Staff

mgender@umn.edu

Michael Gendernalik is an Education Specialist at the Institute for Sexual and Gender Health. They have a MSW from Washington University with a specialization in sexual health and education. Their work focuses on the expansion of the Institute's educational offerings within the department, medical school and in the community. They are driven to creating and facilitating new sexual and gender health content.  In their free time, they enjoy local music, ceramics and spending time outside with their dog, Pickles. 

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Alex Hanson is a graduate research assistant with ISGH working on a sex offense prevention study. She is currently pursuing her Ph.D. in Family Science in the Department of Family Social Science at the University of Minnesota. Her primary research interests center around antisocial behavior prevention and intervention within the family system as well as understanding the intersection of resilience and antisocial behavior. 

612-625-1500
sekel010@umn.edu

Lauren Sekelsky is the Institute for Sexual and Gender Health's Executive Administrator. Lauren received her Bachelor of Arts with honors in Global Studies, as well as minors in Gender, Women’s and Sexuality Studies and Public Health, from the University of Minnesota. She has spent the last decade working in nonprofit and higher education administration, serving most recently as Project and Operations Manager for Portage Partners Consulting. Lauren is excited to merge her passion for gender and sexual health with her administrative skill set in this new role. In her free time Lauren enjoys wildlife photography, embroidery, reading, and travel.

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Brady has a bachelor's degree in social work and Spanish from Winona State University, and has been a licensed social worker in Minnesota for four years. Before joining ISGH, they worked for Hennepin County and Cornerstone Advocacy Services.

Outside of work, Brady enjoys reading, writing, seeing movies, going for walks around Lake of the Isles or the Sculpture Garden, and watching their younger sibling participate in high school sports and activities. He also has two cats, Prue and Poppy, who he'll take any opportunity to talk about.

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Kieran Dillon is a St. Paul native who loves biking, books, and 80s music. They received their BA in Creative Writing and LGBT Studies from DePaul University in 2019, where they also worked on the university's literature magazine, Slag Glass City, as an editorial assistant. Kieran is thrilled to be a part of the M Health Fairview Sexual and Gender Health Clinic, as they care deeply about trans lives and histories.

Therapist
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LynAnne is a licensed marriage and family therapist and licensed alcohol and drug counselor with over a decade of experience working with people from diverse backgrounds to meet their mental health wellness needs. She has a social justice orientation in therapy and recognizes the role that race, gender, poverty, sexual orientation, and disability plays in the day to day lives of her clients. LynAnne holds an affirming practice where queer, trans, nonbinary, cisgender, and heterosexual people can explore issues of self-esteem, communication, and living with authenticity. LynAnne is sex-positive and has an interest in human sexuality and is skilled at holding space for anyone who has questions or concerns around sex, intimate relationships, sexual or romantic orientation, and gender identity and/or expression.

LynAnne graduated with her Masters of Science in Marriage and Family Therapy from the University of Wisconsin-Stout. LynAnne received her Certificate in Sex Therapy from the University of Wisconsin-Stout.
 

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jacob.ginther@fairview.org

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Jake Ginther provides psychiatric services with adolescents and adults. He specializes in gender medicine and sexual health. He is passionate about working closely with his community and providing tools and resources to allow patients to feel empowered. In his free time he enjoys hiking, backpacking, biking, kayaking, and camping, and traveling. He has two dart frogs and loves plants. 

Lisa Hady, Psychology Doctoral Intern, received her BS in psychology from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse and is pursuing her clinical psychology doctorate (PsyD) from Augsburg University. With social justice issues and equality as a primary interest for her, she received clinical training at a culturally-diverse community mental health clinic serving many ethnoracially diverse and 2SLGBTQIA+ communities, a private practice completing various neuropsychological testing and assessments for adolescents and adults who identify as neurodivergent, and a VA Health Care System conducting hormone readiness assessments and serving survivors of Military Sexual Trauma (MST). Her approach to treatment is through a trauma-informed and intersectionality lens to better understand how inequality and trauma can impact one’s identity and mental and sexual health. Lisa’s doctoral research examined how perpetrators of intimate and non-intimate partner violence use differing power and control behaviors over survivors and how it impacts PTSD symptoms. During her clinical training, she is committed to helping her patients find strategies to live an authentic life while addressing systemic racism and barriers to professional mental healthcare.

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Rachel began her journey with MPhysicians/MHealth in 2013 and since that time has worked with several specialty programs, including Mental Health and Addiction programs for 7+ years.  Her approach to patient care has always been focused on the patient experience and she strives to prioritize the needs of patients and their families. She values relationships, both at work and in her personal life, that offer authenticity, support and challenge. 

