Faculty

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 Eli Coleman 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.

Bio

Michael Ross, MD, PhD, MPH, MHPEd, MSt, is a professor at the Eli Coleman Institute for Sexual and Gender Health (ISGH) and was the Joycelyn Elders Chair in Sexual Health Education from 2014-2020. He holds 11 degrees, including a MedDr, a PhD in cross-cultural health psychology, and degrees in criminology and health education. Ross has studied sexuality and sexual and mental health for more than 30 years in several countries: India, South Africa, Sweden, Tanzania, Uganda, and Vietnam. Ross has also published more than 500 publications and books. Additionally, he worked extensively in prison environments and wrote a book about prison physical and mental health. Ross has also practiced as a clinical psychologist and is a fellow of the American Psychological Association and the British Psychological Society. 

Pronouns: he/him/his

Creative Activity Summary

Licences -- Australian and US Private Pilot, land/single, both current
Aircraft ratings -- Avions Pierre Robin 2160 Aerobin, Bellanca 8KCAB Super Decathlon; and Pitts S-2A Special (all with unrestricted aerobatic ratings)

Bio

Katie Spencer, PhD, LP is an assistant professor, licensed psychologist, and clinical training director at the Eli Coleman Institute for Sexual and Gender Health (ISGH). She is also the co-director of M Health Fairview Comprehensive Gender Care, Behavioral Health. Her primary clinical practice is working with transgender and gender non-conforming, adolescents, and adults, women's sexuality and sexual health, and LGBT sexuality and well-being. Dr. Spencer has written, presented and published scholarship on transgender sexuality, queer femininities, and gender affirmative approaches to transgender healthcare. She provides training and education of therapists and medical providers in sexual health and transgender health care competency. She is developing a curriculum of pleasure based sexuality for people on the transfeminine spectrum and working, with her colleagues, to revise existing measures of gendered experience to improve congruence with transaffirmative philosophies. She is the founder and chair of the Minnesota Transgender Health Insurance Taskforce and often provides consultation and advocacy on insurance and policy issues in transgender health. Dr. Spencer and her colleague, Dr. Dianne Berg 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. Spencer received her PhD in counseling psychology from the University of Missouri-Columbia, completed her pre-doctoral internship at the University of Illinois-Chicago, and she was a postdoctoral fellow in human sexuality at ISGH. She is passionate about social justice and feminist approaches to academic scholarship and clinical practice. 

Pronouns: she/her/hers.

Memberships

World Professional Association for Transgender Health

American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors and Therapists

American Psychological Association

Clinical Summary

Transgender and gender non-conforming adolescents and adults, women’s sexuality and sexual health, LGBT sexuality and well-being