Coming Together for Sexual Health
Season 4 has dropped! The first three episodes are on harm reduction and sexual health. Then we will turn to family planning and reproductive justice. Coming Together for Sexual Health is a podcast for providers and advocates passionate about health equity and inclusive care. We unpack both the how and the why of improving sexual and reproductive health. From root structural problems to improvements in clinical care, we keep the attention on people most impacted by STIs, HIV, and emerging infectious diseases. Powered by leading sexual health trainers at UCSF’s California Prevention Training Center, join our sex-positive conversations with expert clinicians, public health leaders, and community members wherever you get your podcasts. Find us at ComingTogetherPod.com and @ComingTogetherPod on Instagram.
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S4 E9 From Red Ribbons to Leather Straps: Rodney McCoy’s Trailblazing Tale of HIV Prevention and Pleasure
01/17/2024
S4 E9 From Red Ribbons to Leather Straps: Rodney McCoy’s Trailblazing Tale of HIV Prevention and Pleasure
In this episode, Rodney McCoy, a Black queer man with over four decades of experience in HIV prevention and education, shares his journey as a Leatherman of color and discusses the intersection of BDSM, kink, and HIV prevention. From his entry into the kink community to becoming a titleholder in the American Leatherman competition, Rodney emphasizes how the kink community provided a safe space for self-discovery and empowerment. The episode explores the link between pleasure, power dynamics, and HIV prevention, highlighting the importance of honest conversations, sex positivity training, and the destigmatization of "risky behavior." Rodney, a health educator, program director, adjunct professor, and researcher, emphasizes the partnership between healthcare professionals and patients in promoting sexual health. Rodney says, “I am about encouraging people to embrace all pleasure: sexual pleasure, pleasure that comes from good mental health, from good physical health and from good social connections. I believe as healthcare professionals, regardless of the field we're in, we are arbiters to help assist our clients explore and enhance that pleasure, that good health in their lives.” Rodney shares personal experiences as an HIV/STI testing specialist, addressing the impact of stigma and the importance of open communication. Resources from Rodney: Beyond the Red Ribbon training & other services: on YouTube Bio: Rodney “Rod” McCoy, Jr. brings his expertise of nearly four decades in HIV prevention and education, as well as his real-life experience as an African American gay/queer man living with HIV. An Oberlin College graduate with his Bachelors in Sociology and Black Studies, Rod has worked in a variety of capacities in the field of HIV Prevention, from Health Educator and HIV Counselor to Program Director. As an Adjunct Professor at George Mason University, Rod established the “HIV, Culture and Sexuality” course for the school’s Global and Community Health Department. Rod created a sex positivity training for public health professionals called Beyond the Red Ribbon in collaboration with Louis Shackelford of the HIV Vaccine Trials Network. He currently works at Us Helping Us in Washington, DC, as a Research Assistant.
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S4 E8 Intimacy Starts with I: Women, Self-Love, and HIV with Michelle Lopez
12/05/2023
S4 E8 Intimacy Starts with I: Women, Self-Love, and HIV with Michelle Lopez
CW: Mention of abuse, sexual abuse, physical abuse, incest, molestation At 24 years old, in the early 90’s, Michelle Lopez was riding a train in New York with her newborn baby and saw an advertisement that spoke to her. It said, “If you’re a woman and you’re enduring substance abuse, homelessness, or battery, call this number.” Michelle picked up a phone and began her new life. Her and her daughter were diagnosed with HIV, and it was her mission to get clean, understand her own trauma, and help others with similar stories. Michelle, a bisexual Caribbean woman, realized that women living with HIV continue to be ostracized for both wanting and having sex. Michelle knew she had to combat this and teach herself and others about self-love, pleasure, and intimacy. She has spent her career advocating for HIV prevention and treatment, women’s health, mental health, sexuality, and how to unlearn feelings of shame. She says, “I recognized getting clean would give me more power to fight against situations and circumstances and stand up for my rights. I had to learn what it is to love Michelle and deal with the trauma that I endured.” Michelle shares how she utilizes her experiences from childhood to the present to educate others through clinical work, research, and advocacy. Her story is one of empowerment, celebration, and making lemonade with the lemons she was given. . Resources: Michelle Lopez CAPTC Bio: Michelle Lopez is a tireless advocate for public health among Black and Latinx communities. Over the last 30 years, Michelle has worked in HIV and AIDS prevention and health care navigation and substance use services. Michelle has served on boards of directors and advised on policy development that impacts the lives of marginalized communities. Michelle is now focusing on research designs methodology to meaningfully engages community members.
