Join Maddy and Winnie online as they sit down with Dr Giselle Woodley and Dr Sarah Vrankovich to explore their work in young people’s digital sex education, pornography and strengths-based approaches to understanding and preventing sexual violence.

Dr Giselle Woodley (she/her) is a Lecturer/Research fellow in the School of Arts and Humanities at Edith Cowan University in Australia and is a sexologist with a background in Arts and Media. Giselle explores issues pertaining to sexuality, sexual violence, pornography, sexuality education, intimate communications, AI, image-based abuse, digital censorship and young people.

Dr Sarah Vrankovich (she/her) is a Research Fellow at the Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society (ARCSHS) at La Trobe University and a leading expert in sexual violence. Sarah’s work is widely recognised for advancing strengths-based approaches to sexual violence prevention, moving beyond risk- and deficit-focused frameworks to centre affirming sexual experiences, agency, and community connection.

Representing Bloom-ED, Giselle (Co-Founder, Activist, Website Manager) and Sarah (Policy and Activism Lead) share a strong passion in evidence-based Respectful Relationships and Sexuality Education (RSE). They advocate for creating positive and safe outcomes that ultimately increase individual wellbeing, support healthy relationships, and reduce sexual violence.

Join Winnie online as she hosts Professor Jennifer Power who will share the latest findings from the Australian Secondary Students and Sexual Health Study (SSASH), Australia’s most comprehensive national snapshot of young people’s sexual health, relationships and wellbeing. 

As the Lead Investigator of SSASH and an Associate Professor at the Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society (ARCSHS), Jennifer will unpack what the data reveals about current gaps, emerging trends and opportunities for change, highlighting why evidence-based, inclusive and responsive approaches are critical to supporting young people. 

For more than three decades, SSASH has shaped how we understand and respond to young people’s sexual health, making this an impactful conversation you won’t want to miss. 

Join us online as Winnie and Maddy sit down with Dr Melissa Kang and Yumi Stynes to unpack the “Welcome To” book series development and the community's response. Listen how they approach conversations about sex, bodies and consent with confidence and care.

Melissa Kang is a medical doctor who trained in General Practice and then worked exclusively with adolescents and young adults in hospital and community settings for 30 years. Melissa was the medical writer behind the ‘Dolly Doctor’ Q&A column in Dolly magazine, between 1993 and 2016. Melissa has also been an academic for over 25 years and is Professor of Adolescent Health and currently the co-head of the General Practice Clinical School, Faculty of Medicine and Health, at the University of Sydney. Her research has focused on access to health care, health system navigation, adolescent sexuality and sexual health. She is currently the Vice President Oceania of the International Association for Adolescent Health and Vice President of the Australian Association for Adolescent Health.

Yumi Stynes is a broadcaster, podcaster and author who has worked in Australian media for more than two decades. She is known for her candid, feminist approach to topics such as consent, women’s health, sexuality, race and culture. As host of the ABC podcast Ladies, We Need to Talk, Yumi leads open, practical conversations about bodies, sex and wellbeing, making complex topics accessible and engaging. Yumi can also be heard live on national music broadcaster Double J every weekend.

Dr Melissa Kang and Yumi Stynes co-authored award-winning books for adolescents including Welcome to Your Period, Welcome to Consent, Welcome to Your Boobs and Welcome to Sex.

Join Winnie online with Lauren French who will share how Indigenous knowledge is a pathway to healing generations of communities impacted by sexual violence. Lauren will explore inclusive, shame-free and pleasure-focused sex education centering the whole person proudly using Indigenous approaches and a culturally safe wellness model in preventing harm.  

Lauren French (She/Her) is a proud Karajarri woman who had the joy of growing up on Larrakia lands in the Northern Territory. Lauren has always been passionate about finding ways to support and empower First Nations children and families. A large focus of her work has centered on helping move others away from viewing mob through a deficit lens and understanding the very real strengths community holds in preventing harm.   

Lauren is a Sexologist and was previously the Head of Education & Community Development with Body Safety Australia, a not-for-profit organisation specialising in child sexual abuse prevention, LGBTQIA+ equity and inclusivity, consent, and respectful relationships education. Since 2018 Lauren has facilitated thousands of workshops across early childhood, primary and secondary school spaces with children, educators and families.  

Along with her bachelors in Psychology, Lauren holds a Master's of Sexology and previously worked clinically with the Australian Institute of Sexology and Sexual Medicine. Lauren is also a member of the Society of Australian Sexologists (SAS) and the Australian & New Zealand Mental Health Association.  

