Keynote Speakers
Glynis Shea
Glynis Shea will give our opening keynote address, "Science, Social Studies, and Sex Education — A Compelling Case for Teen Pregnancy Prevention in the Classroom." In this
session we'll focus on how to improve our communications skills to make a compelling case for teen pregnancy prevention to our partners in schools and educational settings. Led by an
ex-advertising executive, this unique session borrows techniques and strategies from Madison Avenue and applies them to our work.
Glynis is the communications coordinator for the Konopka Institute for Best Practices in Adolescent Health (Department of Pediatrics) at the University of Minnesota Medical
School. As a former vice president at Saatchi & Saatchi Advertising, San Francisco, she crafted communication plans and advertising strategies, fielded national market
research efforts, and managed the production of TV, print, and radio advertising. Her client list included Hewlett-Packard, US West, and the AIDS Legal Referral Panel. Today,
Glynis works with researchers, youth workers, medical practitioners, public health professionals, educators, and others to effectively communicate about and advocate for the health
needs of adolescents.
Konnie McCaffree, Ph.D.
Dr. Konstance McCaffree is an American Association of Sex Counselors, Educators, and Therapists (AASECT) and National Council on Family Relations (NCFR)-certified sexuality educator
and lecturer in the University of Pennsylvania's Graduate School of Education and at Widener University. Her keynote will lead us through an interactive and thought-provoking
session—titled "Good Content is Not Enough"—on how to make comprehensive sexuality education work and why it so often doesn't.
Konnie will also lead a concurrent session called "Experiential Learning in Sexuality Education."
Konnie is the senior program consultant and an adjunct professor in Widener University's Center for Education, Program in Human Sexuality. As a classroom teacher in the public
schools for more than thirty years, she has created her own curricula and taught human sexuality to elementary and secondary students. She conducts workshops in the United
States and internationally to help educators/health professionals improve their skills in implementing sexuality education. In recent years she has developed curricula and implemented
training programs for educators and other health professionals in South Africa, Zambia, Nigeria and the Philippines.
Konnie has worked with various research groups to develop curricula to prevent HIV/AIDS, unplanned pregnancy, and other health and social issues among adolescents. She is the
co-author of the Centers of Disease Control (CDC) Research to Classroom and nationally promoted award-winning curricula for minority youth, Be Proud! Be
Responsible!, Making Proud Choices, and Making a Difference.
John Santelli, MD, M.P.H.
Dr. John Santelli is a pediatrician and adolescent medicine specialist who recently joined the School of Public Health at Columbia University. Prior to coming to New York, he was the
chief of the Applied Sciences Branch in the Division of Reproductive Health at U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). He has conducted research on HIV/STD risk
behaviors, programs to prevent STD/HIV/unintended pregnancy among adolescents and women, school-based health centers, clinical preventive services, and research ethics. He has been a
national leader in insuring that adolescents are appropriately included in health research.
Session Speakers
Karen S. Beitzel, M.S.W.
Karen Beitzel is employed by the Center for Schools and Communities, a division of the Central Susquehanna Intermediate Unit. She is a training and technical assistance lead
coordinator for youth development initiatives through the Pennsylvania Department of Education and the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare. These statewide initiatives
include: Pregnant and Parenting Teens, Homeless Students, Migrant Education, Learn and Serve, and 21 Century Afterschool Programs. Karen has worked in the areas of early
childhood development, adolescent development, and teen parenting, and as a crisis pregnancy counselor. She has her master's degree in social work from Marywood University.
Judy R. Gawlinski
Judy Gawlinski has been a family and consumer sciences educator at Union City High School for the past twenty-five years. She received her bachelor of science degree at Mansfield
University and her certification as a culinary essentials educator by Johnson and Wales University. Judy is also a certified i-SAFE Internet safety presenter, an HIV/AIDS presenter
through the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine, and a Binge/Meth presenter through the American Trauma Society. Judy recently had her article "A Teacher's Point of
View on Family Life (Sex) Education" published in the American Journal of Sexuality Education: Volume 2. She has presented workshops on peer educator programs at the 2007
Family Involvement Conference and at the 2007 Erie County Family and Consumer Sciences in-service.
Nora Gelperin, M.Ed.
Nora Gelperin oversees Answer's Sexuality Education Training Initiative. She is also founder of the organization's annual Training Institute in Sexual Health Education (TISHE), and a
sexuality expert for the weekly live chats on the Sex, Etc. Web site, Sexetc.org. Nora develops, markets, and conducts training workshops for teachers and community agency staff in
New Jersey and nationwide. Previously, she was an adjunct instructor of human sexuality at Temple University and Montclair State University, and a community educator with the Planned
Parenthoods of Western Washington and Greater Northern New Jersey. She earned her master of education in school health education degree from Temple University. Nora has written
curricula for the Teen PEP manual, Discussion. Guides for Sex, Etc. and numerous articles on adolescent sexual health.
