Opening Keynote
Speakers
Alex S. Morgan
Alex S. Morgan is a gender, sexuality, and relationship coach, a sexual rights advocate, and a sacred intimate. Working directly with clients’ sexualities since 2004 has given Alex a deft sensitivity to the needs of people exploring new facets of themselves and an understanding of the power of connection in both our public and private lives. A firm believer in continuing education and support for all adults exploring sex, gender, and relationships, Alex presents internationally on relationships, kink, sexuality, gender, and related policy issues at venues ranging from private workshops to public organizations, Stanford to SXSW. They offer workshops, facilitated events, and inservice trainings by request. Alex is available for both individual and couples coaching, face to face at their Bay Area practice or worldwide via phone and Skype. Follow Alex S. Morgan at http://AlexSMorgan.com
Angela Thurston
Angela leads women in cultivating a potent relationship with their bodies and their sexuality, helping them experience greater sexual fulfillment, deeper levels of self love and dynamic, harmonious relationships.
As a writer, speaker, facilitator and coach Angela uses her insight, her calm
presence and somatically based sexuality practices to arouse new paths of inquiry, breaking up the congestion of longstanding belief systems around womanhood, love, sex and relationships.
Angela has spoken on the stage at TEDxSFU, PowHERtalks Vancouver, YoUnlimited Victoria and is the recipient of the 2015 Unlimited Woman of Creativity Award.
She currently resides with her family in Victoria, BC.
Follow Angela on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and her Website.
Cara G*
Cara is a thinker, educator, wordsmith, traveler, and facilitator from Toronto*, Ontario. As a kinky, queer-identified PhD student diagnosed with a pervasive, sometimes disabling, seldom “visible” chronic condition, she is deeply connected to her research and writing on topics like the complexities of negotiating not-so-obvious disabilities/impairments in sexual (and non-sexual) contexts. Whether in post-secondary classrooms, at conferences and festivals, or across kitchen tables, she attempts to put theory into practice by facilitating often-controversial cross-sectional conversations. Cara tries to make more dialogues accessible to more people by publishing and presenting in both non-academic and academic spaces and places, from outdoor festivals to TedX to the Canadian Journal of Disability Studies.
*sacred territory of the Mississaugas of the New Credit (Anishinaabe) and Haudenosaunee people, and also inhabited by the Huron-Wendat, Petun, and Seneca First Nations.
Cathy Vartuli
Cathy is a sex-positive Emotional Freedom Coach who helps people transform their traumas into their greatest strengths using love, laughter and inner guidance. She uses a practical yet intuitive approach to help people connect with their own power and guidance. Prior to establishing her coaching business, Cathy got her Masters in Physics at SUNY Binghamton and her PhD in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of Florida. She has 19 patents and works in major semiconductor companies doing R&D.
On topics around body image, shame reprogramming, and powerful self-expression, Cathy helps clients of all shapes, sizes, ages, and gender expressions break out of old patterns and find their voice, with a focus on helping those who feel shy or awkward gaining their confidence.
As an all around geek who compulsively studies marketing and consensual influence… She also loves helping heart-centered sex-positive businesses find their unique voice and expand their audience and increase abundance.
Cherish Dorrington
Cherish Dorrington has a great passion in life: to assist others in finding the freedom to live their lives their way, without guilt, shame or fear. Having spent 20+ years working as a psychological therapist, she’s observed the struggles of countless partnerships and differing relationship dynamics, largely due to expectations that don’t meet with reality. In recent years, she redirected her focus to concentrate solely on sex and relationship coaching, so that she could put her energies where her passion lies: setting people free from sexual and relational shame and creating an environment of courageous vulnerability and personal ownership.
Cherish has offered workshops on both poly and kink, over the past 15 years or so, is an instructor with Polyamory Starter Kit, and has been a director for two alternative sexuality organizations.
Cherish believes that the way we see life determines our experience of it. If this be so, then shifting perspectives makes change possible. After witnessing so many individuals who really long for a more fulfilled life, she believes it’s time to equip, empower and cheer them on.
