Faculty

Bio

Greta Bauer, PhD, MPH is a Professor and Director of the Institute for Sexual and Gender Health (ISGH). She holds the endowed academic chair in sexual health. Prior to 2022, Dr. Bauer was a Professor in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics in the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry at Western University in London, Canada, where she held a Sex and Gender Science Chair through the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR). As an epidemiologist, Dr. Bauer’s focus on sexual and gender health has been both substantive and methodological, with a focus on the impacts of social marginalization. She is an international leader in both community and clinical research on transgender and non-binary health, and in incorporating intersectionality into quantitative research methods. As an interdisciplinary epidemiologist, she has published in top academic journals across medicine (e.g., Annals of Emergency Medicine), public health (e.g, American Journal of Public Health), psychology (e.g., Psychology of Women Quarterly), social science (e.g., Social Science & Medicine), sexual health (e.g., Journal of Sex Research), and epidemiology (e.g., Epidemiology). Her research and professional expertise have been used in legislative or court processes in Canada with regard to blood donation policy for gay and bisexual men, the addition of gender identity and expression to federal and provincial human rights codes, and legal challenges in multiple provinces regarding restrictive criteria for trans people to change sex designations on identity documents. Pronouns: she/they

Bio

Dianne Berg, Ph.D., is an associate professor and licensed psychologist, with an emphasis in Child and Adolescent Gender Health at the Institute for Sexual and Gender Health (ISGH). She provides clinical services to adults, adolescents and children with sexuality and gender concerns. Her areas of interest are transgender issues – including gender creative children, and compulsive sexual behavior – including the unique needs of partners of people with compulsive sexual behavior. Dr. Berg and her colleague, Dr. Katie Spencer, are the authors of the Gender Affirmative Lifespan Approach (GALA™) of Psychotherapy and Education that is the theoretical framework for the clinical-research program of the Gender Health Services at ISGH. Dr. Berg is an invited speaker both nationally and internationally, including appearances on PBS and in Scientific American Mind magazine as well as presentations at the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) symposium and the national conference of the American Association for Sexuality Educators, Counselors, and Therapists (AASECT). She is a published author with more recent work being a chapter co-author for an APA book on Assessment for Children within a Gender Affirmative Model of Care. She is currently developing a group therapy curriculum for trans-identified youth and their parent/s and is exploring clinical innovations to enrich supportive therapy experiences for gender creative children. Dr. Berg is a member of the Child and Adolescent Committee of WPATH, as well as an AASECT certified sex therapist and AASECT certified supervisor. Dr. Berg works in conjunction with pediatric endocrinology, urology, genetics and MDH Newborn Screening to provide a multidisciplinary clinic for children/adolescents with Disorders of Sex Development (DSD). Dr. Berg received her PhD from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and was a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Institute for Sexual and Gender Health. Pronouns: she/her/hers.

Research Summary

Transgender issues, compulsive sexual behavior, sex offender treatment, children and adolescent gender diversity

Bio

Eli Coleman, PhD, is Professor Emeritus and former director of the Institute for Sexual and Gender Health. He held the first endowed academic chair in sexual health. Dr. Coleman is the author of numerous articles and books on compulsive sexual behavior, sexual offenders, sexual orientation, gender dysphoria, chemical dependency and family intimacy and on the psychological and pharmacological treatment of a variety of sexual dysfunctions and disorders. He is one of the founding editors of the International Journal of Transgenderism and is the founding and current editor of the International Journal of Sexual Health. He is one of the past-presidents of the Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality, the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH), the World Association for Sexual Health, the International Academy for Sex Research and the Society for Sex Therapy and Research. He is currently the Chair of the WPATH Standards of Care Revision Committee. He has been a frequent consultant to the World Health Organization (WHO), the Pan American Health Organization (the regional office of WHO), and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Pronouns: he/him/his