Nora will be giving two presentations:
Spice Up Your Sex Ed: Favorite Lessons from Sex, Etc.
Sex, Etc., the teen magazine and Web site, provides a bounty of teaching tools for high school health teachers. Favorite magazine articles, lesson plans, and video clips from
Sex, Etc. will be showcased so that health teachers are familiar with all of the teen-friendly resources available to spice up their teaching.
Professional Development in Your Pajamas: A New Online Sexuality Workshop!
Time and money are often scarce for professional
development, and teachers crave quality workshops that enable them to become better teachers. Many health/physical education teachers do not have a background in human sexuality and
are required to teach a controversial subject they might know little about. This dynamic and interactive workshop will highlight a new online professional development opportunity for
health teachers that covers the Sexuality ABCs (Abstinence, Birth Control, and Condoms) and demonstrates how professionals can participate in high-quality workshops without leaving
the comfort of their home or office.
Barbara Huberman, RN, M.Ed.
Barbara Kemp Huberman was the founder and president of the nationally recognized Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Coalition of North Carolina from 1985 until 1995, and
has been actively involved in human sexuality education and adolescent sexuality issues for over 30 years. Ms. Huberman is an expert consultant on adolescent pregnancy
prevention, sexuality education, and coalition building. Published in professional journals, and author of 299 Ways to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, she has been an invited
lecturer at many colleges, universities, and conferences. She is a Certified Sex Educator and Counselor and holds a bachelor's degree in Nursing from the University of Florida
and a master's degree in education from the University of North Carolina. She has also served as the president of the National Organization on Adolescent Pregnancy, Parenting,
and Prevention. Additionally, she is an adjunct professor in the College of Health Promotion at UNC at Charlotte. In 1996, she was a founding board member of the National
Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy and was the first chair of the National Task Force on State and Local Action (1996–1998). At the present time, Ms. Huberman is the
National Director of Education and Outreach for Advocates for Youth (formerly the Center for Population Options) based in Washington, D.C. and the coordinator of the Rights. Respect.
Responsibility.© national campaign.
Erin E. Johnson, M.P.H., CHES
Erin Johnson has been with the South Carolina Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy since 2004, currently serving as the Senior Project Coordinator. In this role she is the
director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and South Carolina Department of Education grants and assists with training, education, and special projects. Most
recently Erin was an instructor at Baylor University in the Department of Health, Human Performance and Recreation, teaching Mood Modifying Substances. She earned a Master of
Public Health from the University of Wisconsin—La Crosse and is a Certified Health Education Specialist. Before coming to the South Carolina Campaign, Erin was an AIDS Health
Educator for the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control.
Carl A. Kallgren, Ph.D.
Carl Kallgren has been a researcher and scholar in the area of evaluation and teenage pregnancy since 1997. "In terms of funding experience, I have helped bring in over two million
dollars in funding for teen pregnancy prevention and healthy youth development through donations from a private donor, grants, and contracts." Carl received his doctoral degree from
Arizona State University in 1987. He has been conducting evaluations and other research in teenage pregnancy continuously since 1997, and first worked in the area in 1985.
Taalibah Kariem-White
Taalibah A. Kariem-White is a manager of training & performance improvement with TRAINING 3, the Region 3 Title X Reproductive Health Training Center. She has more than 20
years experience working with community youth and agency administrators on building effective programs to prevent teen pregnancy and reduce the rates of HIV and STIs among
adolescents. Taalibah actively engages Muslim youth in programs about sexual health issues.
Tom Klaus, M.Ed.
Tom Klaus is program director for Teen Pregnancy Prevention Initiatives at Advocates for Youth (AFY). He joined AFY in December 2005 after serving as the executive director of
FutureNet, the Iowa Network for Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention, Parenting and Sexual Health. At Advocates for Youth, Tom oversees the national teen pregnancy prevention work for the
organization. He leads a team that provides organizational development training, coaching, and technical assistance to state and regional organizations that build their capacity to
deliver proven effective programs that work to prevent pregnancy among youth. The centerpiece of the team's work is the "Promoting Science-Based Approaches" project, funded by the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Tom has created numerous curricula and teen pregnancy materials and is a nationally respected writer, trainer, speaker, and leader within
the field of adolescent reproductive health. He has been a member of Iowa Governor Thomas Vilsack's Task Force on Responsible Fatherhood, Team Leader for the Family Planning Chapter,
and review committee member for Healthy Iowans 2010. He earned a master of science degree from the School of Education at Drake University.
