By Marcia Quackenbush, MS, MFT, MCHES | September 13, 2018
Senior Editor, ETR
I love science. I like the wonky part of research, and I really like seeing the practical applications. That’s why I was so pleased to see the FiveThirtyEight blog offer a series on the science of sex ed. These folks know their numbers!
By Tracy Wright, MAEd | September 10, 2018
Project Director, ETR
Trees, mountains, sky. That’s what I see from the window of my home in Golden, Colorado. I love it. Being able to live and work here is one of the splendid benefits of being a remote worker.
By Katherine McLaughlin, MEd | September 4, 2018
Founder and Director of Training, Elevatus Training
I remember the day Karen Topper asked me the question. “Can we create a sexuality education curriculum where people with developmental disabilities are the teachers? Can we have them be actively involved in creating this curriculum?”
By Suzanne Schrag | August 31, 2018
Editor/Product Manager, ETR
JJ is 11 years old and on the way to school. JJ usually stops at the bodega to buy a candy bar for a snack. But today is different. This week JJ is learning in school about increasing your heart rate through physical activity to stay healthy. So, instead of stopping at the bodega, JJ runs around the block three times. JJ shows up to school a little sweaty but excited and energized.
By Shawn Del Carlo | August 28, 2018
Warehouse Senior Supervisor, ETR
ETR is a non-profit. In some ways, we’re also a sort of family business. I’ve worked here for 21 years, and during that time, we’ve hired lots of employees’ kids, nieces, nephews and friends.
Sometimes people come for temp jobs, and sometimes they’re hired in standard positions. This has been good. I think it’s built a closer sense of connection among staff.
By ETR | August 23, 2018
Most books, even textbooks, don’t make it to a seventh edition. This one did. What’s so special about ETR’s new offering, Sexuality Education: Theory and Practice?
By John Henry Ledwith | August 21, 2018
National Sales Manager, ETR
I heard a story last night that’s had me thinking about inspiration. I was at a performance of the John Jorgenson Bluegrass Band. The amazing Herb Pedersen told us about how he came to write one of the finest and most popular bluegrass songs ever, “Wait a Minute.”
By Vignetta Charles, PhD | August 16, 2018
CEO, ETR
ETR is privileged to work with outstanding partners. In fact, one of the best things about working here is the opportunity to collaborate with people and programs whose mission, like ours, is to make a genuine difference.
Today the California Tobacco Control Program (CTCP) is particularly on our minds.
By Julie Potyraj, MPH | August 14, 2018
External Relations Manager for Content Marketing, 2U Inc
I have seen the power of health equity in my life as a woman living in the United States and as a public health professional working abroad in rural Zambia. Equity meets people where they are, and acknowledges that different problems require different solutions, depending on the context.
By ETR | August 10, 2018
The planets must be aligned auspiciously. Dr. Karin Coyle, ETR’s Chief Science Officer, has just been awarded the 2018 Douglas B. Kirby Researcher of the Year award from Healthy Teen Network (HTN).This is a confluence of three extraordinary goods.
By Marcia Quackenbush, MS, MFT, MCHES | August 7, 2018
Senior Editor, ETR
Fifth grade. My girlfriends and I are on the climbing gym. We stay on the low bars and carefully tuck our skirts under us so the boys won’t look up our dresses. When we really want to bust free and climb up to the top, my friend Cyndi—one tough girl, I’ll tell you—runs foot patrol around the base. No boys allowed near the gym!
By Karrie Bobby | August 2, 2018
Customer Service Representative, ETR
Thinking about calling ETR? You might talk to me. I’m one of the voices behind ETR’s Customer Service Department. The other day, a customer said I had a soothing voice. That was nice to hear.
By Antwan Matthews, BS | July 31, 2018
SHARP Scholar, ETR and San Francisco Department of Public Health
I am Antwan Matthews, a native of Meridian, Mississippi, and recently graduated from Tougaloo College in Biology. This summer I have the privilege to serve as a scholar for the Summer HIV AIDS Research Program (SHARP), an NIH-funded initiative of the San Francisco Department of Public Health.
I have an argument to offer about the ways we think about public health.
ByTamara Neff, MA | July 26, 2018
E-Learning Curriculum Developer, ETR
One of our core values at ETR states, “We believe everyone should have the same access and opportunities in life.” This resonates with me deeply, as it directly connects to one of my personal tenets as an eLearning specialist and instructional designer: to provide quality learning experiences for everyone and anyone with a desire to learn. At ETR, I want people to easily find the valuable information and training we provide, and to be able to meaningfully apply it.
Emily Green, MA | July 24, 2018
Research Associate, ETR
ETR is a distributed workforce. This means we have four sites spread over three cities, along with a team of remote workers spread all over the country. This helps strengthen our ability to reach different populations and bring talented people on board who wouldn’t be able to commute to one of our physical offices.
If you work in the field of Equity and Inclusion in STEM, you’ll recognize this as a structural model that encourages greater diversity in a workforce.
By Mary Nelson, MLS | July 19, 2018
Publisher Emeritus, ETR
This July 7, the Google Doodle honored Helen Rodriguez Trías. This evoked some lovely memories and powerful reflections for those of us who had the privilege of working with this remarkable woman. She was a leader not only in her own time (she died in 2001), but for the challenging times we are facing today.
By Jenna | July 13, 2018
Transitioning to 6th Grade
Editor’s note: I had an opportunity to talk with the daughter of a friend about some of her recent school health education experiences. Here are some of her comments.
I just graduated from 5th grade. I’m excited about what’s coming next—I’m going into middle school next year!
By Amelia Holstom, MPH | July 12, 2018
Associate Director of Evaluation, Education, Planned Parenthood Federation of America
Support for sex education among likely voters in the United States is remarkably high. Overwhelming support for sex education that provides information about a range of topics including both abstinence and birth control demonstrates that sex education in school should not be a controversial issue. How can we be so confident about this?
Marcia Quackenbush, MS, MFT, MCHES | July 10, 2018
Senior Editor, ETR
How do you do what you do? How do you keep going? Where do you find your inspiration?
Most of us doing mission-focused work have a range of answers. We connect with family. Read. Exercise. Stay active in a spiritual community. See friends. Take long walks on the beach.
By Michael Everett, MHS | July 5, 2018
Project Co-Director, ETR
Why do we deliver trainings? To share information, to build new skills—and sometimes, to help people get a whole new attitude. In my previous post, I discussed the ways emotions and feelings can influence attitudes, along with the importance of helping training participants succeed in achieving positive attitude shifts.
When participants can look honestly and thoroughly at the emotions and feelings that shape their attitudes, they’re in a better place to make a shift.