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S4 E7 Dan Savage on the Magic Question “What are you into?” & Dr. Ina Park on How Providers Can Help
11/01/2023
S4 E7 Dan Savage on the Magic Question “What are you into?” & Dr. Ina Park on How Providers Can Help
Dan Savage is a sex-advice columnist and podcaster, and Ina Park is a sex positive STI researcher, physician, and author. The two come together in this episode to discuss desire, pleasure, and how to communicate about what feels good with partners and providers. Dan delves into discovering kinks, pleasure as we age, and trying new things alone and with partners. Ina reflects on her experiences as a provider, having conversations with patients around sex and pleasure as bodies, needs, and abilities change. Dan says that gay people might be better at sex, “not because we're magic...we use the 4 magic words ‘what are you into?’” Ina explains that honest communication with a partner, a physician, a sex columnist, or a therapist knocks down barriers to explore sex and discover pleasure. The two emphasize the importance of both having providers and friends (with a good sense of judgment) with whom you can discuss sex freely. This is our first episode of the 3-episode mini-series on pleasure. . Resources: Connect with Dan: on Instagram, and on Twitter/X Connect with Ina: and on Twitter/X Learn how to include pleasure in sexual health history-taking from the National Coalition for Sexual Health: https://nationalcoalitionforsexualhealth.org/tools/for-healthcare-providers/video-series Bios: Dan Savage is a sex-advice columnist, podcaster and author whose graphic, pragmatic, and humorous advice has changed the cultural conversation about monogamy, gay rights, religion, and politics. “Savage Love,” Dan’s sex-advice column, was first published in 1991 and is now syndicated across the United States and Canada. He also hosts the Savage Lovecast, a weekly, call-in advice podcast that has tens of thousands of paying subscribers for premium Magnum content. Both his podcast and column can be found on his website Savage.Love. Ina Park MD, MS, is the author of Strange Bedfellows: Adventures in the Science, History, and Surprising Secrets of STDs. She is the Principal Investigator at the California Prevention Training Center. She is a Professor in the Department of Family and Community Medicine at the University of California San Francisco School of Medicine and a Medical Consultant in the Division of STD Prevention at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. She is a co-author of the 2021 CDC STD Treatment Guidelines, the country’s premier resource for diagnosis and treatment of sexually transmitted infections.
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S4 E6 Family Planning as Gender Affirming Care with Trans and Nonbinary Patients
09/27/2023
S4 E6 Family Planning as Gender Affirming Care with Trans and Nonbinary Patients
Director of Gender-Affirming Care for UC Davis Health, Miles Harris, FNP-BC, advocates for the integration of gender-affirming care with primary care and family planning. He shares that “so much of gender affirming care is not about hormones” and that “it is often so easy as a health care provider to do the thing that someone needs that changes their life.” He breaks down misconceptions: hormone therapy and contraception for trans folks is relatively simple, taking testosterone and not having a period does not prevent pregnancy, and there are no contraceptive methods that are contraindicated due to testosterone use. He emphasizes the importance of not making assumptions about someone’s body parts or those of their partners, as well as not assuming that people are having types of sex that can result in a pregnancy. In choosing a contraceptive method, he says, “we want to remember that this person is a whole person, more than just their trans or non-binary identity.” This is the last episode in our mini-series on family planning and reproductive justice. . Resources: Article co-authored by Miles Harris UCSF website Biannual conference Online learning from the Fenway Institute Created by GLMA & Remote providers of gender affirming care CAPTC-Related Training and Resources: Podcast episode Podcast episode Recorded webinar Turn on notifications to never miss an episode of Coming Together for Sexual Health. Follow Coming Together for Sexual Health on and . Miles Harris is a trans and non-binary identified family nurse practitioner. He serves as the founding Director of Gender-Affirming Care for UC Davis Health and as an assistant clinical professor at the UC Davis Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing. His research focuses on sexual and reproductive health needs of transgender and gender nonbinary people, including contraceptive options for transgender and gender-nonbinary people assigned female at birth.
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S4 E5 Lesser-Known Forms of Birth Control and Downplayed Side-effects: Providing Empowering Contraceptive Care
08/30/2023
S4 E5 Lesser-Known Forms of Birth Control and Downplayed Side-effects: Providing Empowering Contraceptive Care
Family doctor Jennifer Karlin, MD, PhD, and health educator Mariana Horne, join host Tammy Kremer to talk through forms of birth control that are not as well-known, including self-injectable Depo Provera, internal condoms, and the fertility awareness method. They go into side effects of birth control methods that are not always named, such as changes in mood and blood pressure. Mariana shares how she has supported clients who’ve faced coercive birth control practices in getting the care they want and how her background helps her connect with monolingual Spanish-speaking communities. Meanwhile, Jennifer shares how her family’s experience with healthcare led her to focus on empowering her patients, making the connection between how experiences in the clinic can impact people outside of the clinic: “I want them to take that feeling of autonomy, of like ‘oh, this is my body, I get to make choices about it,’ I want everybody to walk around the world knowing that and feeling that and acting that when they're not in the clinical space.” . Resources: CAPTC Related Training and Resources: Turn on notifications to never miss an episode of Coming Together for Sexual Health. Follow Coming Together for Sexual Health on and . Mariana Horne is a health educator and outreach lead at UCSF New Generation Health Clinic. She is committed to addressing racial inequities and disparities in reproductive health care and is an advocate for anyone in need of reproductive care, including monolingual Spanish-speaking communities. Her expertise encompasses birth control, sexually transmitted infections, minor consent laws in California, and reproductive justice initiatives. Jennifer Karlin, MD, PhD, is a board-certified family physician and family planning specialist whose primary care practice is anchored in caring for patients in ways that encourage their empowerment and autonomy. At UC Davis and beyond, she is committed to medical and resident education that aims to encourage physicians-in-training to approach their practices from an historical, trauma-informed, and self-reflexive perspective. Her research aims to understand how social, political, and institutional structures affect people's experiences with diagnosis, treatment, and health care.