Aimee D. LeFevers
Joe Markiewicz
Joe Markiewicz is the project director for healthy youth development at the Center for Organizational Research and Evaluation (CORE) at Penn State Erie, the Behrend College in Erie,
Pennsylvania. He has been involved in the juvenile justice field for more than seventeen years as a juvenile probation officer (Erie County), counselor (Erie Schools Alternative
Education Program), program director (Delinquency Prevention Program), child development program supervisor (Millcreek School District), TSS worker, family development specialist
(Erie Family Center), social skills instructor, and behavioral therapist for the Anger Control Training Program at Perseus House, Inc. Most recently he served as the regional
strategic consultant for the Communities That Care (CTC) initiative for eighteen counties in Northwest Pennsylvania from 2001–2007. Joe is an executive board member
for the Erie County Policy and Planning Board and the chairman for the Community Planning Sub-Committee for Erie County. He also serves an advisory role for the Erie County
Teen Pregnancy Task Force, Poverty Task Force and Truancy Prevention Project (Erie County), General McLane School District Safe Schools Committee, and the Erie/Crawford County Vista
Advisory Board.
Konnie McCaffree
Dr. Konstance McCaffree is an AASECT- and NCFR-certified sexuality educator and adjunct lecturer at the University of Pennsylvania's Graduate School of Education. She is the senior
program consultant and an adjunct professor in Widener University's Center for Education, Program in Human Sexuality. As a classroom teacher in the public schools for more than years,
Konnie has created her own curricula and taught human sexuality to elementary and secondary students. She conducts workshops in the United States and internationally to help educators
and health professionals improve their skills in implementing sexuality education. In recent years she has developed curricula and implemented training programs for educators and
other health professionals in South Africa, Zambia, Nigeria, and the Philippines. Her work in Nigeria assisting Action Health Incorporated develop a National Family Life (sexuality)
and HIV curriculum which has been approved for implementation in Nigerian schools by the Federal Ministry has involved training trainers, Federal Ministry educators, and professors
preparing the pre-service teachers for their work in the Nigerian schools.
Konnie has worked with various research groups to develop curricula to prevent HIV/AIDS, unplanned pregnancy, and other health and social issues among adolescents. She is the
co-author of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Research to Classroom and nationally promoted award-winning curricula for minority youth, Be Proud! Be Responsible!,
Making Proud Choices, and Making a Difference.
Konnie served on the board of directors of the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States (SIECUS) for nine years and the Society for the Scientific Study of
Sexuality (SSSS). She is active in the American Association of Sex Education, Counselors and Therapists (AASECT), serving as treasurer and president-elect as well as the chair of
several committees including the certification committee, which establishes standards and trains teachers in sexuality education. She has received awards for her "excellence in
teaching" and "outstanding contributions to the field of Human Sexuality."
Catherine Morrison, M.P.H.
As the State Policy Coordinator at SIECUS, Kate plays an integral role in developing SIECUS' state-based work, providing technical assistance to state and community-based partners,
and developing the SIECUS State Profiles. She completed her Master of Public Health at Saint Louis University in Health Policy, and has worked on numerous campaigns, including
Senator Tom Daschle. In college, Kate served on the local Planned Parenthood Board of Directors, earning the Hope for Humanity award in 2004. She graduated from Bradley
University with degrees in Political Science and Women’s Studies.
Maryjo M. Oster
Maryjo M. Oster is a fifth-year Ph.D. candidate in the Educational Theory & Policy program at the Pennsylvania State University. Her research interests include
sex education and other health-relevant prevention efforts and public policy analysis. She has presented at numerous conferences on these issues, including the CDC’s
infamous STD Prevention Conference in 2005, in which she and another presenter were removed from a panel about effective sex education approaches via political intervention and
replaced with presenters who would espouse a more politically acceptable point of view on the issue. Oster recently had a paper published in the American Journal of Sexuality
Education entitled “Saying One Thing and Doing Another: The Paradox of Best Practices and Sex Education.” She is currently working on her doctoral dissertation on the
topic of school-based sex education policy in Pennsylvania and hopes to graduate in the 2008-2009 academic year. Oster is a board member of The Pennsylvania Coalition to Prevent
Teen Pregnancy.
Mary Jo
Podgurski, M.A., RN
Mary Jo Podgurski is the Director of The Washington Hospital Teen Outreach and President and Founder of the Academy for Adolescent Health, Inc. She began volunteering with
pregnant teens in 1976, the Washington Hospital began supporting her teaching efforts in 1988 and she has created numerous youth development and education programs, including
Postpone, Prevent, PrepareSM, POWERSM (Positive Options for Waiting through Education for Real Life), E.C.H.O. (Educate Children for Healthy Outcomes), Strong Fathers, Strong
Families Program, Peer Educator Program, and the Real Talk Performers. Teen Outreach programs are currently in place in 38 schools from 23 school districts in five Western
Pennsylvania counties. Mary Jo has numerous publications, including an original one act play about teen pregnancy, as well as the award winning video “Voices–The
Reality of Early Childbearing–Transcending the Myths.” Since 2005 Mary Jo has written a weekly column entitled Ask Mary Jo for the Observer-Reporter newspaper; in
2007 she initiated a weekly teen online chat.