Bio

Jennifer Connor, PhD, LMFT, is a licensed marriage and family therapist and an associate professor at the Institute for Sexual and Gender Health (ISGH). Her research interests include women's sexual and reproductive health, such as vulvodynia and infertility. She has conducted research in sexual health in the Minnesota Somali community, including the impact of female genital cutting. Her clinical interests include vulvodynia, infertility, couples therapy, sexual dysfunction, and gender creative and transgender children and adolescents. Connor received her PhD from the University of Minnesota. Pronouns: she/her/hers

Bio

Jamie Feldman, MD, PhD, is faculty at the Institute for Sexual and Gender Health (ISGH) and provides evaluation and treatment of sexual dysfunction and transgender care at the Center for Sexual Health. She has chaired the World Professional Association for Transgender Health Transgender Medicine and Research Committee since 2001 and published on transgender hormone therapy and primary care. Feldman also trains medical students and residents in sexual health and maintains a primary care practice at the University of Minnesota Physicians Women's Health Specialists Clinic. Pronouns: she/her/hers

Clinical Summary

Specialties: HIV/AIDs, women's health, sexual health, sexual dysfunction, transgender healthcare, common mental illness

Bio

Abby Girard, PsyD, is an assistant professor and the coordinator of the Relationship and Sex Therapy Program at the Institute for Sexual and Gender Health (ISGH). She was the second Michael E. Metz postdoctoral fellow at ISGH, with research and clinical work centered on couples' sexual health. Her dissertation research focused on the role of infidelity typologies in predicting attachment anxiety and avoidance. Her clinical training has included psychotherapy experience in community counseling centers, outpatient sexual medicine clinics, and treating individuals and couples in private practice. Dr. Girard's areas of interest include sexual health and functioning, sexual desire discrepancy, compulsive sexual behavior, gender and sexual identity development, couples/relationship intimacy concerns, sexual trauma/abuse recovery, and social justice advocacy. Dr. Girard received her MA in Marital and Family Therapy from the University of San Diego, and her PsyD in Marital and Family Therapy from Alliant International University. Pronouns: she/her/hers

Bio

Kristen Mark, PhD, MPH, CSE, is a sex and relationship researcher and educator. She is the current Joycelyn Elders Endowed Chair for Sexual Health Education and Professor in Family Medicine and Community Health at the University of Minnesota Medical School's Institute for Sexual and Gender Health (ISGH). She is affiliate faculty at the Kinsey Institute with a national and international reputation as a sexual scientist and educator. Her research program centers around sexual well-being, specifically the maintenance of sexual and relationship satisfaction and sexual desire in long-term relationships, sexual function and dysfunction, sexual trauma, and sexual desire discrepancy. Dr. Mark is committed to community advocacy for inclusive comprehensive sexual health education that integrates messages of sexual pleasure and works to change sex education policy at state and national levels. Dr. Mark holds degrees in psychology, family science, biostatistics, and public health and her research and therapeutic approaches are as interdisciplinary as her training. She consistently publishes her scientific research in the top journals and has presented her work through hundreds of talks nationally and internationally. Additionally, Dr. Mark is regularly relied upon as an expert to digest sex and relationship science to print, radio, and television media. Pronouns: she/her/hers

Bio

Michael Miner, PhD, is Professor Emeritus at the Institute for Sexual and Gender Health (ISGH). His areas of research include treatment of sex offenders, etiology of sexual abuse, and compulsive sexual behavior. Miner's research has been funded by Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute of Mental Health, and the National Institute of Justice. Beyond his primary research, Miner serves as co-investigator on many federal grants due to his expertise in research design and statistics. He has published numerous articles and book chapters on sex offender treatment, forensic assessment, instrument development, and evaluation methodology. His clinical work includes sex offender treatment and relationship and sexual dysfunction. Miner is past vice president of the International Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers and is past president of the Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers. He received the Profession Service Award from the Minnesota Chapter of the Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers. Miner received his PhD from St. Louis University.