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S4 E4: When People Have or Are Denied Abortions: The Turnaway Study with Dr. Diana Greene Foster
08/02/2023
S4 E4: When People Have or Are Denied Abortions: The Turnaway Study with Dr. Diana Greene Foster
Welcome to our mini-series on Reproductive Justice and Family Planning! Diana Greene Foster, PhD, author of The Turnaway Study: Ten Years, a Thousand Women, and the Consequences of Having - or Being Denied - an Abortion, sits down with host Tammy Kremer to advocate for reproductive justice and bodily autonomy. She explains that the Turnaway Study found that, “When people are making the decision about what to do with an unexpected pregnancy and they decide on abortion, all the reasons they give us are exactly those outcomes that we see for people who are denied an abortion.” She envisions a world in which “everyone is an equal partner in sex, in childbearing, in contraception, in pregnancy decision-making.” Follow Diana Greene Foster on Resources: CAPTC-Related Training and Resources: Turn on notifications to never miss an episode of Coming Together for Sexual Health. Follow Coming Together for Sexual Health on and . Diana Greene Foster is a professor at the University of California, San Francisco, in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences and a researcher at Advancing New Standards in Reproductive Health. She is the principal investigator of the Turnaway Study in the United States and Nepal, a nationwide longitudinal prospective study of the health and well-being of women who seek abortion including both women who do and do not receive abortion.
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S4 E3: America’s War on Drugs and Harm Reduction Around the World with Tanagra Melgarejo Pulido
07/19/2023
S4 E3: America’s War on Drugs and Harm Reduction Around the World with Tanagra Melgarejo Pulido
Tanagra Melgarejo Pulido, Director of Capacity Building at the National Harm Reduction Coalition, speaks with host Tammy Kremer about the landscape of harm reduction programs and policies around the world and in the US, with a focus on the impacts of racism and colonization. She explains how harm reduction began with “communities of people who used drugs looking at each other, saying wait a minute, ‘We love each other, we care for each other. We need to build power and we need to work together.'” Resources: CAPTC-Related Training and Resources: Turn on notifications to never miss an episode of Coming Together for Sexual Health. Follow Coming Together for Sexual Health on and . Tanagra Melgarejo Pulido was born and raised in Puerto Rico and is a daughter of immigrants from Mexico and Cuba. She leads the National Harm Reduction Coalition's capacity, building, and technical assistance efforts across the United States and its territories.
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S4 E2: Harm Reduction by Heart with Braunz Courtney
07/05/2023
S4 E2: Harm Reduction by Heart with Braunz Courtney
CW: Substance Abuse Braunz Courtney speaks with host Tammy Kremer about he practiced strategies of harm reduction at the age of 11 before he knew what the term meant. He went from dancing shirtless to raise awareness of the prevalence of HIV/AIDS in queer Black communities to serving as the Executive Director of the HIV Education Prevention Project of Alameda County. He touches upon the importance of organizations that understand the lived experiences of the populations they serve. Follow HEPPAC on and . Resources: CAPTC-Related Training and Resources: Turn on notifications to never miss an episode of Coming Together for Sexual Health. Follow Coming Together for Sexual Health on and . Braunz Courtney is the Executive Director of the HIV Education Prevention Project of Alameda County. He serves PWUDs, the unhoused homeless, LGBTQ+, youth, and the recently released/reentry of the Alameda, Contra Costa, and Solano Counties. He creates, implements, and markets culturally appropriate programs that provide services in non-clinical settings to BIPOC communities throughout Northern California East Bay with a goal of having long-lasting public health impacts.
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S4 E1: Narcan Queen Kochina Rude on Drag and Harm Reduction
06/21/2023
S4 E1: Narcan Queen Kochina Rude on Drag and Harm Reduction
CW: Opioid Overdose, Molestation Welcome to our mini-series on Harm Reduction! Host Tammy Kremer sits down with drag queen Kochina Rude to share how she uses her performances to educate the LGBTQ+ community about Naloxone administration, safer partying, and overdose prevention. At her show “Princess,” cohosted with Lisa Frankenstien, Kochina Rude has provided training and 2,000+ doses of Narcan in San Francisco’s South of Market neighborhood. Follow Kochina Rude on , , and Resources: CAPTC-Related Training and Resources: Turn on notifications to never miss an episode of Coming Together for Sexual Health. Follow Coming Together for Sexual Health on and . Kochina Rude is a Bay Area-based drag queen, harm reduction advocate, and public health worker. She co-hosts the drag show “Princess” with Lisa Frankenstein at SF Oasis, where she established a naloxone distribution and overdose prevention education project for LGBT+ nightlife, providing over 2,000 doses of Narcan for community members in San Francisco’s South of Market neighborhood since 2021.
