• What practitioners need to know about menopause and the challenges that their clients may experience in their intimate lives.

• Improving cultural proficiency of menopause and peri-menopause, and how experiences may vary across race/ethnicity.

• Understanding how to improve sexual health, function, and pleasure in different stages of menopause.

• Learning about the role of self-pleasure in alleviating a wide range of menopausal symptoms.

• Understanding new research on the roles of cannabis and sildenafil in treating menopausal sexual dysfunction.

• Gaining working knowledge of hormonal and non-hormonal menopause treatments.

• Understanding how to assess and treat chronic pelvic pain in menopause.

Dr. Lauren Streicher (OB/GYN professor at Northwestern)

Lauren Streicher, MD is a clinical professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine, a certified menopause practitioner of The Menopause Society, and the founding Medical Director of the Northwestern Medicine Center for Sexual Medicine and Menopause. She is a Senior Research Fellow of the Kinsey Institute of Indiana University and the Medical Director of Patient Education and Community Outreach for Midi Health.

In addition to her academic appointment at the Feinberg School of Medicine, Dr. Streicher is on the faculty of Northwestern University’s Graduate Program in Reproductive Science and Medicine for students pursuing a Master of Science degree in medical research.She is also the Faculty Advisor for The Medical Student Forum on Female Sexual Dysfunction, an organization to facilitate Chicago area medical students to collaborate, learn, and educate their academic peers about female sexual medicine. Dr. Streicher serves on many advisory boards including The Kinsey Institute, Let’s Talk Menopause, Let’s All Talk Menopause, Tell, LUWI, and Midi Health.

Dr. Cynthia Graham (Kinsey Institute)

Cynthia Graham is currently a Senior Scientist at the Kinsey Institute and a Professor of Gender Studies at Indiana University Bloomington. She has been Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Sex Research since 2009. Her current research focuses on male condom use, hormonal contraceptives, women’s sexuality, women’s sexual pleasure, sexual problems and sexual health among older adults.

She has been a member of the Kinsey Institute Condom Use Research Team since 2000. Her research has been funded by the UK Medical Research Council and the National Institute of Health Research. 

Cynthia was a member of the DSM-5 Workgroup on Sexual and Gender Identity Disorders. In 2023, she won the Masters and Johnson Award from the Society for Sex Therapy and Research. In 2016 she was awarded the Distinguished Scientific Achievement Award and in 2019 the Distinguished Service to SSSS Award by the Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality. In 2009 she was elected president of the International Academy of Sex Research.

Dr. Justin Lehmiller

Dr. Justin Lehmiller received his Ph.D. in Social Psychology from Purdue University. Dr. Lehmiller also is Director of the Study Abroad Program with the Sexual Health Alliance. He is a Research Fellow at The Kinsey Institute and author of the book Tell Me What You Want: The Science of Sexual Desire and How It Can Help You Improve Your Sex Life. Dr. Lehmiller is an award-winning educator, having been honored three times with the Certificate of Teaching Excellence from Harvard University, where he taught for several years.

He is also a prolific researcher and scholar who has published more than 50 academic works to date, including a textbook titled The Psychology of Human Sexuality (third edition forthcoming in 2023) that is used in college classrooms around the world.

Dr. Lehmiller’s research focuses on topics including casual sex, sexual fantasy, sexual health, and friends with benefits. His studies have appeared in all of the leading journals on human sexuality, including the Journal of Sex Research, Archives of Sexual Behavior, and The Journal of Sexual Medicine.

Rachel Zar, PhD, LMFT, CST

Rachel Zar is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, AASECT-Certified Sex Therapist, and Clinical Sexologist who specializes in relationship and sex therapy. She also holds certificates in sex therapy and sexuality education from the University of Michigan. Dr. Zar sees individuals and couples and provides clinical supervision at Avid Intimacy, a private group therapy practice in Chicago. Dr. Zar is proudly an LGBTQ-, kink-, and poly- affirmative clinician. Dr. Zar is passionate about educating and mentoring other clinicians, and she frequently lectures, writes, and provide expert interviews for the media on myriad sex and relationship topics.

Dr. Rena Malik

Dr. Rena Malik is a board-certified, fellowship-trained urologist specializing in Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Surgery (Urogynecology) and Sexual Medicine. She is also a Menopause Society Certified Practitioner Her practice, Rena Malik, MD, offers patient-focused, individualized care in bladder health, sexual dysfunction, hormone management, and the compassionate management of non-narcotic pelvic pain. This includes conditions such as erectile dysfunction, ejaculatory dysfunction, low libido, low testosterone, perimenopause and menopause, overactive bladder, and urinary incontinenice. Dr. Malik has a talent for dispelling medical misinformation, discussing intimate topics, and educating the general public. With over 300 million views and nearly 2 million subscribers, her YouTube channel Rena Malik, M.D. has become a go-to destination for frank, evidence-based discussions of taboo topics.