Bio

Jon Poquiz, PhD, LP (he/him) is a licensed psychologist and assistant professor at the Institute for Sexual and Gender Health (ISGH). Dr. Poquiz specializes in providing affirming assessment, therapy, and support for gender diverse youth and young adults. He brings extensive experience working with gender diverse youth in outpatient and medical settings, frequently collaborating with providers in healthcare and in the community to address social and structural factors impacting the overall health and well-being of this population. His research broadly focuses on working towards health equity for gender diverse youth and young adults, with particular focus on improving access to affirming healthcare and fostering community and resilience. Dr. Poquiz received his PhD in clinical child psychology from the University of Kansas, completing his doctoral residency in clinical child and pediatric psychology at Children's Mercy Kansas City. He completed a clinical and research postdoctoral fellowship in the Gender & Sex Development Program at Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago. He also received a graduate certificate in LGBT Health Policy and Practice from George Washington University. Pronouns: he/him/his

Bio

Ryan Rahm-Knigge, PhD, completed his doctoral training in Counseling Psychology at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, CO, where his research focused on health-risk sexual behavior and individual differences (such as emotion dysregulation, impulsivity, and sensation seeking), as well as HIV treatment adherence. Before joining the Institute for Sexual and Gender Health, Dr. Rahm-Knigge completed his psychology internship in Behavioral Medicine/Health Psychology at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University in Providence, RI. Dr. Rahm-Knigge also worked as a Licensed Professional counselor before starting his PhD. Dr. Rahm-Knigge’s research and clinical interests focus on the effects of individual differences on health-risk sexual behavior and compulsive sexual behavior.

Pronouns: He/him

Education

PhD, Colorado State University

Master of Science, Counseling Psychology, Colorado State University

Master of Science, Counseling and Human Resource Development, South Dakota State University

Bio

Nic Rider, Ph.D. (they/them) is an assistant professor, a licensed psychologist, and the Adult Gender Services Program Coordinator at the Institute for Sexual and Gender Health (ISGH). They are also the Director of the National Center for Gender Spectrum Health. Dr. Rider's research broadly focuses on improving healthcare for and exploring resilience among marginalized communities, with a focus on sexual and gender diverse people of color. They often focus on social and structural factors impacting the lived experiences of historically excluded communities and resilience/strengths identified by these communities. Dr. Rider's clinical training includes psychotherapy and assessment experiences in a university counseling center, hospital settings, private practice, community clinic, residential treatment, and juvenile justice settings. Their professional interests are in the areas of intersectionality, improving various health disparities, sexual health and pleasure, decolonizing healing justice, systems change and social justice advocacy. They serve as the Co-Chair for the Asian American Psychological Association's Division on LGBTQQ and participate on committees advocating for queer and trans individuals globally. Dr. Rider received a doctorate in Counseling Psychology from Howard University in Washington, D.C. Pronouns: they/them/theirs.

Bio

Bean "Bean" Robinson, Ph.D., is professor, MN Licensed Psychologist (LP), MN Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) and State-approved LMFT Supervisor at the Institute for Sexual and Gender Health (ISGH). Dr. Robinson received her PhD from the University of Minnesota and received NIMH funding to complete a postdoctoral training in Asian-American mental health and research methods at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. Her current area of emphasis is exploring the sexual health of Somali women living in Minnesota who have experienced female genital cutting/circumcision/female genital mutilation. Other foci of her professional activities have been examining and promoting HIV prevention in sexual and ethnic minority communities (African-born HIV- positive men, African American women and men, HIV-positive African American men who have sex with men, men who have sex with men, Hmong women and men, bisexual women, and transgender individuals) and examining risk factors leading to sexual offending. She is a researcher-clinician who investigates and develops new methods, techniques, and programs to promote sexual and psychological health; she has been a practicing psychotherapist/clinician her entire career. Dr. Robinson has published numerous articles in peer-reviewed journals and books, has been the principal or co-investigator on numerous research grants, and is on the editorial boards of several scientific journals. She is an active teacher and has provided clinical training for psychologists, marriage and family therapists, medical students and residents. She has also developed HIV/STD prevention curricula and has given numerous presentations at professional meetings nationally and internationally. She is the past-president of the Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality and Executive Director for the World Professional Association of Transgender Health. Pronouns: she/her/hers.