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S3 E14: Monkeypox, Where Are We Now? with Dr. Peter Chin-Hong
12/14/2022
S3 E14: Monkeypox, Where Are We Now? with Dr. Peter Chin-Hong
Host Tammy Kremer chats with UCSF Infectious Disease Specialist Dr. Peter Chin-Hong about the current state of the Mpox outbreak: how it reflects contemporary health inequities, how stigma can be a barrier to people accessing treatment, and how lessons learned from past public health crises shaped the clinical and community response. Dr. Chin-Hong speaks about his experience caring for Mpox patients over the course of the outbreak, and how the stigma surrounding the virus has discouraged individuals from seeking out the necessary care, creating invisible populations of patients who are disconnected from diagnosis and treatment. Finally, he breaks down the social and behavioral interventions that have been effective in slowing the spread of the virus over the past months. They explore the role of public health education and messaging in the Mpox outbreak and how Dr. Chin-Hong anticipates the outbreak may proceed. CAPTC-Related Training and Resources: Turn on notifications to never miss an episode of Coming Together for Sexual Health. Follow Coming Together for Sexual Health on and . Peter Chin-Hong, MD, is a professor of medicine and associate dean at UCSF. He specializes in treating infectious diseases, especially in immunosuppressed patients such as recipients of organ and stem cell transplants and HIV-positive recipients of organ transplants. He is regularly featured in the media discussing COVID-19 and Mpox.
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S3 E13: Centering Pleasure, Problems, and Pride in Sexual Health Care with Jenn Rogers & Bryce Furness
11/16/2022
S3 E13: Centering Pleasure, Problems, and Pride in Sexual Health Care with Jenn Rogers & Bryce Furness
Host Tammy Kremer interviews Jenn Rogers, director of the National Coalition for Sexual Health (NCSH), and Bryce Furness, MD, CDC Epidemiologist, about their work developing a toolkit for primary care providers to use in order to center sexual pleasure, problems, and pride as a part of all wellness visits. The CDC encourages taking sexual history by asking about 5 Ps: Partners, Practices, Past STI History, Protection From STIs, and Pregnancy Intention. The National Coalition for Sexual Health recently released a video series called “A New Approach to Sexual History Taking,” along with a set of new questions for providers to ask patients in all wellness visits that add a 6th P: Pleasure, Pride, and Problems. Jenn and Bryce discuss the 6th P, which re-centers patients’ needs, enjoyment of their sexual lives, and social stigma attached to sex. As Jenn elaborates, “A satisfying pleasurable sex life is really a key element to sexual health and well-being for most people. So our sexual history taking questions really should reflect that." Bryce uses his specialized experiences providing sexual health care to LGBTQ+ populations to argue that we must recognize health disparities and address stigma around sexual health. Together, they discuss the creation of a freely accessible toolkit for all providers to use. They recognize that the current method of sexual history taking doesn’t incorporate enough discussion of issues such as gender identity, sexuality, shame, and stigma, and how these can affect sexual activity and sexual health. . Resources: , , Policy Action Group Turn on notifications to never miss an episode of Coming Together for Sexual Health. Follow Coming Together for Sexual Health on and . Jennifer Rogers, MPH, is the co-director of the National Coalition for Sexual Health (NCSH), a robust Coalition of over 200 members where she works collaboratively to promote high-quality sexual health information and health services. She also leads the Coalition’s Health Care Action Group to develop evidence-based and practical provider tools and materials. Bryce Furness, MD, MPH, is a Medical Epidemiologist with the CDC’s Division of STD Prevention. He has been embedded within the Washington, DC Department of Health since 2002. Highlights of his tenure include establishing a transgender health clinic, leading gay men’s health & wellness clinics, and improving the PrEP Clinic. He has recently published several articles on transforming primary care for LGBT people.
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S3 E12: Four Decades of Sexual Health: History of the CAPTC
10/26/2022
S3 E12: Four Decades of Sexual Health: History of the CAPTC
Director of the CAPTC Dana Cropper sits down with Gail Bolan, MD, and Alice Gandelman to discuss the founding of the CAPTC and its work in supporting sexual healthcare providers over the last 33 years. We learn about the forces that shaped the sexual healthcare field. Our guests unpack how the CAPTC developed alongside the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the late 1980s, the surprising relationship between HIV work and STI response, strategies to meet sexual healthcare needs both within and outside of sexual health clinics, and the ever-present need for greater training for providers around testing and treatment of STIs. We learn about how behavioral interventions were centered in response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic, and the importance of centering social determinants of health and larger structural forces in prevention and treatment efforts. They also discuss their hopes for opening up discussions about sexual health and de-stigmatizing the topic in the greater community. . Resources: Turn on notifications to never miss an episode of Coming Together for Sexual Health. Follow Coming Together for Sexual Health on and . Gail Bolan, MD, was the Director of the Division of STD Prevention at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) from 2011 through 2020. Prior to joining CDC, she directed the California Prevention Training Center for 23 years. She served as the Chief of the STD Control Branch at the California Department of Public Health and the Director of the San Francisco City and County STD Prevention and Control Program from 1997 to 2011 as well as Medical Director of the San Francisco City Clinic from 1987 to 1997. Alice Gandelman was the Director of the CAPTC from 1994 through 2021. She oversaw growth and development of CAPTC in numerous training and capacity-building programs in STD, HIV, sexual, and reproductive health.
