Certification Program

Also meet our Board Members, Educators, and Researchers.

Andrew Pari, LCSW, Diplomate

Andrew Pari, LCSW, Diplomate

Board Member/Certification Program Director

Andrew Pari proudly joined the CPS Board in 2018. The Founder and Director of Sexual Assault Awareness, LLC, he is a psychotherapist and national speaker with over 20 years’ experience treating sexual trauma, including specialized populations in the sex trade and victims of trafficking. He is the nation’s leading authority on the victim experience of arousal in sexualized violence and related “taboo” topics.

Andrew hosted the largest ever public discussions on topics related to rape, created the Los Angeles radio show, Chasing the Why, and is a moderator on forums for recovery. He is a sought-after conference speaker and trainer with law enforcement and the military. He is one of the NASW’s “1000 Experts,” responding to media inquiries/interviews on trauma, sexualized violence, and disaster response, and served on the 2017 NASW National Policy Task Force for Sex Work and Commercialized Sex Trade. In 2018, Andrew spearheaded the campaign to have the Antelope Valley declared the largest “Start By Believing” region in California, a national program dedicated to believing sexual assault survivors.

While he enjoys training and speaking on sexualized violence, challenging taboos, and using positive sexuality in recovery, please don’t call him “The Rape Guy.”

Michelle, LCSW

Michelle, LCSW

Certification Program Mentor

Michelle is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in private practice with Full Progress Mental Wellness and teaches social justice and diversity courses for the Master of Social Work program at the University of Utah. She is a mentor for CPS’s Sex Positive Professional Certification Program, a member of the LGBTQ+ Affirmative Therapist Guild of Utah, a founder and organizer of Pride Ride Utah, and is passionate about intersex justice. In her free time, Michelle enjoys snowboarding, pole dancing, gymnastics, and studying Spanish.