Karen Brandon, DSc, PT, WCS: After completing her Bachelors in Experimental Psychology and Masters in Physical Therapy, Karen Brandon pursued her Doctorate of Science in Physical Therapy at Loma Linda University to further her interest in research and academics. She was part of freshman cohort of Board-Certified Women’s Health PT Specialists in 2009. She divides her time now by teaching quarterly course work at Loma Linda University in Women’s and Men’s Health Studies, and Orthopedics as well working at Kaiser Permanente Southern California where she is the Regional Clinical Practice Lead for Pelvic Rehabilitation covering program development, and professional training at 15 Medical Centers.
She enjoys staying connected with other professionals and maintaining quality in the PT profession by serving on the steering committee of the Pelvic Floor Sexual Medicine Group of Southern California and is a journal reviewer for the Journal of Sexual Medicine. She was invited to serve as Edition Editor for the July/August 2016 publication for the Journal Topics in Geriatric Rehabilitation: “Sex in the Second Half.” She also authored a chapter on Musculoskeletal Management of Orgasm Disorders in the textbook, “Female Sexual Function and dysfunction. “
Her interest in expanding services in sexual health and pelvic medicine has taken her internationally to develop rehabilitation in Women’s and Men’s Health clinical programs in Brazil, Puerto Rico, and China, and Canada.
Irwin Goldstein, MD, IF: Dr. Goldstein has been involved with sexual dysfunction research since the late 1970's. He has authored more than 350 publications as well as multiple book chapters and edited 6 textbooks in the field. His interests include penile microvascular bypass surgery, surgery for dyspareunia, sexual health management post cancer treatment, genital dysesthesia/persistent genital arousal disorder, physiologic investigation of sexual function in men and women, and diagnosis and treatment of sexual dysfunction in men and women. Dr. Goldstein is Director of Sexual Medicine at Alvarado Hospital, Clinical Professor of Surgery at University of California, San Diego and practices medicine at San Diego Sexual Medicine. He is also Editor-in-Chief of Sexual Medicine Reviews and past Editor of The Journal of Sexual Medicine. He is a Past President of the International Society for the Study of Women’s Sexual Health and of the Sexual Medicine Society of North America. He holds a degree in engineering from Brown University and received his medical degree from McGill University. The World Association for Sexual Health awarded the Gold Medal to Dr. Goldstein in 2009 in recognition of his lifelong contributions to the field, in 2012 he received the International Society for the Study of Women’s Sexual Health Award for Distinguished Service in Women’s Sexual Health, in 2013 he received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Sexual Medicine Society of North America, and in 2014 he received the ISSM Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Society for Sexual Medicine. He is happily married to his college sweetheart Sue, and together they have three children and five grandchildren.
Susan Kellogg-Spadt, PhD, CRNP, IF: Dr. Susan Kellogg Spadt is the Clinical Director of Female Sexual Medicine at Academic Urology Center for Pelvic Medicine in Bryn Mawr Pa. She teaches Human Sexuality at The University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and College of Nursing and Drexel University College of Medicine where she is a Professor of OBGYN. She is the Chair of the ISSWSH Fellowship Committee and is a Certified Sexuality Therapist and Counselor.
Sheryl A. Kingsberg, PhD, IF: Dr. Sheryl Kingsberg is the chief of the division of behavioral medicine at MacDonald Women’s Hospital/University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center and Professor in Reproductive Biology and Psychiatry at Case Western Reserve University. Her areas of clinical specialization include sexual medicine, female sexual disorders, menopause, pregnancy and postpartum mood disorders, and psychological aspects of infertility.
Dr. Kingsberg’s primary research interests are in treatments for female sexual disorders and genitourinary syndrome of menopause (GSM). She has been the principal investigator for several clinical trials for treatments for female sexual disorders and consults for many pharmaceutical companies that are developing investigational drug treatments for sexual problems. She is an Associate Editor for Sexual Medicine Reviews and sits on the editorial boards of the journals Menopause and Climacteric.
Dr. Kingsberg is a past president of The North American Menopause Society and The International Society for the Study of Women’s Sexual Health.
Sharon J. Parish, MD, IF, NCMP: Dr. Sharon Parish is a Professor of Medicine in Clinical Psychiatry at Weill Cornell Medicine, and an Attending Physician at New York Presbyterian Westchester Division. She obtained her MD at Albany Medical College, and then completed her residency in Internal Medicine and Primary Care at the George Washington University Medical Center and a fellowship in Psychosocial and Behavioral Medicine at the New York University School of Medicine and Bellevue Hospital. Dr. Parish is a past president, past Education chair and the current Clinical Guidelines chair of the International Society for the Study of Women's Sexual Health, and has served as faculty of the popular ISSWSH Fall Course since its inception.
Tami Rowen, MD, MS, FACOG, IF: Dr. Tami Rowen is an Assistant Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences and the University of California, San Francisco. Her clinical practice focuses on caring for women with sexual health concerns, and chronic illness as well as gynecologic surgery and family planning services. Her research has focused on family planning and sexual health practices both nationally and internationally. In addition to being ISWSH Education chair, she also serves as Associate Editor for the journal Sexual Medicine.
Rachel S. Rubin, MD, IF: Dr. Rachel Rubin is a board-certified urologist and sexual medicine specialist. She is an assistant clinical professor of Urology at Georgetown University and works in a private practice in Washington DC at IntimMedicine Specialists. She is one of only a handful of physicians fellowship trained in male and female sexual medicine. Dr. Rubin is a clinician, researcher, and vocal educator in the field of sexual medicine. She completed her medical and undergraduate training at Tufts University, her urology training at Georgetown University, and her fellowship training under Dr. Irwin Goldstein in San Diego. In addition to being ISSWSH Education chair, she also serves as Associate Editor for the journal Sexual Medicine Reviews.
James A. Simon, MD, CCD, NCMP, IF, FACOG: Dr. James Simon is Clinical Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the George Washington University in Washington, DC, USA. He is certified by the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ABOG) in both obstetrics and gynecology, and reproductive endocrinology and infertility; by the International Society for Clinical Densitometry (ISCD) as a Certified Clinical Densitometrist (CCD); by the North American Menopause Society (NAMS) as a Certified Menopause Practitioner (NCMP); by the International Society for the Study of Women’s Sexual Health (ISSWSH) as an ISSWSH Fellow (IF); and by the American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors, and Therapists (AASECT) as a Certified Sexuality Counselor. A short-list of his other honors and achievements includes being selected to “Top Washington Physicians, “America’s Top Obstetricians and Gynecologists”, and “The Best Doctors in America”. Dr. Simon is an author or co-author of more than 550 peer reviewed articles, chapters, textbooks, abstracts, and other publications, including several prize-winning papers. Dr. Simon is coauthor of the paperback book: “Restore Yourself: A Woman’s Guide to Reviving Her Sexual Desire and Passion for Life”.