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S3 E11: See All of Me: Transgender Health and Medical Mistrust with Zami Hyemingway & Dr. Tatyana Moaton
10/07/2022
S3 E11: See All of Me: Transgender Health and Medical Mistrust with Zami Hyemingway & Dr. Tatyana Moaton
CW: Transphobia, Racism Zami Hyemingway and Dr. Tatyana Moaton sit down with Tammy to discuss their personal and professional experiences with medical care for transgender folks and medical mistreatment. Together, they reflect on the need for medical providers to become responsive to transgender people's individual needs and advocate for them in a setting that has often been unsafe for them. Transgender folks need medical providers who will take risks and be true allies. Healthcare providers must rethink care amidst a system in which they occupy positions of power. Our guests also argue for de-coupling all healthcare from any sort of police or criminal systems, emphasizing the impact this has on people with marginalized identities. Their discussion dives into the colonial roots of the gender binary and the transgender identity category, and how these constructs lead to a misunderstanding of what it means to be transgender and navigate trans healthcare. Last March, Zami Hyemingway co-organized the conference on "See All of Me: The Intersections of Medical Mis/Distrust and its Impact on Transgender Health, HIV Care and Prevention” with Dr. Tatyana Moaton as a plenary speaker. . Resources: CBA Resources U.S. Trans Survey: New survey, open to trans people at any stage, launching 10/19/22 STD Expert Hour: This training focuses on the sexual health needs of transgender and gender non-conforming people. Improving Transgender Services for Trans and Gender Diverse People: Higher Education Scholarship Opportunities for LGBTQ+ students listed at , , Turn on notifications to never miss an episode of Coming Together for Sexual Health. Follow Coming Together for Sexual Health on and . Zami Hyemingway is the Capacity Building Assistance Gender-Affirming Project Manager at the Denver Prevention Training Center where he leads a team of identity consultants that provide technical assistance to clinics, health departments, and community-based organizations. Zami has over 10 years of experience in developing and implementing health behavior and health promotion programs. He also hosts personal wellness workshops via his organization, Spiritus Wellness. Dr. Tatyana Moaton is the CEO and Principal Consultant for Envision Consulting, one of the first black trans-led consulting firms in the country. She is also a senior capacity-building specialist with San Francisco Community Health Center. Tatyana is a veteran of the U.S. Armed Forces, serving honorably as an intelligence officer in the US Army. She recently obtained her Doctorate of Philosophy In Management Science. She has worked with the American Civil Liberties Union, LAMBDA Legal, the U.S. Center for Disease Control, AIDS United, NMAC, Gilead, Merck, Elton John AIDS Foundation, and The Black AIDS Institute.
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S3 E10: How Identity, Trauma, and Relationship Structure Affect Pleasure and Consent with Psychotherapist Sam Kendakur
09/21/2022
S3 E10: How Identity, Trauma, and Relationship Structure Affect Pleasure and Consent with Psychotherapist Sam Kendakur
CW: Sexual Trauma Psychotherapist Sam Kendakur talks with host Tammy Kremer about the intersections of sexual health and mental health. Listen in for nuanced conversations about the gray areas and messiness of consent; how to piece apart our own understandings of sexual pleasure, desire, and attraction; the impacts of stigma on sexual and gender identity and those who choose non-monogamous relationship styles. We learn about the unexpected impacts healthcare providers can have on the well-being of folks with marginalized sexual, gender, and racial identities, especially when there are stark differences between the provider and client’s lived experiences. Resources: Sam Kendakur’s Higher Education Scholarship Opportunities for LGBTQ+ students on , , Turn on notifications to never miss an episode of Coming Together for Sexual Health. Follow Coming Together for Sexual Health on and . Sam Kendakur has worked in the mental health field for the past 12 years in a variety of settings across college campuses, inpatient psychiatric hospitals, alternative peer support networks, clinics, institutes, and currently private clinical practice. He’s invested in creating spaces that make healing accessible and relevant to people from different realms of experience, especially those that inhabit marginalized spaces. The social structure and health care system have failed so many, and he tries to address and combat these shortcomings through a commitment to client-centered anti-oppression practices that honor that suffering is most often nested within inequitable and unjust systems and their consequences rather than individual lack. He specializes in working with the LGBTQIA community, BDSM and kink, race and ethnicity, trauma, and alternative relationship styles.
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S3 E9: Abortion and Reproductive Justice Across State Lines with Dr. Mai Fleming
08/24/2022
S3 E9: Abortion and Reproductive Justice Across State Lines with Dr. Mai Fleming
Dr. Mai Fleming sits down with host Tammy Kremer to discuss what she sees as the provider’s role in supporting patients, now that Roe v. Wade has been overturned. They review the multitude of situations in which a pregnancy is not optimal and how abortion stigma is one of the biggest barriers to medically safe abortion. At the core of her work, Dr. Fleming seeks to ensure her patients are empowered and find joy in their own reproductive health decisions. Follow Dr. Mai Fleming on . Resources: CAPTC-Related Training and Resources: Turn on notifications to never miss an episode of Coming Together for Sexual Health. Follow Coming Together for Sexual Health on and . Dr. Mai Fleming has a breadth of experience working in primary care settings and providing reproductive health services across the gender spectrum. Her work includes telemedicine abortion services via Hey Jane. As a family doctor, she helps people consider reproductive health and family planning within the broader context of their lives. In taking an expansive view of what reproductive care encompasses - including fertility counseling, abortion, and gender-affirming hormone therapy - Dr. Mai Fleming works to help her patients meet their goals.