She was the proud recipient of the 2023 Indigenous Achievement awards in the 7News Young Achievers Awards (Victoria), named one of Out for Australia's 2023 30 under 30 winners, and received a 2023 Churchill Fellowship to study Indigenous Elder-guided relationship and community repair after youth sexual violence. 

Join us online as Maddy and Winnie chat with Karina Reeves and Leon Huxtable about what culturally responsive relationships and sexuality education (RSE) looks like in practice across schools, community and adult settings with migrant and refugee communities and second-generation migrants.  

Karina Reeves is an IUHPE Registered Health Promotion Practitioner based in Perth, Western Australia. She is currently the Coordinator of Population Health and Community Development at WAAC (formerly the WA AIDS Council), a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to promoting health equity and fostering inclusive communities to support sexual health for all and LGBTQIA+ inclusion. Her practice centres community voice, cultural safety, and peer leadership, with a focus on HIV and sexual health promotion. Karina believes that meaningful change happens when programs are co-designed with the people most affected and when health systems make space for lived experience, connection, and care. Karina holds a Bachelor of Science in Health Promotion and is currently the Co-President of the Western Australian branch of the Australian Health Promotion Association, and a committee member for the Bloom-ED Advocacy Group. Previously, she was the Co-Chair of the International Student Sexual Health Network.

Leon Huxtable (he/him) is a Schools and Community Educator at Sexual Health Victoria. He was awarded a Master of Education (Student Wellbeing) from The University of Melbourne in 2019, and he was awarded a Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Education (Secondary) from The University of New South Wales in 2014. Leon has worked at Sexual Health Victoria since 2022 and was previously a secondary school teacher working in New South Wales and Victoria. His research interests include education around sexual content online, and working with migrant and refugee communities. 

Join us online as Maddy and Winnie meet with Saul Isbister and Katia Schwartz to dive into intimacy, wellness, inclusion and human rights for people living with a disability. Hear sex worker’s lived experiences of overcoming discrimination and advocating for the dignity to say yes.  

Saul Isbister is the President and one of the founding members of Touching Base Inc, and has over 30 years experience as a sex worker and rights activist in Australia and NZ. Saul also volunteers as Touching Base's Operations Manager. 

Saul helped to initiate a National Roundtable on NDIS & sex services in 2019, and has co-authored articles published in several peer-reviewed publications. 

Saul has a Grad. Diploma in Sexual Health, a Diploma in Community Development, and was internationally recognised for his long-standing contribution to community work when he won the UK Sexual Freedom Award – Sex Worker of the Year in 2016. 

Join Maddy online with Paul Byrne-Moroney to chat about the diversity of intersex lived experiences and shine a light on the intersex community, the discrimination faced and the education needed to urgently break misconceptions, stigmas and barriers to care.  

Paul (he/him) learned he has an extra X sex chromosome at the age of 28, and that he is intersex in 2016, at age 50. In 2006, Paul co-founded the Klinefelter Syndrome Support Group of Victoria, launching him on a path of advocacy that continues today.    

Paul is involved in several community and advisory groups, including the Victorian Pride Centre, Western Health, Banyule City Council, and the University of Sydney’s Interconnect Health Research Project. Since 2016, he has contributed to State and Federal government policy reforms and helped many organisations improve intersex inclusion.  

Since 2020, Paul has been a Victorian Peer Support Representative for Intersex Peer Support Australia, an Australian Ambassador for the ChromoDiversity Foundation since 2022, and a Board Director at InterAction Health and Human Rights since 2024.  

With a Bachelor of Health Science / Public Health (Hons), Paul often speaks about intersex topics, sharing his lived experience at government, corporate, and health events and conferences, such as next week's 2025 Better Together LGBTIQA+ Conference in Adelaide, when Paul is scheduled to lead a panel discussion on what it means to be intersex. In 2023, he also featured on Series 2 of Castlemaine's 94.9mainFM “Pride Across the Ages” podcast.  

When not advocating or offering peer support, Paul volunteers as Radio Producer, Broadcaster, and Co-host of The I in US on JOY94.9 - Australia’s only intersex community radio show, which he created and launched. 

Join us online as Maddy and Josef Garrington from ACON chat about the state-wide projects promoting the availability of HIV prevention including PrEP for Medicare ineligible communities. Hear from guests with lived-experience about the barriers faced and the services and support available in preventing HIV.