Hi, I'm Sage!

A little bit about me:

Grew up in New York City and went to college in Los Angeles before landing in the Bay Area
Retired from a short but successful career in the environmental justice non-profit sector
Currently pursuing continued education at the intersection of trauma therapy and human sexuality
10+ years experience in practicing yoga & meditation
Science-loving book-reading video-game-playing nerd meets artistic outdoorsy spiritual hippie
Have visited 20 different countries (so far!)
Child of Russian Jewish immigrants (Я говорю по-русски!)
Amateur but passionate ceramicist and pole dancer
Community event organizer & kink party attendee

Trainings & Affiliations

Surrogate Partner Collective:

Fundamentals of Embodied Intimacy (August 2023)

How to Help Generalize Surrogate Partner Therapy (September 2023)

Collaborating w/ Clinicians in the Triadic Model (August 2023)

Surrogate Partner Therapy Specialized Professional Training (September 2023 - January 2024)

Supervised Apprenticeship (December 2023 - ongoing)

Institute for the Study of Somatic Sex Education:

Core Course 1 - Foundations of Somatic Sex Education (February - October 2023)

Core Course 2 - Erotic Practice for Somatic Sex Education - In-Person Intensive (November 2023)

Core Course 3 - Establishing a Somatic Sex Education Practice (February 2024 - ongoing)

Core Course 4 - Refining Your Practice as a Somatic Sex Educator - In-Person Intensive (November 2024)

Core Course 5 - Supervised Practicum (January - August 2025)

Together We Fly: Group Facilitation for Somatic Sex Educators (October - December 2023)

Other:

Bachelors of Arts in Environmental Justice & Human Centered Design

Member of the Intimacy Professionals Working Group - American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors and Therapists (AASECT)

Mental Health First Aid - National Council for Mental Well-Being

Self-guided exploration in tantra, kink, yoga, mindfulness meditation, ecstatic dance, contact improv, plant medicine, herbalism, ancestral healing, somatic experiencing therapy, & Internal Family Systems (IFS)

Ideas & Quotes That Inspire Me

Sex is just the starting point for embracing the profound eroticism in everyday life! (see Uses of the Erotic by Audre Lorde)
All bodies are good bodies! (see The Body Is Not An Apology by Sonya Renee Taylor)
Pleasure is medicine! Embodiment is medicine! (see Pleasure Activism by adrienne maree brown)
Pleasure is the measure! (see Come As You Are by Dr. Emily Nagoski)

“Awareness of what you’re actually experiencing—not an idealized notion of perfection—is the essence of all bodily enjoyment.” - Dr. Jack Morin
“Empathy is the antidote to shame” - Brene Brown
“You can talk to a psychotherapist about sexual abuse for years, but for intervention on the physical plane, we call on a sacred intimate or erotic shaman. It is in the physical world that the trauma took place and that’s where the healing most effectively takes place.” - Joseph Kramer
“Trauma happens to us as humans, and we need other humans to help us unwind it.” - Staci Hanes
“Understand that when we touch someone, we touch their entire history, their deepest wounds, their secret identity, their healing powers, and their most profound capacities for joy.” - Caffyn Jesse