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S3 E8: Monkeypox in California: A Personal Story and Public Health Perspective
08/10/2022
S3 E8: Monkeypox in California: A Personal Story and Public Health Perspective
Stephan Ferris, a Bay Area activist lawyer, received one of the first 40 reported diagnoses of Monkeypox after attending a Pride celebration in San Francisco, California. Here, Ferris sits down with host, Tammy Kremer, and Dr. Akanksha Vaidya, a clinical fellow responding to the health crisis, to share his experience and discuss the need for improving treatment accessibility and provider education concerning a Monkeypox diagnosis. This is a follow-up to at a very different stage of the spread of monkeypox. With the USA and WHO declaring this a public health emergency, Ferris and Dr. Vaidya use their respective lenses to reflect on the representation of this disease in the media, transmission, and the stigma associated with those who receive a diagnosis. As commercial labs begin to provide greater testing capacity, the group discusses improving messaging about limited vaccine supply and other treatment options for groups most vulnerable and individuals experiencing moderate symptoms. Resources: Turn on notifications to never miss an episode of Coming Together for Sexual Health. Follow Coming Together for Sexual Health on and . Stephan Ferris is an openly queer and activist lawyer who focuses on entertainment law with an emphasis on uplifting LGBTQ+ voices. Stephan is also the producer and co-host of the entertainment law podcast Reading is Fundamental. He volunteers with various Bay Area LGBTQI+ organizations and is on the board of directors for Bay Area Lawyers for Individual Freedom. Dr. Akanksha Vaidya is a clinical fellow trained in internal medicine and infectious diseases at the California Prevention Training Center. She completed her medical degree at Cornell University and her residency in Internal Medicine at Emory University in Atlanta. She came to UCSF in July 2020 for her Infectious Diseases Fellowship. Her research and professional interests include improving health equity and access to care for people with STIs and HIV.
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S3 E7: Breaking Down STI Stigma with Dr. Ina Park & Courtney Brame
07/27/2022
S3 E7: Breaking Down STI Stigma with Dr. Ina Park & Courtney Brame
CW: Suicide, Suicidal Ideation Courtney Brame, the founder of , sits down with guest host Dr. Ina Park to discuss the ongoing need to foster spaces that destigmatize STI diagnoses. In the ninth year of his HSV-2 diagnosis, Courtney speaks on navigating life with the virus and what drove him to connect with people struggling with mental health issues as a result of their herpes status. What started as informally providing solidarity to those living with herpes, quickly became a podcast and platform for sharing the experiences of those battling societal stigma and self-shaming, creating pathways to disclosing their status and tools that can make waiting for a vaccine more manageable. Courtney says that “sexual health is mental health.” He hopes to expand the mental health resources available to those living with herpes and use the collective stories of the SPFPP community to inform healthcare practices, especially the delivery of an HSV diagnosis. Courtney engages those living with a positive diagnosis and their allies to transform the stigma that often works to silence them. . Resources: SPFPP HSV Dr. Ina Park's and by Dr. Park campaign Turn on notifications to never miss an episode of Coming Together for Sexual Health. Follow Coming Together for Sexual Health on and . Courtney Brame is the founder of a 501c3 nonprofit organization highlighting the intersections of sexual health and mental health stigma. After discovering that many people diagnosed with herpes struggled with suicide ideation, Brame decided to interview those living with herpes and share their stories with other folks navigating herpes stigma. Something Positive for Positive People also works to give healthcare professionals tools they can use to provide anti-stigmatizing, identity-validating, sex-positive health care. He also hosts a podcast, called Something Positive for Positive People, where you can hear these stories and experiences directly.
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S3 E6: Dante King on Anti-Blackness and The 400-Year Holocaust
07/13/2022
S3 E6: Dante King on Anti-Blackness and The 400-Year Holocaust
CW: Racism, Genocide, Violence Dante King, author of , sits down with guest host Duran Rutledge, CAPTC's Capacity Building and Technical Assistance Trainer, to reflect on what it means to be a Black person in a country where the colonial legacy of anti-Blackness and conceptions of whiteness and white supremacy have engrained racism into our legal structures, healthcare system, and more. He offers concrete examples of how these intergenerational and ongoing traumas show up, and examines the roles of empathy, re-education, and narrative in promoting transformation. This conversation illuminates the structures that reinforce America’s blatant anti-Blackness that need to be seen, but so often are not. . Resources mentioned: The 400 Year Holocaust: Dante’s Books mentioned: : White America's Legal, Psychopathic, and Sociopathic Black Genocide and the Revolt Against Critical Race Theory by Dante King by Lerone Bennett Jr. by W.E.B. Dubois by Frederick Douglas by Dr. Joy Degruy Leary by Richard Rothstein by Antero Pietila Turn on notifications to never miss an episode of Coming Together for Sexual Health. Follow Coming Together for Sexual Health on and . Bio: Dante King is the author of The 400-Year Holocaust: White America's Legal, Psychopathic, and Sociopathic Black Genocide and the Revolt Against Critical Race Theory; winner of the Bookfest Award. Dante also teaches a course at the UCSF School of Medicine called Dante was the previous Deputy Director for the San Francisco California Department of Public Health Office of Health Equity, where he led the development and implementation of workforce and health equity policies and programs. You can find out more about Dante by going to and connecting via Twitter .
