

Adam Fisher is a doctoral student and associate instructor at Indiana University, studying Counseling Psychology. He is working on his dissertation on predicting divorce among religious couples, after one or both partners experience a change in beliefs. He has completed a doctoral minor in human sexuality at the Kinsey Institute, where he also writes for Kinsey Confidential. Adam’s other professional interests include media psychology, and he is serving as the co-chair for the Media Watch Committee, of Division 46 of the American Psychological Association. The Media Watch Committee examines fictional portrayals of mental health professionals in film, theater, video games, and on television. Adam also has interests in sport psychology, evidence-based practices for couples and families, and relationship education. Adam is a registered parent educator, qualified to use the Circle of Security parenting training program in group settings. His website can be found at www.adamrfisher.com.

Student Paper Award

“An Enigma: Sexuality Education, Law, and Policy and Intellectual Disability”

Neera Malhotra, MS, MEd

Neera Malhotra is native of New Delhi, India; currently a full-time doctoral student at Portland State University, Portland, Oregon. Her doctoral work is in the area of sexuality and intellectual disabilities. As part of her assistantship, she works as a mentor for undergraduate students; at present she is mentoring for Gender and Sexuality class. She has also served as a full time faculty for Lady Irwin College, New Delhi, India and was a key member in facilitating pilot project in training special educators at the university. Neera has more than fifteen years of experience in the field of disabilities and has presented in both national and international conferences focusing on disability, disability as a culture and sexuality. She has also written for United Nations and at present working on a manuscript for the American Journal of Sexuality Education. 

Bill T. Jones Scholarship Award

Ayonna Johnson, LPC, NCC

Ayonna Johnson is a licensed therapist in the state of Georgia, and a nationally certified counselor. She has been working with trauma survivors for over a decade, and has been instrumental in assisting those who wish to improve the quality of their lives. She has an eclectic approach, integrating multiple therapeutic techniques based on the needs of the individuals that she serves. Ms. Johnson obtained a Master of Science degree in Community Counseling from Mercer University and completed the mediation program at the University of Washington Law School in Seattle, which led to certification as a mediator. She provides expert witness testimony for the prosecution and defense in family violence and stalking cases. A leader and educator in the community, she has appeared multiple times on CNN, Headline News' In Session, Reverend Al Sharpton’s Real Talk Radio Show, the Tom Joyner Morning Show, and the Frank and Wanda Morning Show on V-103 in Atlanta, Georgia. She has been a guest lecturer at Emory and Georgia State University and has facilitated judicial trainings and continuing legal education for attorneys in the state of Georgia.

Book Award

New Directions in Sex Therapy: Innovations and Alternatives, 2^nd Edition

Peggy J. Kleinplatz, PhD, CSE, DST, CSSP

Dr. Kleinplatz is Professor of Medicine and Clinical Professor of Psychology at the University of Ottawa. She is a clinical psychologist, Certified in Sex Therapy, Sex Education and as a Diplomate in and Supervisor of Sex Therapy. Since 1983, she has been teaching Human Sexuality at the School of Psychology, University of Ottawa, where she received the Prix d’Excellence in 2000. She is currently Chair of Ethics and former Chair of Certifications for the American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors and Therapists. She has edited three books, most recently, New Directions in Sex Therapy: Innovations and Alternatives (Routledge, 2012) a book intended to challenge, expand and diversify the field of sex therapy. This book is co-winner of the AASECT 2013 Book Award alongside Center for Family Life Education (CFLE) manual, Teaching Safer Sex. Kleinplatz' clinical work focuses on eroticism and transformation. Her current research focuses on optimal sexuality, with a particular interest in sexual health in the elderly, disabled and marginalized populations.

Teaching Safer Sex, Third Edition, Volumes 1 & 2

Bill Taverner, MA, CSE

Bill Taverner is the executive director of the nationally acclaimed Center for Family Life Education and is the editor-in-chief of the American Journal of Sexuality Education. He has co-authored many sex ed teaching resources, including Making Sense of Abstinence; Older, Wiser, Sexually Smarter; Positive Images; Sex Ed 101; and eight editions of Taking Sides: Clashing Views in Human Sexuality. Taverner served as editor-in-chief for the two-volume third edition of Teaching Safer Sex. A trainer of thousands throughout the United States, who has twice advocated for sexuality education at U.S. Congressional briefings, Taverner has received other national awards recognizing his leadership in sexuality education: AASECT’s first “Schiller Prize” for best workshop using interactive strategies; Planned Parenthood’s “Golden Apple Award” for leadership in education; a Sexual Intelligence award naming him named “one of the country’s pre-eminent sex educators, trainers, and sex education theorists,” and the “Golden Brick Award” for “encouraging the growth of sex ed professionals.”

Susan Milstein, PhD, CSE, MCHES

Dr. Milstein is a professor at Montgomery College in Maryland, and a lecturer at The George Washington University, where she works with college students in the areas of health and sexuality education. She also provides sexuality education for people of all ages through Milstein Health Consulting, of which she is the founder and lead consultant. Dr. Milstein’s work includes providing sexuality education for teenagers and older adults, as well as training for social workers and mental health professionals. In addition to her media appearances and national and international presentations, Susan has written chapters for Taking Sides: Clashing Views in Family and Personal Relationships and Taking Sides: Clashing Views in Human Sexuality. In 2007, she was named an “Emerging Professional” in the field of sexology by the Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality. Dr. Milstein is a Master Certified Health Education Specialist as well as a Certified Sexuality Educator. She earned a bachelor’s and master’s degree in Health Education and a doctorate in Human Sexuality Education.

Sue Montfort, MAT, CHES

Sue Montfort served as an educator and trainer with Planned Parenthood for more than thirty years, and is the associate editor of Teaching Safer Sex. She has co-authored several other important sexuality education resources, including Making Sense of Abstinence, Unequal Partners: Teaching About Power and Consent in Adult–Teen and Other Relationships and Healthy Foundations: Responding to Young Children’s Questions and Behaviors Regarding Sexuality, and served as principal trainer for national training campaigns. In New Jersey, she has provided a wide range of sexual education and training programs for a variety of audiences and was the recipient of the 2000 Association of Planned Parenthood Leaders in Education (APPLE) Mary Lee Tatum Award for the person most exemplifying the qualities of an ideal sexuality educator. A graduate of Grinnell College, Montfort received her Master of Arts in Teaching from Wesleyan University, supplementing those degrees with courses in New York University’s Human Sexuality Program.

Watch Susan and Bill receive the AASECT Book Award here.