Emmalinda MacLean

Emmalinda MacLean is the director of curriculum and instruction and a co-founder of More Than Sex-Ed, a Los Angeles area nonprofit project of Community Partners.

As a middle schooler at her childhood church, she was a participant in the Our Whole Lives sexuality education program, and as a teen, she became a resource for friends’ questions about sex, bodies, and relationships. As an adult, she is a highly respected sexual health educator and has facilitated thousands of hours worth of conversations with youth covering every topic surrounding human sexuality that you can imagine.

She leads Our Whole Lives trainings around the country, which coaches new sex educators on an inclusive, values-centered approach. Her prior work with children, youth, and families has included religious education, theater, clowning, and summer camps — joy, play, community, and justice are some of her core values. She is especially proud of her work on consent education; from the creation of the bubble-wrap game to the publication of her children’s book, Everybody, Every Body! She is California born and raised, a UCLA graduate, a horror movie fan, and a plant nerd.