Dawn Serra
What if everything you’ve been told about love, about sex, about bodies is wrong? Dawn Serra has dedicated herself to helping all of us shed the shame and so we can let go of the stories that no longer serve us. She is the creator and host of the weekly podcast, Sex Gets Real, and of the online sexuality & body acceptance summit, Explore More. She lectures at colleges and universities on sex and relationships and works one-on-one with clients who need to get unstuck around their pleasure and desire. It’s not all work, though! In her downtime, Dawn can often be found watching an episode of Masterchef Australia, cooking up something delicious, or adventuring with her husband. Pronouns: she/her/hers
Erin Tillman
Erin Tillman, The Dating Advice Girl, is a Dating Empowerment Coach, Certified NLP Practitioner, Author, Speaker, and Radio/TV Host based in Los Angeles. For 10 years she has helped singles successfully navigate through the early stages of dating through her book, The Dating Guidebook, over 100 dating-related articles for various lifestyle and dating sites, radio and TV segments and through The Dating Advice Girl Radio Show (voted one of the Top 10 Best Dating Podcasts on the Web in 2013 and listed as one of the Best Places for Dating Advice on Twitter). Erin participates in dating, self-help, consent workshops and has hosted singles events in and around Los Angeles. She has been featured on Buzzfeed, Lifetime Network, ABC7 Los Angeles, and mentioned in Men’s Health Magazine, the Chicago Tribune, and interviewed on WGN 720 AM Chicago just to name a few media outlets.
Gloria Jackson-Nefertiti
Gloria Jackson-Nefertiti is a poet, public speaker, panelist, singer, photographer, performance artist and long-time artist’s model, as well as a former fundamentalist Christian and cult member. She is also a breast cancer survivor. In fact, the cancer diagnosis in 2013 helped her realize how short life is; this served as the catalyst that caused her to come out as sex-positive, bisexual and polyamorous. Most importantly, it helped her to finally set boundaries and refuse to accept shabby treatment (especially shaming) from others. She is very much interested in helping others identify shame, recognize shaming behavior, and finally, to transcend shame. She lives in Seattle, WA.
You can learn more about Gloria from the articles, “There are no Absolutes with Anything” and “Life with Two Boyfriends: Inside a Polyamorous Relationship”.
Janet Rogers
Mohawk writer Janet Rogers is the author of Red Erotic, Ojistah Publishing 2010. Throughout Janet’s literary career as a spoken word artist, page poet, performance poet and media poet, she brings the sensuous and erotic nature of Indigenous culture into her literary based works as a way to “give permission” if one is seeking permission to throw away sexual shame introduced by church and state.
Jimanekia Eborn
Jimanekia Eborn is a sex educator with a decade of experience in mental health work. Her focus within sexual education is teaching adolescents sexual education via More than Sex- ED and through private classes, consultations media appearances and more. She’s also the Director of Education for a nonprofit called More Than “NO”. She is based in Los Angeles California. SEWJim is expanding to also offer consulting for television, books, and film on the context & representation of sexual trauma, as well as sexual education. After years of watching cringe-worthy representations of survivors & sexuality in television, she wants to push forth a true narrative through this avenue and support the creative process.
Jimanekia knows how to support survivors of trauma because she has experienced trauma herself, and has had her own sexual boundaries crossed, as well as losing her mother very young due to domestic violence. These experiences have led her to want to help others that have been assaulted and to create spaces for others that need comfort & healing.
Follow Jimanekia on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and check out her website.
JoEllen Notte
JoEllen is a writer, speaker, researcher and mental health advocate whose work explores the impact of depression on sex and relationships. Since 2012 she has written about sex, mental health, and how none of us are broken on her award-winning site The Redhead Bedhead. JoEllen has toured sex shops, spoken at length on dildos, and even started a sex school but she is happiest and most effective when writing and speaking on behalf of quiet people who have sex. Check out her video series on attending conferences as an introvert and her extensive writing on sex and depression. JoEllen has spoken at Clark College, University of Chicago, University of Tennessee, Woodhull’s Sexual Freedom Summit, Guelph Sexuality Conference, and the Playground Conference.
JoEllen is currently writing her first book: “The Monster Under the Bed: Sex, Depression & The Conversation We Aren’t Having”.
