Sexual Health Programs Faculty and Advising

Kat Arenella, PhD, did her graduate training in clinical psychology at the University of Missouri, St. Louis, where her research focused on women's health and aging. Prior to the Program in Human Sexuality, she worked as a Psychology of Women intern at the Charlie Norwood VA and Medical College of Georgia. She worked with military sexual trauma and was part of the comprehensive DBT team. Dr. Arenella's research and clinical interests are focused on sexual satisfaction and aging, especially in the context of relationships.

Tanya Bass, PhD, CHES®, CSE (she/her/hers) is the Foundress of the North Carolina Sexual Health Conference (NCSEXCON). She is an award-winning sexuality educator and subject matter expert in sexual and reproductive health, health equity, and mental health advocacy. Dr. Bass is an alumna of North Carolina Central University’s (NCCU) Department of Public Health Education, where she has served as an adjunct instructor for several years and is currently the lead instructor for Human Sexuality.

She completed her PhD in Education at Widener University in the Center for Human Sexuality Studies. Dr. Bass is a member of American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors, and Therapists (AASECT), the NC Society for Public Health Educators (NCSOPHE), the Women of Color Sexual Health Network (WoCSHN), and the Association of Black Sexologists and Clinicians (ABSC). She is a Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES) and an AASECT Certified Sexuality Educator (CSE). Tanya is the Vice President of Membership of AASECT and a member of the editorial board for the American Journal of Sexuality Education.

Leonardo Candelario-Perez, PhD, is a licensed clinical psychologist, sexual health consultant, and provider under Urology and Gynecology, as well as gender specialist for Health Partners and co-educational consultant for the National Center for Gender Spectrum Health. Dr. Candelario-Perez completed their doctoral degree at Albizu University in their home country of Puerto Rico, and completed a clinical postdoctoral program at the Program in Human Sexuality, U of M. Dr. Candelario-Perez is currently working on developing an integrative sexual health practice within the Health Partners’ system. Their clinical areas of work are in sexual dysfunction, sexual pleasure, sexual and gender identity, LGBTQI+ sexual health, STIs and sexuality, and desire discrepancy.

Taymy Josefa Caso, PhD, is the Randi and Fred Ettner Postdoctoral Fellow in Transgender Health in the Institute for Sexual and Gender Health and a researcher at the National Center for Gender Spectrum Health at the University of Minnesota Medical School. Dr. Caso holds degrees in counseling and clinical psychology from New York University and Columbia University, Teachers College. Their research focuses on minority health disparities, intersectionality, identity-based marginalization within LGBTQ+ BIPOC communities, gender and sexual fluidity, and social determinants of health. Their advocacy work utilizes decolonizing pedagogy to deconstruct institutional and systemic barriers to equity and develop community-based interventions for under-served communities.

Abby Girard is an assistant professor and coordinator of the Relationship and Sex Therapy Program. She was the second Michael E. Metz postdoctoral fellow at the Program in Human Sexuality, U of M. 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. She received her MA from the University of San Diego and her PsyD in  from Alliant International University, both in Marital and Family Therapy.

Sonya Laddon Rahders, JD, is a practicing attorney who provides health care compliance assistance to abortion providers across the United States. Her work focuses on expanding access for young people and integrating the needs of LGBTQ+ people in abortion care, as well as compliance with pharmacy, laboratory, and facility licensing rules. She has additional experience working in state and federal policy related to sex education, HIV and AIDS, youth rights, and LGBTQ+ health access. Sonya serves on the board of directors for SIECUS: Sex Ed for Social Change. She earned her JD with a concentration in social justice lawyering from University of California College of the Law, San Francisco (formerly Hastings College of the Law).

Ben Parchem, PhD (he/him), is the Randi and Fred Ettner Fellow in Transgender Health at the Institute for Sexual and Gender Health. Dr. Parchem earned his doctorate in clinical psychology from George Washington University. He completed clinical training at Children’s National (integrated primary care, HIV mental health services, gender and autism) and Phoenix Children's Hospital (pediatric specialty care, pediatric gender health). Dr. Parchem’s research focuses on the sexual, physical, and mental health of sexual and gender diverse communities. Currently, Dr. Parchem provides assessment and therapy services to gender-diverse children, adolescents, and young adults and contributes to intersectional research projects aiming to ameliorate health disparities and promote well-being among LGBTQ+ youth, particularly youth of color.

Jon Poquiz, PhD (he/him) is a licensed psychologist and assistant professor in the Institute for Sexual and Gender Health within the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health at the University of Minnesota Medical School. Dr. Poquiz specializes in clinical work, research, and advocacy in gender-affirming care for transgender and nonbinary youth and young adults. His research broadly focuses on working toward health equity for trans and nonbinary individuals, with particular emphasis on improving access to affirming health care and fostering community and resilience. He aims to integrate social justice advocacy across his clinical and research programs. Dr. Poquiz received his PhD in clinical child psychology from the University of Kansas and completed a graduate certificate in LGBT Health Policy and Practice from George Washington University.

Nic Rider is assistant professor and coordinator of the Adult Transgender Health Services Program. They were the first Randi and Fred Ettner Postdoctoral Fellow at the Program in Human Sexuality. 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. Dr. Rider is interested in gender and sexual identity development, intersections of identity, discrimination and microaggressions, sexual trauma/abuse recovery, and social justice advocacy. Dr. Rider is on the executive board for the Asian American Psychological Association’s Division on LGBTQQ Issues. Dr. Rider received a doctorate in Counseling Psychology from Howard University.

PhD, MD, MPH, MHPEd, MSt, Joycelyn Elders Chair in Sexual Health Education

Michael Ross is a faculty member in the University of Minnesota Program in Human Sexuality. He holds 11 degrees in cross-cultural health psychology, criminology, public health, and health education. Ross has studied sexuality and sexual and mental health for more than 30 years in India, South Africa, Sweden, Tanzania, Uganda, and Vietnam. He has practiced as a clinical psychologist and is a fellow of the American Psychological Association and the British Psychological Society. In addition to publishing more than 500 scientific papers and books, Ross was a coauthor of the Surgeon General’s 2001 Report of Sexual Health and Responsible Sexual Behavior.

Read more about Dr. Ross.

Katie Spencer is an assistant professor, licensed psychologist, codirector of the National Center for Gender Spectrum Health, and director of Advocacy and Public Policy at the Program in Human Sexuality, U of M. Her clinical practice focuses on transgender and gender nonconforming adolescents and adults, women’s sexuality and sexual health, and LGBT sexuality and well-being. She trains therapists and medical providers in sexual health and transgender health care. She is the founder and chair of the Minnesota Transgender Health Insurance Taskforce. Dr. Spencer received her PhD in counseling psychology from the University of Missouri-Columbia, completed her predoctoral internship at the University of Illinois at Chicago, and was a postdoctoral fellow in human sexuality at the Program in Human Sexuality.

Jennifer A. Vencill, PhD, is an assistant professor, licensed psychologist and AASECT-certified sex therapist at the Mayo Clinic, where she practices in the Menopause and Women's Sexual Health and Transgender and Intersex Specialty Care clinics. Her clinical interests include sexual health and functioning, sexuality and aging, gender and sexual identity development, couples/relationship concerns, alternative relationship models, and LGBTQ mental and sexual health. Dr. Vencill’s research interests include health disparities and minority stress in marginalized sexual and gender communities, mixed orientation relationships, and sexual health. Dr. Vencill received her PhD in counseling psychology from Texas Tech University and was the first Michael E. Metz Postdoctoral Fellow in Couples' Sexual Health at the University of Minnesota’s Program in Human Sexuality.