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S3 E5: Trauma-Informed Pregnancy Care with Becca Schwartz, LCSW
06/29/2022
S3 E5: Trauma-Informed Pregnancy Care with Becca Schwartz, LCSW
Becca Schwartz, LCSW, speaks about Team Lily, a pregnancy clinic for people experiencing significant barriers to care located at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital. We focus on trauma-informed care: how past trauma can show up for patients in the medical setting, ways providers can practice trauma-informed care, and how these issues present and are addressed in San Francisco and at Team Lily. We’d like to note that this episode contains occasional gendered language when talking about pregnant people. We recognize that not all pregnant people identify as women. We also acknowledge the national events taking place that are magnifying the pre-existing reproductive injustices in our country and recognize the disproportionate effects anti-abortion legislation has on low-income people of color in rural areas. We stand with abortion activists, abortion providers, and abortion seekers globally. We firmly believe that abortion should be provided on demand, and without apology, for all people. . Resources: , CNM, MS, listen to Ana’s San Francisco’s for Disease Intervention Specialists, from the CAPTC : Five Steps to Prevent and Treat HIV, HCV, and STDs Among People Experiencing Homelessness, from the CAPTC Turn on notifications to never miss an episode of Coming Together for Sexual Health. Follow Coming Together for Sexual Health on and . Becca Schwartz has been working as a clinical social worker at San Francisco General Hospital since 2004, in a joint position with the HIV Division and the Department of OB/Gyn. In 2018 she helped to launch Team Lily, a low-barrier pregnancy care clinic for people experiencing barriers such as homelessness, substance use disorders, mental illness, and intimate partner violence. As the social worker for HIVE Clinic and Team Lily, she provides complex care coordination, psycho-social support, risk reduction counseling, and linkage to mental health and substance use treatment to women living with HIV, or at risk for HIV, in and around pregnancy. For the past 15 years, Becca has provided these clinical services as well as practical help accessing housing and homeless services, healthcare, financial and nutritional benefits to pregnant women and their families. Becca is trained in Infant-Parent psychotherapy and brings this clinical lens to her work with families.
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S3 E4: PrEP Supports: Reflections on the Campaign
06/15/2022
S3 E4: PrEP Supports: Reflections on the Campaign
We speak with Terrance Wilder and Nikole Trainor, two people who were intimately involved in PrEP Supports, a campaign launched by the San Francisco Department of Public Health in 2018. PrEP Supports was a community-engaged campaign that specifically focused on PrEP access and education in Black communities in San Francisco. . Resources: See images and video from the PrEP Supports campaign at or by texting “Ask PrEP” to 21201 and Get connected to Have Good Sex on and their Get free at-home testing kits from Learn more about San Francisco’s PrEP and PEP self-paced online from the CAPTC PrEP for providers View the Turn on notifications to never miss an episode of Coming Together for Sexual Health. Follow Coming Together for Sexual Health on and . Terrance Wilder is an Equity Training Coordinator at the San Francisco AIDS Foundation where he’s worked for 5 years. In addition to putting in work at SFAF, Terrance is an avid basketball player, hiker, and comedy fan. Nikole Trainor currently works full-time for the San Francisco Department of Public Health (SFDPH) as the Getting to Zero Program Coordinator/Contract Manager, while also teaching part-time at SJSU in the School of Public Health. Nikole has worked for SFDPH in the STD Prevention and Control Branch for the past 13 years. She is responsible for spearheading several innovative initiatives which included the launch of the San Francisco PrEP Supports Campaign (2019), launch of Have Good Sex Campaign (2020), implementation of the first Pharmacist Delivered One-Stop PrEP Program at Mission Wellness Pharmacy in San Francisco CA (2018-present), and the implementation of the first official lab-based HIV/STI/HCV home-testing program (2021). For the past 15 years, Nikole has been dedicated to improving quality of life for all communities of color and speaking boldly about inequities that negatively impact the communities in which she serves.
