Experts

Professor

Area Director for Doctoral Training

MSU Ecological-Community Psychology

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Robin Lin Miller, PhD (she/hers) is a Professor of Psychology at Michigan State University, where she directs the doctoral training program in ecological-community psychology and is co-founder and associate director of the master’s degree and certificate in program evaluation. Her evaluation career reflects a 36-year commitment to the health and well-being of LGBTQ+ populations and others at high risk of HIV infection. She began her career as an evaluation specialist for the Gay Men’s Health Crisis (GMHC) in the earliest years of the HIV epidemic and established its first organization-wide Department of Evaluation.

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Learn more about Dr. Miller here!

Nurse Examiner

MSU Sexual Assault Healthcare Program

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Taylor is a proud MSU College of Nursing graduate from 2019. She has been a nurse for almost 4.5 years and a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner for almost 1.5 years. She has been certified as an adult and adolescent sexual assault examiner and is also a board member of the Great Lakes Chapter of the International Association of Forensic Nurses. Prior to this she lived in both Nashville and Ann Arbor working as a pediatric ICU float pool nurse as well as a Pediatric Oncology and Bone Marrow Transplant nurse. She has a specific research interests in how sex “trends” have impacted people’s sex practice as well as their ability to consent, primarily “choking”.

Executive Director

Michigan Organization on Adolescent Sexual Health (MOASH)

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Taryn, MPH, CPH, MCHES (she/her) has worked at MOASH since 2011 and has loved being able to grow with and alongside the organization, colleagues, and Michigan youth. She is proud to work every day to advance MOASH’s mission to mobilize youth voices, engage community partners, and inform decision-makers to advance sexual health, identities, and rights. Taryn is a parent of two adolescents and lives in southeast Michigan, where she serves on multiple sex ed advisory boards.

Assistant Professor

MSU Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics

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Danielle R. Gartner (Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians) is a mother, sister, daughter, auntie, and relative. As an academic, she identifies as a population health scientist and ultimately hopes her research contributes to the creation of tools and policies that support Indigenous women and families with young children. Dr. Gartner’s projects have been funded by the National Institutes of Health, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the Michigan Health Endowment Fund.

Director and Professor

Center for Bioethics and Social Justice,

MSU College of Human Medicine

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Sean A. Valles is a Professor and Director of the Michigan State University Center for Bioethics and Social Justice. He is the author of the 2018 book, Philosophy of Population Health: Philosophy for a New Public Health Era (Routledge Press), and co-editor (with Quill R. Kukla) of the Oxford University Press book series, "Bioethics for Social Justice”. He is a philosopher of health, focusing on questions of how social context shapes health, and what should be done in response to that evidence. His recent work includes a critique of how race is treated as a risk factor in medical research and an argument for treating Mass Incarceration as an urgent bioethics problem.

Chief Medical Operating Officer

Planned Parenthood of Michigan

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Dr. Wallett oversees all of the clinical care and clinical operations at PPMI. She has been with the organization since 2019. Dr. Wallett is an obstetrician-gynecologist with specialty training in comprehensive family planning. She also holds a Master’s Degree in Public Health, focusing on health management and policy. She is a recognized and sought-after expert in the Planned Parenthood community at the national and state levels for her knowledge of clinical and operational aspects of the provision of reproductive and sexual health care. Under her leadership, PPMI has worked to expand abortion services, address and dissolve abortion stigma both internally and across the state, and initiated new services including PrEP and PEP and gender-affirming hormone therapy.

Policy Advisor

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Ameer Abdul is a policy advisor who has dedicated his career to advocating for marginalized communities concerning policy change. Ameer recently launched Defiant Strategy, where he develops successful advocacy campaigns to create real solutions for a better future and advises political candidates and elected officials on impactful policy across the country. As a son of immigrants and refugees, Ameer believes in the importance of seeing people for their full humanity and in doing the work to provide them with that opportunity. Previously, Ameer was the National Campaign Manager at PERIOD. and was the Director of Operations on a United States Senate Campaign in Ohio.

Executive Director

Helping Women Period

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A nationally recognized leader in the fight to end period poverty, Lysne Tait is the co-founder and executive director of Helping Women Period. Since its launch in 2015, Helping Women Period has provided more than 4 million products to menstruators in need throughout Michigan, and works to end period poverty through partnerships, advocacy, donations, and education. Lysne and Helping Women Period have been featured in Oprah’s O Magazine, TeenVogue, Today.com, Forbes, and more.

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 Lysne has become a powerful voice at the state Capitol, where she was instrumental in the fight to end Michigan’s tampon tax, with Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signing the repeal in 2021. Lysne also successfully worked with lawmakers to secure funding for the Helping Women Period Pilot Project, a test program to provide menstrual products to students in need in school districts across the state.

Medical Student and Activist

The Ohio State University College of Medicine

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Anusha Singh is a second-year medical student, starring in the new MSNBC documentary Periodical. Her advocacy mission is to disrupt unequal menstrual equity laws around the country. Anusha's passion for systemic change led her to establish Period OSU in 2018, and more recently, work with Period OSU advocates to pass legislation budgeting $5 Million for free period products in all Ohio Schools for this upcoming school year, establishing the largest funded period program in the country. Anusha’s triumphs in advocating for policy change at the local level spurred her to support students nationwide in their pursuit of passing menstrual equity legislation.

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Learn more about Anusha on our Instagram!

