Shannon Criniti

PhD, MPH – Vice President, Strategic Initiatives

Shannon Criniti, PhD, MPH, has more than 20 years of experience in the areas of education, research, and program management within sexual and reproductive health. As Vice President, Strategic Initiatives at AccessMatters, she oversees the following programs: training and education; research and evaluation; and communications and advocacy. Prior to AccessMatters, Shannon was the division administrator for the Division of Infectious Diseases and HIV Medicine at Drexel University’s College of Medicine, where she managed professional development and grants administration for the department, and collaborated on several studies related to women’s health and HIV. She also previously worked at Planned Parenthood Federation of America, where she managed their national website and digital media efforts.

Shannon maintains an adjunct appointment at the College of Medicine as well as in Drexel’s College of Nursing and Health Professions, and is the course developer and lead instructor for a graduate nursing course entitled “Introduction to Patient Sexual Health.” She holds a BA in journalism and women’s studies from Syracuse University; an MPH from the CUNY School of Public Health at Hunter College, where she received the Michael Carrera Award for Excellence in Sexuality Education; and a masters and doctorate in human sexuality education from Widener University.

As part of the AccessMatters’ Training Team, Shannon’s subject matter expertise includes:

• Parent/child communication around sexuality and healthy relationships
• Reproductive life planning
• Talking to patients about sexual health
• Pregnancy options counseling
• Sexual history taking
• Providing inclusive and affirming care to LGBQ/T patients
• Understanding sexual orientation and gender diversity
• Implicit racial bias
• Reparative response model after committing microaggressions

Selected Trainings

• Introduction to Implicit Racial Bias.
• Pregnancy Options Counseling
• AskableAdults Matter
• Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity: Parts I and II
• Gender and Sexuality in Family Planning

 Selected Conference Presentations

• Oral presentation: Racial Microaggressions in Sex Ed Jaymie Campbell & Shannon Criniti. 2017 National Sex Education Conference, December 2017. Atlantic City, NJ.
• Oral presentation: Affirming Gender and Sexuality in Clinical Care. Shannon Criniti& Hil O’Connell. Leading the Way 2017. October 24, 2017. Philadelphia, PA.
• Panel Moderator: Sexual Health for Women in Prison. The HIV Prevention and Outreach Conference. 2017. Philadelphia, PA.
• Oral presentation: Askable Adults Matter. Kathy Turnowchyk & Shannon Criniti. 2016 National Sex Education Conference, December 2016. Atlantic City, NJ.
• Oral presentation: Where are the Women? PrEP is Power. Shannon Criniti& Helena Kwakwa. END AIDS: The HIV Prevention & Outreach Conference. 2016. Philadelphia, PA.
• Keynote: Understanding Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity. Shannon Criniti& Hil O’Connell. 2016 Maryland Reproductive Health Update. April 2016. Baltimore, MD.

Selected Publications

Parrish S, Rubin ES, Rullo J, Tsai P, Criniti S, Elders J, Thielen J. (2018) Best Practices in Medical Education in Sexual History Taking. Journal of Sexual Medicine. Pending acceptance.

Manser K, Campbell J, Criniti S, James-Brown L. (2018). CPR: The Racial Microaggressions Reparative Response Model Infographic. Self-published.

Criniti S, Crane B, Woodland MB, Montgomery OC, Urdaneta Hartmann S. (2016). “Perceptions of U.S. Medical Residents Regarding Amount and Usefulness of Sexual Health Instruction in Preparation for Clinical Practice.” American Journal of Sexuality Education, 11(3).

Criniti S & Green E. (2016). “Understanding Transgender Identities and Experiences.” Chapter in Contemporary Studies of Sexuality & Communication: Theoretical and Applied Perspectives. Eds: Manning J & Noland C. Kendall Hunt Publishing Company.

Criniti S, Andelloux M, Woodland MB, Montgomery OC, Uraneta Hartmann S. (2014). The State of Sexual Health Education in Medicine. American Journal of Sexuality Education. 9(1): 65-80.

Aaron E, Criniti S, Bonacquisti A, Geller P. (2013). Providing sensitive care for women with HIV who have a history of childhood sexual abuse. J Assoc Nurses AIDS Care. 24(4):355-67.

Criniti SM, Aaron E, Hilley A, Wolf S. (2011). Integration of routine rapid HIV screening in an urban family planning clinic. Journal of Midwifery and Women’s Health. 56(4):395-9.