Dr. Kim Tallbear
Kim TallBear is Associate Professor, Faculty of Native Studies, University of Alberta, and Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Peoples, Technoscience & Environment. She is the author of Native American DNA: Tribal Belonging and the False Promise of Genetic Science. Building on lessons learned with geneticists about how settler-colonial states such as the US and Canada engage in racism and race politics, Dr. TallBear also studies settler-state colonization of Indigenous sexualities. She is working on a new book that interrogates colonial commitments to monogamous, state-sanctioned relationships. As a scholar, she mixes anthropological approaches with community-based research, including arts-based research and performance. To that end, she co-produces the Edmonton sexy storytelling show, Tipi Confessions, which is modeled on the popular Austin, Texas Bedpost Confessions show. Tipi Confessions has also presented shows in Ottawa, Saskatoon, and Vancouver. They have plans for shows in New Zealand and the US. Dr. TallBear is a citizen of the Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate in South Dakota. She blogs atwww.IndigenousSTS.com and www.criticalpolyamorist.com. She also tweets @KimTallBear and @CriticalPoly.
Ki Bournes
Ki Bournes didn’t lose his virginity until age 24 and was painfully awkward around sex until he began sex work a decade later. Sixteen years later, he’s a certified sex god, though still a bit awkward, having supported hundreds of clients on their journey of sexual healing, growth and mastery (www.erosha.com). Ki loves leading hands-on clothes-off trainings on sensual bodywork, the profession of sex work and pleasure based consent. Ki is a sex worker rights activist, community builder and mentor for new people entering the profession. His work is supported by certifications in somatic sex education, sexological bodywork, Hakomi counseling (body-based psychotherapy), yoga and tantra.
Little Woo
Little Woo is a spiritual mentor who helps sincere seekers find their higher purpose and honor their true self! After an early life of cynicism, rage and loneliness, she took a 7-year inner voyage that healed her body, mind and heart. Since 2005, Little Woo has worked with people from Canada, USA, Europe, Central America, China and India at her talks, private sessions and workshops. She’s presented at diverse retreats, festivals and conferences and been profiled for her innovative spirit on CBC TV, Roundhouse Radio, Georgia Straight and Vancouver Sun. If you’re wondering what to do with your life or how to find your higher calling, you’re invited to attend her free masterclass (Survival Mode to Sacred Mode) and receive episodes of the “The Magic of Compassion” podcast (about how empathy leads to higher action). For live Q&A and weekly tips, please join her facebook group Magical Humans!
Marcia Baczynski
Marcia is an internationally-recognized speaker, writer, coach and expert on sexual communication, relationships and women’s empowerment. Her primary mission is to help women and the people who love them to overcome shame and get in touch with what they truly want — romantically, sexually and relationally — even if it’s off the beaten path.
As co-founder of Cuddle Party, Marcia has helped tens of thousands of people to speak up for the kind of touch they want, say No unapologetically, and foster more connected, affectionate relationships. Her popular virtual course, “The Good Girl Recovery Program,” helps women to break out of the roles that keep them small and unsatisfied, and move into being more of who they are in all areas of their lives. In the Make Hot Play Happen weekend intensive, she co-teaches with renowned educator Midori, and helps people more fun, lower stakes, hotter sex, more creativity and better connection in bed.
Mason Jenkins
Mason Jenkins is a educator from Calgary, Alberta. He emerged from gender purgatory in 2011 as a transgender man, and claims he retired as a lesbian “undefeated.” Jenkins has an education degree and while he was working as a sexual health educator, told everyone he got his degree in B.Ed. Mason now earns a living as a tattooer and a musician. He speaks about his experiences with gender to foster empathy and understanding for gender minorities in his Calgary community. “Fumbling, Failing, Fucking Up and, Finally Feminism” is about Mason’s discovery of gender inequity while leaving one gender binary and entering another. Jenkins explores his past as female misogynist, crosser of sexual boundaries and how becoming a man began his journey into feminism.
Meagan Lee Filteau
Meagan Lee Filteau is passionate about fostering consensual spaces for humans to explore their unique expression of sexuality. Meagan (“she” or “they” pronouns) is a kinky, poly, queer, sex geek, educator, and coach from Calgary, Alberta, working to destigmatize sexuality through education, conversations, and role modelling.
Co-founder of Eudaimonia Sexuality Seminars, Meagan can be found hosting sex-themed bingos at local universities and facilitating workshops on communication, consent, safer sex toy use, anal pleasure, and orgasms.
