Speaking Engagements

My goal when educating, and facilitating science communication is to translate complex clinical ideas into engaging, accessible and applicable material. I have presented at national and international conferences, facilitated professional workshops, and served as a guest lecturer on topics related to eating disorders, trauma, OCD, and Queer, Transgender and BIPOC mental health related issues. My presentations are designed to be clinically rigorous, grounded in research and focused on integrating the lived experiences of marginalized communities. With my work, I bring a combination of clinical expertise, lived experience, and cultural fluency to help audiences move beyond surface-level inclusion. 

Conference Presentations

Eastern Group Psychotherapy Society (EGPS) Annual Conference

Group Intervention: Marginalized Therapist Identity & Presence

Participants will explore the inherent impact of a group facilitator's marginalized identity and presence on group dynamics and treatment outcomes. The presenter will share a case vignette illustrating the use of "self" as a group intervention within a predominantly white, cisgender eating disorder treatment center. Broader implications of using the self as an intervention within the current sociopolitical climate will also be discussed.

2026 iaedp™ Annual Symposium

Centering Transmasculine and BIPOC 

This workshop explores gender dysphoria, disordered eating, and intersecting identities, with a focus on trans clients of color. Attendees will learn affirming practices informed by research and insights from transgender clinicians.

Center for Positive Sexuality: SexPosCon 2026

Away from Infantilization: Discussions of Autistic Sex and Sexuality

With the growing neurodivergent movement has come increased visibility and a cultural shift toward greater acceptance of Autism. However, negative perceptions and misconceptions about what Autism is, and the lives that autistic people lead continue to persist. This lecture aims to explore the importance of acknowledging Autistic peoples’ sexuality and interest in sex, and to highlight the need to challenge the widespread infantilization of Autistic individuals. A case vignette featuring a teenage boy’s developing sexual interests and his parents’ misconceptions about them will be used as a case example.

Appetite for Change Conference

EDs amongst Trans Women and Trans Femme Folks

Contributed to an all–trans women panel exploring the intersection of gender dysphoria, body image, minority stress, and disordered eating among trans women and transfeminine individuals, with emphasis on clinical implications, barriers to care, and affirming treatment approaches.

Louisiana Mental Health Conference

Introduction to the Neurodivergent Movement and Neurodivergent Affirming Practices for Eating Disorders

This presentation introduces the foundational principles of the Neurodivergent Paradigm and explores their relevance to eating disorder treatment. Participants will learn how neurodivergent-affirming care challenges traditional clinical assumptions, emphasizing curiosity, collaboration, and accessibility while addressing sensory processing, executive functioning differences, and interoceptive awareness.

Nura Conference 2026

The Politics of Passing: Trauma-Informed ED Care for Trans Women

This presentation examines passing and desirability politics as structural forces influencing eating disorder development and recovery in trans women. Using a trauma-informed and harm reduction framework, participants will explore how to differentiate pathology from survival strategy, reduce shame, and collaboratively assess risk while supporting long-term recovery goals. Clinical implications include balancing affirmation and accountability, addressing internalized transphobia and anti-fatness, and creating treatment plans that center safety, autonomy, and dignity for transfeminine clients.

International OCD Foundation — 31st Annual OCD Conference

Research Panel: OCD and Comorbidities

Invited to present on research and clinical implications of body dysmorphia and gender dysphoria within eating disorder treatment for transgender clients as part of a moderated panel on comorbid conditions. Contributed to discussion translating emerging research on OCD-related disorders and eating disorders into affirming, evidence-informed clinical practices for diverse populations

National Center for Victims of Crime — 2026 National Training Institute

The Second Injury: Attachment, Shame, and the Formation of Self

Male survivors of childhood sexual abuse often face a “second injury” when disclosing their trauma: an experience of disbelief, minimization, or shame that reactivates the original injury. This workshop explores the secondary trauma of coming out as a survivor through a psychodynamic and feminist framework. Drawing from the work of Sándor Ferenczi on the Confusion of Tongues and contemporary feminist theory on power, gender, and vulnerability, participants will examine how cultural scripts of masculinity complicate attachment, intimacy, and the survivor’s sense of self.

Webinars, Workshops & Guest Lectures

National Alliance for Eating Disorders

Fatphobia in the LGBTQIA+ Community: Male Beauty Standards and Cultural Perceptions

Providing affirming and competent care to gay men requires more than a general understanding of eating disorders, and requires a framework that is both gay-affirming and sex-positive. This webinar will explore how cultural pressures within LGBTQIA+ communities themselves, particularly dating app culture and intracommunity stigma, shape body image, reinforce exclusionary beauty standards, and contribute to disordered eating behaviors. We’ll discuss how fatphobia often emerges internally, and how these dynamics not only impact clients’ relationships with food and body, but also their willingness to engage in treatment and recovery.

California State University, Long Beach
Foundation Social Work Practice: Skills and Interventions with Groups — Guest Lecture

Group work in Substance Use Disorder, and Eating Disorder Treatment for Queer & Transgender Clients

Delivered a guest lecture on group work in substance use disorder and eating disorder treatment for queer and transgender clients, emphasizing trauma-informed and identity-affirming clinical approaches. Examined group dynamics, minority stress, and barriers to engagement, providing practical strategies for inclusive and effective group facilitation.

Q’Lective Therapy (presented in collaboration with FEDUP collective)

Eating Disorders in Transgender and Intersex Communities: Understanding the Provider’s Role in Addressing Transphobia and Interphobia in Client Care

This collaborative workshop will focus on the fundamentals of care for transgender, gender diverse, and intersex (“TGDI”) clients. The FEDUP Collective is a trans and intersex collective that aims to make visible, interrupt, and disrupt the disproportionately high incidence of eating disorders in the community, as well as the discrimination within the eating disorder care system, through radical community healing, recovery institution reform, research, empowerment and education. This workshop will provide an open space to learn, unpack, and engage with the ways in which the mental health and physical health care system systemically pathologize trans and intersex bodies, and discuss the discomforts, questions, and mistakes these lead to for providers. It will provide frameworks to understand embodiments in our community and to understand eating disorders as a social justice issue.