Thursday, May 15, 2025 • 8:30am - 4:00pm
The New England Sex Ed Conference, presented by Partners in Sex Ed and The Sex Ed Lecture Series, is a one-day conference for sex, health and wellness educators.
The conference provides opportunities to network with other educators, share ideas and learn best practices for teaching skills-based sexual health education.
This year, attendees can look forward to an inspiring lineup of keynote speakers and engaging workshops that will deepen their knowledge and equip them with valuable tools to enhance their teaching and advocacy in the field.
Keynote Speakers
Pleasure is the Measure
Applying the science of sex to long-term relationships
Emily Nagoski is the award-winning author of, Come As You Are, Burnout, and Come Together. Emily "brings the science." As a gifted and engaging speaker, Emily is an expert on women's sexual wellbeing, healthy relationships, and the prevention of sexual violence and harassment. She travels all over, training professionals, teaching college students and other lay people, and learning more every day about the science and art of sexual wellbeing. She is a trained Gottman Seven Principles educator, with extensive specialized training in bystander intervention, motivational interviewing, and cultural inclusivity, including race, gender, and class.
How We Produce Hope
Practical strategies for defending and advancing sex ed in a hostile climate
Jaclyn Friedman is the Founder and Executive Director of EducateUS, where she is building a movement to change US public school sex education for good. Friedman’s work has globally popularized the affirmative consent standard of sexual consent. Her first book, Yes Means Yes: Visions of Female Sexual Power and A World Without Rape, was one of Publisher’s Weekly’s Top 100 Books of 2009, and has inspired new laws in five U.S. states, as well as policies on countless campuses across the country and the world. She also spearheaded the legendary #FBrape campaign, which forced Facebook to address and exclude content that promotes or trivializes violence against women under their hate speech policy, and is founder and former executive director of Women, Action & the Media (WAM!).
Workshops
Check back regularly - we’ll be adding more workshops soon!
Apple Music, Spotify, TikTok, YouTube! Music is everywhere, shaping how young people think about love, sex, and relationships. Let’s equip teens with the tools to critically analyze the messages they hear. This interactive workshop unpacks how popular songs might be reimagined to deliver key messages about healthy relationships, including honesty, equality, responsibility, and respect. Come ready to sing!
In this workshop, participants will experience an interactive lesson on sexually transmitted infections (STIs) designed for middle and high school students. They will learn about how STIs are transmitted, protection methods, and the importance of regular testing and developing healthy sexual health habits.
As issues connected to sexual and gender diversity become increasingly politicized, pushback and even direct attacks against schools have mushroomed. Reassuringly, how this pushback plays out within school communities is most often predictable and can be managed successfully. Participants will acquire numerous proactive and responsive strategies for protecting their programs.
This workshop will address the swelling tide of anti LGBTQ rhetoric and will provide information needed to combat the disinformation campaigns and policies, while highlighting the importance of supporting LGBTQ youth in this heated moment in our history.
Turn on the TV and you’ll find countless references to sex/relationships. Studies show that nearly ¾ of parents and teens think that tv/movies are good entry points into conversations about sex. This session will examine how to teach media literacy to help folks sift through unhelpful tv messages.
FGM/C impacts half a million women and girls in the U.S., yet remains absent from sex-ed curricula. This workshop equips educators with foundational knowledge and tools to address FGM/C in a culturally responsive, trauma-informed manner, using interactive discussions and case studies
Men, Consent and Patriarchy will illuminate the nature of patriarchy, the systemic and interpersonal characteristics of patriarchal oppression and how men sustain, benefit from and participate in it. The class will also discuss how consent is broached and dismissed and the way patriarchy affects interpersonal relationships.
Discover the diverse range of menstrual products, including those made out of bamboo fiber options, in this workshop for educators. We'll explore the efficacy, accessibility, and environmental impacts of pads, tampons, and cups. Participants will gain strategies to empower students in making informed choices about menstrual health and wellness.
In this workshop you will learn about Maine Family Planning’s Puberty Happens curriculum developed for grades 4-6. We will go over the background and development of the curriculum, the core components, and will showcase interactive activities that can be used in the classroom with young people.
This workshop will provide educators with the tools necessary for supporting student-survivors through Title IX, creating safe(r) classroom environments, and providing trauma-informed support to the youth they work with. The workshop isn’t age specific and will provide tips for educators working with different student demographics.
WhatsOK, developed by Stop It Now!, fills a critical gap by providing judgment-free support for youth with concerns about sexual thoughts and behaviors. Jenny Coleman, LMHC, will discuss prevention-focused resources that help professionals guide youth in making safe choices, understanding consent, and accessing help before harm occurs.Sign up here to be notified of the New England Sex Education Conference and other resources for educators.
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