Meagan also spends time working on the support and information line for Calgary Communities Against Sexual Abuse, offering harm reduction services at music festivals, expressing personal healing through burlesque, and hosting consent savvy play parties. Meagan’s newest adventures are learning the world of webcam modelling and letting go of personal belongings in preparation for van life! Learn more about Meagan on Instagram.
Mel Cassidy
With two decades of experience teaching and facilitating in groups small and large, Mel has a reputation for innovation, novelty, and being able to guide others to think — and live — outside the box.
Her journey in love and life led her to write the blog Polysingleish, and she became inspired to coach others exploring the journey of non-monogamy. She holds a certification in Counselling for Intimacy and Relationships from VCCT, trained in Cascadia Holistic Peer Counselling, and is an experienced ZEGG Forum facilitator.
As a relationship coach, and taking a trauma-informed approach, Mel helps individuals discover new dimensions of their relationships to themselves, and the people in their lives.
Mel is queer, loves cats, and experiences her relationships as a solo polyamorous individual. The grandchild of refugees, Mel has lived on three continents, and now lives on the traditional and unceeded Coast Salish territories of K’ómoks in British Columbia, Canada.
Melody Anne
Hailing from Vancouver, Canada, Melody Anne is an adult sexuality educator, workshop facilitator, sex researcher, feminist, kinkster, and all-around sensual adventurer. A shameless sex geek with a degree in psychology and sexuality studies, she completed sexual health education training from Options for Sexual Health, and juggles her time between coordinating studies at a sex research lab and teaching workshops on kink, sexual health, and pleasure. She has presented at venues across North America including CatalystCon, The Citadel SF, Guelph Sexuality Conference, and the University of British Columbia.
With over eleven years of experience in the BDSM community under her belt, Melody Anne identifies as a queer, pansexual, poly-flexible kinkster, hedonist, and badass bottom. As an educator and advocate for healthy sexuality, Melody Anne believes that accurate information, clear communication, and continuous exploration are key to a life full of sexual celebration! Follow Melody Anne on Twitter @EroticEducator, or on Facebook.
Michelle (Mia) Powell
A pleasure activist and founder of TellMia, Michele (aka Mia) provides Sex positive Workshops, Coaching, and Events. She holds an undergraduate counselling degree and for the past 12 years has been very involved in the Sexuality and Kink Communities as a student, participant, event producer, and educator. What is most important to Michele is creating opportunities and holding radical space for people to be their authentic sexual selves. She approaches teaching and presenting with passion, a deep respect for the topic, and a healthy sense of humour. Personally she identifies as Leather, a bottom, a slut, poly-flexible, and pansexual.
Michele has presented at various venues, events and conferences including: FapCon, Uvic, YoUnlimted, Sagacity, Sin in the City, The Voo, BSCP, Cornucopia, Vancouver Edge, and VI women’s show.
Michele resides in beautiful Victoria, BC.
Redrobin
Queer. Kinkster. Nerd. Slut. Educator. Activist. Redrobin (she/her) is a Vancouver based international presenter of alternative sexuality and identifies as a queer, kinky, polyamorous, sex/body positive, top heavy switch. She’s been involved in her local sex and kink community since 2007. She began teaching lap dancing classes for The Bachelor Plan in 2010, then in 2014 taught her first BDSM class for MVK and was soon teaching regularly for the BDSM, polyamorous, sex, swinger, and queer communities. Formerly Vice President of Metro Vancouver Kink and creator of the Queer and Trans event known as The Rainbow Connection. Her medical background has fueled her passion for the human body and mind, and she enjoys exploring her own as well as others. She wants to give back by helping others discover and explore their sexuality without shame or judgement, and is a firm believer that you should never stop learning!
Sara Blaze
Sara Blaze is the President of Metro Vancouver Kink, BC’s largest not for profit organization focusing on promoting outreach and education on BDSM and Kink. She is also the Chair of Westcoast Bound, MVK’s premier annual weekend long event focused on BDSM education. Sara has been interviewed on several occasions, notably with Jill Krop of Global’s Unfiltered and has sat on a number of panel discussions geared at demystifying kink and BDSM.