Assistant Professor

Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, College of Human Medicine, MSU

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As an epidemiologist, Dr. Upson has an innovative research program at the intersection of gynecologic and environmental health. Her research program focuses on a range of environmental exposures from legacy pesticides to toxic metals on non-cancerous gynecologic outcomes that can confer substantial morbidity, including endometriosis, adenomyosis, and uterine fibroids. Dr. Upson also examines common, everyday factors unique to menstruators that may increase environmental chemical body burden, such as heavy menstrual bleeding, low body iron stores, menstrual product use, and hormonal contraception. She currently leads an NIH R01-funded study investigating the role of hormonal contraception as a novel source of toxic metal lead exposure in young, premenopausal individuals. Dr. Upson received her PhD in Epidemiology from the University of Washington and completed postdoctoral training at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, NIH.

Assistant Professor

MSU Human Development & Family Studies

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Megan Maas, PhD, is an assistant professor in Human Development & Family Studies at Michigan State University. She received her PhD from The Pennsylvania State University as a pre-doctoral fellow funded by the National Institutes of Health. Her award-winning research, recognized by the American Psychological Association, focuses on adolescent sexual development. Specifically, she investigates how experiences of social media, sexting, and online pornography play a bi-directional role in the development of attitudes and behavior related to sexuality and gender. As a former health educator (turned academic), she has trained thousands of teachers, social workers, and school counselors on pornography use among teens for over 13 years. Her goal is to prevent sexual violence and promote sexual health among adolescents and emerging adults. In addition to publishing in academic journals, she also publishes her work in mass media outlets such as HuffPost, CNN, and Salon.

Manager

Office on Gender, Sexuality, and Violence

Michigan Public Health Institute

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Sara McGirr, PhD (she/her) is the Manager of the Office on Gender, Sexuality, & Violence within Michigan Public Health Institute's Center for Healthy Communities. She has over a decade of experience in cross-sector, community-driven efforts to use data to advance reproductive and sexual well-being and to build a violence-free future for women & LGBTQIA+ communities. Dr. McGirr has had the honor of collaborating with national, state, and local partners to improve programs and systems that aim to end power-based personal violence, affirm and protect marginalized expressions of gender & sexual orientation, improve access to reproductive and sexual healthcare, and support healthy relationships & sexuality. She specializes in using anti-oppression-focused approaches to evaluation, assessment, and participatory processes, and in translating data into actionable insights and recommendations for communities.

MI State Representative

Michigan’s 73rd House District

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State Representative Julie Brixie is serving her third term in the Michigan House of Representatives. Before being elected to the state legislature, she earned a master's degree in crop and soil sciences with a specialization in environmental toxicology. After serving on the Zoning Board of Appeals and Planning Commission, Rep. Brixie was elected to the Meridian Township Board, where she served her community for 18 years – two terms as a Trustee and three terms as Treasurer. Rep. Brixie currently serves as the Chair of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture and Rural Development and Natural Resources, as well as a member of the Appropriations and Tax Policy committees. During her time in the legislature, she has helped drive efforts to eliminate Michigan’s tampon tax, spearheaded legislative efforts to expand access to justice for survivors of sexual assault, and advocated for access to reproductive health care for all. Rep. Brixie is committed to improving Michigan communities by fighting for policies that expand reproductive rights, ensure equitable access to education opportunities, and protect our environment.

Culture & Advocacy Manager and Facilitator of the Michigan Youth Racial Equity Council (MY REC)

Michigan Organization on Adolescent Sexual Health (MOASH)

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Natasha’s role at MOASH involves championing the organization's commitment to fostering an inclusive, empowering, and supportive work environment and community engagement approach, emphasizing the importance of people, culture, and advocacy in driving MOASH’s mission to advance sexual health, identities, and rights for youth. Natasha is also a visual artist and freelance writer whose work has appeared in The Hollywood Reporter, The Body is Not an Apology (TBINAA), Womanly Magazine, Kalfou: A Journal of Comparative and Relational Ethnic Studies, and more. She wrote the poetic foreword for IMAGN – Increasing Minority Awareness of Genetics Now, a report published by the Black Congressional Caucus and John Hopkins University Genetics and Public Policy Center. All of her personal, professional, and creative work is rooted in her deep commitment to inclusivity, intersectionality, healing, social justice, liberation, and love.

Director

MSU Women*s Student Services

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Heather came to MSU with a deep commitment to gender equity initiatives for students on college and university campuses, having spent most of her career in student affairs in identity centers focused on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging. She is committed to antiracist, intersectional feminism and working alongside college students who want to make the world a better place. She is a transplant to the Midwest: she grew up in the western U.S. and completed her undergraduate degrees and master’s degrees at Colorado State University. Heather completed her PhD at MSU in higher education administration. In addition to working in Women*s Student Services, she is the founder and co-host of a podcast called Student Affairs Now and is currently serving as the President of a professional association called ACPA College Student Educators International. Outside of her work, Heather loves to camp, hike, run, and garden. She is an avid reader and loves to travel to National Parks.

HIV/STI Education Consultant

Office of Health and Safety​

Michigan Department of Education

Laurie Bechhofer has been an advocate, champion, and change agent on adolescent sexual health and effective HIV/STI and sex education programs for over 30 years. As the HIV/STI Education Consultant with the Michigan Department of Education (MDE) since 1996, Laurie has focused on promoting exemplary policies, programs, and practices to advance sex education, increase access to sexual health services, and develop safe and supportive school environments for all students. She is also the director of the MDE LGBTQ+ Students Project, which aims to build the capacity of Michigan schools to impact the health, wellbeing, and educational outcomes of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning students. Her passions include building relationships, connecting people and resources, using data to drive policies and programs, centering the voices of those from historically marginalized communities, and creating more equitable and just schools and communities where young people can thrive. Laurie co-founded and serves as a board member of the Michigan Organization on Adolescent Sexual Health(MOASH), and currently serves on the Michigan Governor’s LGBTQ+ Commission and SHAPE America’s National Health Education Standards Task Force.