Sex Positive Families provides education and resources that help families raise sexually healthy children using a shame-free, comprehensive, and pleasure-positive approach.
Melissa Pintor Carnagey, LBSW
Founder & Lead Educator
Sex Positive Families launched in June 2017 by Melissa (she/they), a Black, Puerto Rican, and Mexican Austin, Texas based sexuality educator and licensed social worker who believes that all children deserve holistic, comprehensive, and shame-free sexuality education so they can live informed, empowered, and safer lives. Melissa is confident that the work starts in homes with families and caregivers. Her professional experience spans over 15 years in the field of sexual health, having taught comprehensive sex ed in schools, authored curricula, trained youth-serving professionals, and worked within HIV/AIDS case management and prevention at both nonprofit and state government levels. Melissa is the creator of the popular Growing Into You!™ virtual puberty education program, which has taught thousands of tweens and trusted adults across the globe since 2019. Melissa is also the author of the best-selling self-published book Sex Positive Talks to Have With Kids: A guide to raising sexually healthy, informed, empowered young people, which has sold over 12,000 copies worldwide since its release. Melissa’s most relevant experience comes from being a sex positive parent to three young people ages 24, 14, and 10. They are the constant inspiration for the work.
Caitlin Long, M.Ed.
Head of Curriculum & Educator
Caitlin co-designs and co-facilitates virtual workshops and self-paced courses in our Growing Into You!™ education programming.
Caitlin (they/them) is a sex educator from Denver, Colorado with over ten years of experience working in gender-specific and social-emotional health education programming. They earned their Masters of Education in Curriculum and Teaching with an emphasis on gender and curriculum from Teachers College, Columbia University. In their ten years of experience, they have learned how to make it easier for people (youth and adults) to engage critically, authentically, and vulnerably with each other about sex, bodies, and relationships. They are a zaza/parent, experienced sexuality educator, adult facilitator, curriculum designer, and public school teacher. They are a certified holistic sexuality educator through the Institute for Sexuality Education and Enlightenment (ISEE), an American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors and Therapists (AASECT) approved provider program. Most recently, Caitlin co-founded re|scripted a feminist education consulting practice, and has been busy teaching sex positive education to youth and supporting educators and schools to implement pleasure positive, gender inclusive, equity and learner centered sex education.
Aubrey Hanus, RN, BSN
Educator & Course Designer
Aubrey co-designed the original Growing Into You!™ puberty self-paced course, co-facilitates virtual workshops, and has provided valuable insights that guide the direction of Sex Positive Families.
Aubrey (she/her) is currently a registered nurse working in postpartum care in Austin, TX. She holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Texas at San Antonio and a BSN from Texas State University where she was valedictorian of her graduating class. During college, she worked as a Peer Mentor for first-year students and served as the founding Vice President for Womxn in Medicine. As a nurse, she aims to help revolutionize the healthcare system by implementing the biopsychosocial model of healthcare, which includes having a trauma-informed lens, sex positive approach, and caring for the whole person. Her unique experience as a multiracial child raised in a sex positive manner heavily influences and informs her work with both SPF and in the healthcare setting. Aubrey is Melissa’s oldest daughter and inspiration for Sex Positive Families.
Ashley Gutierrez, BA
Virtual Assistant
Ashley moderates all Growing Into You!™ virtual workshops and has provided administrative and content management support for Sex Positive Families.
Ashley (she/her) is a bilingual copywriter and virtual assistant from Austin, TX. She holds degrees in Psychology and American Sign Language interpreting and is an advocate for accessibility, and education surrounding the Deaf community. A mom of two sons committed to learning about being the sex positive parent she wished she’d had growing up and sharing that message with others. In her free time, you can usually find her reading, drinking black coffee, or hanging out with her best friend- a basset hound named Cozy.
Tyson Carnagey
Youth Consultant
Tyson co-facilitated one of the first in-person Growing Into You!™ puberty workshops, and he regularly provides valuable feedback and insights that inform the direction of GIY and SPF programming.
Tyson (he/him) is a 14 year old from Austin, TX. Tyson has grown up in a sex positive family and sees talks at home about bodies, consent, and sex as “just normal.” He was able to take his knowledge and comfort with these topics to co-facilitate one of the first Growing Into You!™ in-person puberty workshops to a group of 4th graders and their parents back in 2019. Tyson sees himself as a sex educator-in-training. He also enjoys playing sports and gaming with his best friends. Tyson is Melissa’s oldest son and inspiration for Sex Positive Families.
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Come Learn With Us!
Growing Into You!™ will help your family learn and connect during the tween and teen years.
Our virtual workshops and self-paced course are designed for families of 8-15 year olds, of all gender identities, and their trusted adults to learn together about puberty, changing bodies, media and porn literacy to breakdown taboos and reinforce the power of family support systems.
Our interactive education is available to families in two formats. Learn more:
Sex Positive Talks to Have With Kids is the bestselling guide to creating an open, shame-free connection with the young people in your world.
It’s an inclusive, medically accurate, and comprehensive resource that walks you through over 150 conversation starters, reflection exercises, and activities you can begin implementing at every age and stage to normalize sexual health talks and become the trusted adult we all needed growing up.
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