Shadeen Francis
Shadeen Francis, MFT is a marriage and family therapist, graduate professor, and author specializing in sex therapy and social justice. She has been featured on platforms like 6-ABC and the Huffington Post to share her expertise, and she speaks internationally on topics such as self-esteem, sexual intimacy, dating in a digital age, and community building. Shadeen’s belief is that the world is built on the strengths of communities. This worldview has propelled her to focus on underserved populations: ethnic and cultural minorities, the kinky/poly/queer communities, and victims of economic hardship. Her work allows people of all backgrounds to improve their relationships and live in peace and sexual pleasure.
Stella Harris
Stella Harris is building a world where everyone has the confidence to explore their sexuality safely and free of shame. As a Certified Intimacy Educator and Coach, she uses a variety of tools to guide and empower her clients and she teaches everything from pleasure anatomy, to communication skills, to kink and BDSM.
Stella has presented at venues and conferences nationally including Catalyst Con Chicago & Los Angels, KinkFest Portland, COPE Ohio, and Seattle’s Center for Sex Positive Culture. She has also spoken at Portland State University, Reed College, Lewis & Clark College and Pacific University.
Stella has been widely quoted in the media and she’s made guest appearances on numerous podcasts including Sex on the Brain and Playboy Radio. Her articles have appeared on Thought Catalog, Kinkly.com, and Fetish.com, and her fiction is included in more than a dozen anthologies. Her book on communication and negotiation is forthcoming from Cleis Press in Fall of 2018.
Learn more at www.stellaharris.net or follow @stellaerotica on Twitter.
Trevor Warren
Trevor Warren is a seasoned couples and sexual intimacy therapist with over 20 years of direct counselling experience helping couples. He is the founder and Clinical Director of CoreQuest Counselling (est. 1996), an experienced workshop facilitator, a sought after public speaker, a sex-activist, and has had several media interviews on Global, City TV, and The Globe & Mail on topics related to relationships and sexual intimacy. Trevor holds an M.A. in Counselling Psychology, is a Registered Clinical Counsellor and a Certified Relationship Specialist.
Trevor has teamed up with his Beloved, Jenna Card, to help our community “get sex out of the closet” by supporting others to emancipate from beneath the heavy historical blanket of shame and sex negativity that has become so normalized in our culture. Their passionate aim to resurrect this most natural, powerful and beneficial essence of who we are as human beings back to it’s deserved position in our society.
Victor Salmon
Victor is an intersectional feminist, consent educator, relationship anarchist, BDSM enthusiast, and avid volunteer. His thoughts on consent culture are informed by attending and eventually facilitating educational workshops for the Vancouver Consent Crew. In addition, he volunteers as a director at large with Metro Vancouver Kink and has been a part of that community publicly for over five years. He believes visibility is key to normalization but not all in his community can afford that luxury. As hard as it is, he’s proud to be out to his family, friends, and Facebook.
Yoni Alkan, DHS
Yoni Alkan is a sexual educator with a Doctorate in Human Sexuality and a Masters in Conflict Resolution and Mediation, he is also a professional cuddler with Cuddlist.com and a Certified Cuddle Party Facilitator in San Francisco. Dr. Yoni Alkan is a global speaker on various Human Sexuality issues, and he is the creator of www.elementsofsexuality.com; a playful, geeky, and educational site about the elements that contribute to our sexuality. He’s been writing about sex, sexuality and relationships since 2011. His expertise are in alternative relationships and in improving our dating landscape.
Yoseñio V. Lewis
Yoseñio V. Lewis is a Latino of African Descent FTM who’s been a social justice activist for 45 years. A health educator / speaker / trainer / facilitator / writer / performer, out poly and kinky person and a spiritual hugger, Yoseñio’s been a panelist and keynote speaker at numerous universities and sexuality conferences. He was one of the inaugural honorees of The Trans 100 list. Yoseñio’s a Board Member of TASHRA, Project AFFIRM Transgender Resilience Study and a member of ABSC. Yoseñio’s a Certified Restorative Justice Practitioner and completed the Introduction to Principles of Kingian Nonviolence. He’s a faculty member for the Sex Justice Track of the National LGBTQ Task Force Creating Change Conference. Yoseñio’s a Trans Patient Educator at Stanford University.
Yoseñio’s been featured in several documentaries about gender and the trans* experience. He’s the founder of Written In The Flesh Erotic Readings.
Yoseñio believes that there can be no art without activism and no activism without art.