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S3 E3: Monkeypox, What's The Hype? with Dr. Ina Park
06/01/2022
S3 E3: Monkeypox, What's The Hype? with Dr. Ina Park
This special episode features Dr. Ina Park discussing monkeypox: what it is, what's the hype, and how worried (hint: not very) she is about the spread. Follow Dr. Ina Park on and . . Resources: . Turn on notifications to never miss an episode of Coming Together for Sexual Health. Follow Coming Together for Sexual Health on and . Dr. Ina Park, MS, is the medical director at the California Prevention Training Center. She is a professor in the Department of Family and Community Medicine at the University of California San Francisco and a medical consultant in the Division of STD Prevention at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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S3 E2: Sex, Drugs, and Rock & Roll: Harm Reduction Strategies with Jen Jackson
05/18/2022
S3 E2: Sex, Drugs, and Rock & Roll: Harm Reduction Strategies with Jen Jackson
Jen Jackson, Disease Intervention Specialist and Harm Reductionist, walks us through the history of harm reduction, the principles that guide the movement, and gives us some personal examples of disease intervention and harm reduction values in action. Listen in to learn how theories of harm reduction apply in myriad settings, and how a foundation in these theories is essential to providing effective sexual healthcare. . Resources: CAPTC-Related Training and Resources: Training Series Turn on notifications to never miss an episode of Coming Together for Sexual Health. Follow Coming Together for Sexual Health on and .
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S3 E1: Disability and Sexual Health with Andrew Gurza
05/04/2022
S3 E1: Disability and Sexual Health with Andrew Gurza
CW: Ableism Follow Andrew Gurza on . Resources: by Kaleigh Trace Purchase or financially support The World’s First Accessible Sex Toy by Get Bump’n Turn on notifications to never miss an episode of Coming Together for Sexual Health. Follow Coming Together for Sexual Health on and . Andrew Gurza is an award-winning Disability Awareness Consultant and the Chief Disability Officer and Co-founder of Bump’n, a sex toy company for and by disabled people. Their work has been featured on BBC, CBC, Daily Xtra, Gay Times UK, Huffington Post, The Advocate, Everyday Feminism, Mashable, Out.com, and several anthologies. They were the subject of an award-winning National Film Board of Canada Documentary “Picture This." Andrew has guested on a number of podcasts including Dan Savage’s Savage Love and Cameron Esposito’s Queery. They have spoken all over the world on sex, disability and what it means to be a Queer Cripple. They are also the host of which won a Canadian Podcast Award in 2021, a Queerty Award, and was chosen as an Honoree at the 2020 Webby Awards. The show is available on all platforms. Andrew is also the creator of the viral hashtag #DisabledPeopleAreHot.
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S2 E8: All Things Anal Cancer with Dr. Rosalyn Plotzker
09/09/2021
S2 E8: All Things Anal Cancer with Dr. Rosalyn Plotzker
We speak with Dr. Rosalyn Plotzker about her work with UCSF’s ANCRE Center, the world’s first clinic devoted to anal cancer prevention. Anal cancer incidence is on the rise despite it being associated with HPV, a highly preventable (and extremely common!) virus.
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S2 Bonus: Asking for a Friend with Dr Rosalyn Plotzker
08/25/2021
S2 Bonus: Asking for a Friend with Dr Rosalyn Plotzker
If you work in sexual health, you have probably had the experience of becoming the "sexpert" for your friends and family. In this special episode we have gathered some (but by no means all!) of the questions Dr. Rosalyn Plotzker has received from her various circles to try and demystify at least some of these aspects of sexual health.
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S2 E7: Dr. Paul Nash on the Intersections of Aging, Discrimination, and Sexual Health Pt 2
08/18/2021
S2 E7: Dr. Paul Nash on the Intersections of Aging, Discrimination, and Sexual Health Pt 2
We continue our conversation with Dr. Paul Nash, Associate Professor in Gerontology at USC.
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S2 E6: Dr. Paul Nash on the Intersections of Aging, Discrimination, and Sexual Health Pt 1
08/11/2021
S2 E6: Dr. Paul Nash on the Intersections of Aging, Discrimination, and Sexual Health Pt 1
In this episode, we talk with Dr. Paul Nash, Associate Professor in Gerontology at USC. His research spans over a decade and focuses on ageism, discrimination, sexual health, and the built environment.
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S2 E5: Confronting Structural Racism in Healthcare with Dante King
07/28/2021
S2 E5: Confronting Structural Racism in Healthcare with Dante King
We talk with anti-racist activist, Dante King. He’s worked with organizations like the San Francisco Metropolitan transportation agency and the San Francisco Department of Public Health to cultivate environments that are anti-racist and inclusive.
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S2 E4: Why Sex Positivity Can Transform Healthcare with JaDawn Wright
06/16/2021
S2 E4: Why Sex Positivity Can Transform Healthcare with JaDawn Wright
"Sex positivity" has become quite a buzz word in sexual health and advocacy spaces in the last decade. But what does that actually mean in practice? Today we will talk with JaDawn Wright, Deputy Director of the Pacific Aids Education training Center (PAETC), about just that. JaDawn trains providers in building capacity in sex positivity; she says it can create better health outcomes and can help us each feel more seen "as our authentic selves."
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S2 E3: Examining Structural Racism in Healthcare with Ana Delgado
06/02/2021
S2 E3: Examining Structural Racism in Healthcare with Ana Delgado
Ana Delgado, CNM is a Clinical Professor in UC San Francisco Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, San Francisco General Hospital Division. Ana acts as the Assistant Director of Inpatient Obstetrics and Co-Director for Anti-Racism, Equity, Inclusion and Structural Change. Ana talks with us about racial inequities in healthcare, how structural racism permeates every facet of life, and why "race is always an issue for folks who are racialized.”
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