When not at work, Rachel is an avid reader and baker.  As a Minnesota transplant, she enjoys exploring new places and events in the Twin Cities, especially restaurants, cultural festivals, and Bubble Tea shops

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Terri is the Clinic Manager for the Sexual and Gender Health Clinic on the West bank of Minneapolis. Prior to her current role she served as the CEO for Pride Institute in Minnesota for four years and as the Executive Director at the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation for over ten years. Terri has served as an adjunct professor at Minneapolis Community and Technical College and has served on a number of boards and advisory committees. She has a bachelors degree in Psychology from Augsburg University and a masters degree in Counseling and Psychological services from St. Mary’s University. In her free time she enjoys spending time with her family and volunteering with her dog, Dash, who is a therapy dog with the Alliance of Therapy Dogs.

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Physician Assistant

Therapist
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Elizabeth Panetta specializes in working with people who have experienced trauma and who need extra support during times of change and adjustment. She has extensive experience working with people from diverse backgrounds, ranging from people who are currently unhoused to recent immigrants and refugees to the United States. Within their practice, Elizabeth prioritizes lenses based in disability justice, decolonization, harm reduction, sex positivity, and antiracism. She also enjoys working with children and adolescents in exploring their own identities and mental health. They are trained in Level I and II Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR).

Elizabeth earned their undergraduate degree in Human Services at Loyola University Chicago and their Master’s in Clinical Social Work at the University of Chicago. Elizabeth grew up in the Twin Cities and is excited to be back home. When not connecting in a therapeutic setting, they love biking to their local coffee shop, checking out new bookstores, and snuggling with cat, Hazel.
 

Psychotherapist
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Sara B. Pournoor is a licensed clinical social worker and psychotherapist in the Transgender Health Services program at the Institute for Sexual and Gender Health. His primary clinical practice focuses on working alongside gender diverse adolescents and young adults. In practice, they approach therapeutic work from an anti-oppressive, healing justice lens aimed towards creating a collaborative and authentic space to foster radical holistic healing. The theoretical frameworks Sara draws from are rooted in relational and narrative trauma informed care, along with dialectical behavioral therapy, somatic experience, and others when appropriate. They believe that mental health and healing are connected to one's personal and social ecosystem, attachment history, somatic awareness, values, and intersecting identities.

Sara integrates his professional training and therapeutic skills with lived experience as a queer, trans, non-binary, first generation immigrant, and person of color. Additionally, they belong to the National Queer and Trans Therapists of Color Network.

Sara has a background in curriculum development, social justice education, youth work, music performance, interfaith work, inpatient mental health, outpatient mental health, crisis stabilization, and medical social work. Sara received a clinical Masters of Social Work from Augsburg College and a Bachelors in Social Work from the University of Wisconsin- Milwaukee.
 

Dr. Benjamin Parchem (he/him) earned his doctorate in Clinical Psychology from George Washington University, with an emphasis on cultural humility and community-driven approaches. He completed clinical externships at Children’s National in Integrated Primary Care, HIV Mental Health Services, and the Gender and Autism Program. He completed his predoctoral clinical internship at Phoenix Children’s Hospital in pediatric psychology working with various pediatric populations, and in the Gender Support Program. Over the course of his doctoral training, Dr. Parchem’s research has focused on the sexual, physical, and mental health of sexual and gender minorities. In his postdoctoral training at the Institute for Sexual and Gender Health, Dr. Parchem will provide assessment and therapy services to gender diverse children, adolescents, and young adults and contribute to research projects aiming to ameliorate health disparities and promote wellbeing among LGBTQ+ youth, particularly youth of color.

Shari Brightly-Brown (they/them) recently completed their PhD in Clinical Psychology at the University of Hawaiʻi at Manoa, and their pre-doctoral internship through Brown University where they had the opportunity to train in health psychology and integrated care. Shari's primary clinical interests are in gender-affirming care and sexual health, with a particular passion for working with LGBTQ+ identified people. Shari's research interests are broadly focused on resilience among LGBTQ and BIPOC people, with a particular interest in understanding how the intersection of LGBTQ+ and BIPOC identities may contribute positively to mental health.

Leonor de Oliveira (she/her) is a clinical psychologist and sexual therapist from Portugal and has recently finished her PhD in Human Sexuality. She worked for many years in crisis intervention as a counselor and incident manager. Her postdoctoral work at the Eli Coleman Institute for Sexual and Gender Health will be split into sexual therapy with individuals and partners and research. Dr. de Oliveira is excited to be part of renowned organization and to grow skills in working with sexual dysfunction, relationship adjustment, compulsive sexual behavior and LGBTQIA+ health. In 2014, she began a sexual education social media project, Pronto a Despir, that led to the publication of her book, "É Normal?" in 2023 which answers sexuality questions from the community.