Carolyn Rychcik
Carolyn Rychcik received her bachelor of science degree from the University of Maryland's College of Health and Human Performance in Family Studies. She supervised Family Health
Council of Pittsburgh's Peer Education Program through their Center for Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Department for five years. Carolyn has worked for the Pittsburgh Public
School District for the past six years as a health educator. Carolyn has presented on sexuality education throughout the country, including the Healthy Teen Network (formerly NOAPPP)
and Ryan White Conferences.
Allyson Sandak, M.A.
Allyson Sandak, M.A. is a sexual health educator and trainer for the Center for Family Life Education at Planned Parenthood of Greater Northern New Jersey. She has
been working in the field of sexuality education for eight years, providing education and training to young people, parents, and youth service providers on a variety of sexuality
topics. Ms. Sandak was a contributing author to third edition of Unequal Partners: Addressing Power and Consent in Adult-Teen and Other Relationships. She holds a M.A.
degree in Health Education and a Certificate in Human Sexuality Education from Montclair State University
Co-Presenter, Melissa Keyes DiGioia is a sexual
health Educator and trainer for The Center for Family Life Education at Planned Parenthood of Greater Northern New Jersey, and specializes in high-risk youth. Ms. DiGioia
is a coauthor of All Together Now: Teaching about Contraception and Safer Sex and a contributing author to the third edition of Unequal Partners: Teaching About
Power and Consent in Adult-Teen and Other Relationships. A graduate student at Montclair State University, Ms. DiGioia received her B.A. with concentrations in Psychology
and Women’s and Gender Studies from The College of New Jersey.
Glynis Shea
Glynis Shea is the communications coordinator for the Konopka Institute for Best Practices in Adolescent Health (Department of Pediatrics) at the University of Minnesota Medical
School. As a former vice president at Saatchi & Saatchi Advertising, San Francisco, she crafted communication plans and advertising strategies, fielded national market research
efforts, and managed the production of TV, print, and radio advertising. Her client list included Hewlett-Packard, US West, and the AIDS Legal Referral Panel. Today, Glynis works with
researchers, youth workers, medical practitioners, public health professionals, educators, and others to effectively communicate about and advocate for the health needs of
adolescents.
Evelyn Simpkins, Physicians for Reproductive Choice and Health
Sari Stevens
Sari Stevens is the State Public Affairs Director for Planned Parenthood Pennsylvania Advocates (PPPA), one of twenty-one state public affairs offices of
Planned Parenthood Federation of America. In her current position, Sari coordinates the public affairs, advocacy, and electoral activities of the public affairs staff at the state's
seven affiliates. Sari is one of three co-chairs of the Pennsylvanians for Responsible Sex Education coalition (PARSE) and sits on the executive committee of the Pennsylvania America
Votes coalition. After graduating from Skidmore College with a bachelor's degree in social work and law, Sari went on to work on many regional and statewide campaigns in New
Jersey. She worked as a liaison between local elected officials and the governor's office under Governor Jim McGreevey in Trenton, NJ before joining PPPA in 2004.
Co-presenter Sarah Coburn currently serves as Project Coordinator at the
Clara Bell Duvall Reproductive Freedom Project of the ACLU of Pennsylvania. Sarah focuses her efforts on the promotion of comprehensive sexuality education in Pennsylvania public
schools through research and advocacy and acts as a support for parent and teen advocates and the PARSE (Pennsylvanians for Responsible Sex Education) coalition. Sarah received her
B.A. from Smith College.
Barb Still, RN, M.S.N.
Barb Still has been practicing nursing for over 30 years. Her expertise is in the area of children and womens' health. After receiving her master's degree in nursing in 1995
as a Clinical Nurse Specialist from the University of Delaware she has been practicing as a Certified School Nurse in the Penn Manor School District in Lancaster,
Pennsylvania. She is also affiliated with Lancaster General Hospital’s Wellness Center in programs such as “Growing Together, ” a mother-daughter class and
“Shapedown,” a 10-week family-based healthy lifestyle program for parents and children. Barb has developed and implemented various programs for the Penn Manor School
District including “Girl’s Night Out” for 8th grade girls, which emphasizes self-defense and self-esteem. Her passion is health teaching in the middle school
years.
Susan E. Washinger, M.Ed.
Susan Washinger has worked in prevention and youth development programming for ten years. Susan has a master of education in health education from Penn State. She is currently the
project coordinator of science-based programs for the Pennsylvania Coalition to Prevent Teen Pregnancy.
Lisa Wehr
program of the College of Health and Human
Development and
the Pennsylvania Coalition to Prevent Teen Pregnancy
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