Our vision is to help women (and men) achieve greater equality, sexual satisfaction and well-being and foster healthier attitudes toward sexual experiences.
Explore. Educate. Empower.
Our mission is to offer a more balanced view of sexuality, one that includes positivity and pleasure.
We are shifting the focus to understand and promote healthy, equal and fulfilling sexual experiences. By identifying practices and behaviors that contribute to a healthy sexual life through research we can help individuals provide insights into building and maintaining fulfilling, respectful relationships. We offer strategies to promote every person’s agency over their own sexuality and body — emphasizing the importance of sexual pleasure and self-acceptance.
You have the power of pleasure in you! Tap into it.
Destigmatizing sex-positivity and the right to pleasure.
Positive Sexuality Institute’s approach is consistent with the WHO definition, The World Health Organization has stated,
“Sexual health is fundamental to the overall health and well-being of individuals, couples and families, and to the social and economic development of communities and countries. Sexual health, when viewed affirmatively, requires a positive and respectful approach to sexuality and sexual relationships, as well as the possibility of having pleasurable and safe sexual experiences, free of coercion, discrimination and violence.”
Understanding what someone gets out of sex, including why, how and who, is crucial to understand the full sexual experience.
“To ignore sexual pleasure in global health efforts is to present a conceptualization of sexual health that is unrealistic and disconnected from people’s experiences, aspirations, and concerns.” ~ GAB
While the WHO and GAB hold these values, the focus of the majority of sex research and education around the world continues to focus on pain and disease and neglect pleasure. We need to change this.
Investing in pleasure research could enhance our understanding of happiness and its role in a thriving society. And more needs to be done.
Sex research rarely addresses the question of what is normal, healthy sexuality. In a meta-analysis covering 50 years of published articles in the top four journals in human sexuality, only 7% of articles studied positive topics (Arakawa, 2013).
We address this imbalance by expanding the evidence base of pleasure-positive research and offering this information with easy to use tools, videos and training for clinicians and the public.
Nimbi, 2021
Pleasure Positive Institute is a registered charity that was established in 2022 under the official name of Nurturing Humanity Research Institute Foundation.
Business number: 745653600RR0001
Pleasure Positive Institute’s director is headquartered in Vancouver and has given presentations and delivered papers at various conferences across North America and Internationally.
Pleasure Positive Institute is funded personally by the directors, volunteers, as well as by public and private donations and grants.
To achieve these exciting benefits, we invite philanthropic organizations, government bodies, and private sector partners to join us in our mission. Your support for pleasure research can help us create dedicated research centers, fund innovative studies, and promote teamwork across different fields. Together, we can dive into the world of human pleasure and discover its wide-ranging effects, leading to improvements that enrich our lives.
When you support pleasure research, you’re not just helping the scientific community; you’re also making a positive impact on society. We would love for you to be part of this wonderful journey to uncover the full potential of human joy and well-being.
Petra Zebroff is the founder of NHRIF, a charity promoting the research and education of positive sexuality. Petra has long been a champion of the value of pleasure and positive values within the study of sexuality. After completing her degrees in Psychology, Public Health and PhD in Human Sexuality, Petra started the first online resource for women’s sexuality in 1999. Today Petra looks at how to bring agency to people through a balanced and sane approach to sexuality that includes the positive aspects of sexuality, including pleasure. Her research includes tens of thousands of participants in her publications on sexual pleasure for women and men.
As a board certified by the American College of Sexologists and is associated with or belongs to professional organizations including the Society for Sex Therapy and Research and Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality. Always promoting sexual agency and celebrating sexual individuality, Petra writes for Psychology Today in her blog, The Erotic Brain.
Greg Fox is a founder and Vice President of iPost, one of the original internet ESPs (Email Service Providers). He has been a Board Director and consultant to organizations in a variety of industry sectors; a representative and chair of Advisory Boards for local government; and panel member for budgeting at charitable institutions.
Greg’s particular expertise is in helping organizations & individuals seeking focus on their primary goals through thorough understanding of their constituencies, efficient & creative utilization of resources, and adapting core competencies to serve new markets.
Greg holds a B.S. and is a former staff member from Carnegie Mellon University.
Tanya Zebroff is the secretary for NHRIF, a charity promoting the research and education of positive sexuality. Tanya has been a dynamic and experienced development professional working internationally in Africa and Asia. She is a global thinker with over 20 years of policy, programme and operational experience in health and education; as has been responsible for over $300m of programming.
Tanya is passionate about improving the quality of education for all, addressing issues of gender based violence, and supporting marginalised women and girls to improve their education, sexual health and their abilities to thrive.
Tanya holds a communications degree and masters in education and international development; focused on health promotion. Her expertise lies in using analysis and programmes to identify systemic challenges and build evidence, credibility and relationships.
Tanya is an effective influencer with energising approach to make things happen; with creativity, thinking outside the box, and tenacity. She is skilled in networking on education with diverse groups from multiple cultural and institutional contexts, and building consensus with senior leadership across organisations especially government departments and with partners. Tanya has proven to be effective in using diplomatic weight and technical advice strategically to secure commitment to transformational change.
Connie Hart is a certified risk and resilience professional, and ISO 22301 Lead Auditor with 15 years of experience creating risk, governance, and compliance programs. In addition, Connie implement programs from the ground up across provincial, national and global industries. She helps the business and technology speak the same risk language. Connie’s expertise is focused on achieving results and sustaining profitability through financial analysis of potential risks against mitigation costs to ensure critical operations can keep their lights on 24/7.
Key areas of expertise: Enterprise Risk, Operational Risk, Business Continuity, IT Disaster Recovery, Crisis Management, Emergency/Incident/Pandemic Response and Management, Vendor/Supplier/3rd Party Management, Organizational Resilience, Strategic Planning, Exercising and Testing, Employee Training Programs, Audit, ISO 22301, ISO 31000, Canadian Risk Management (CRM)
Darien Thira is a registered psychologist (CPBC #2040) who serves as a psychotherapist, workshop facilitator, clinical supervisor, graduate school instructor, and community development/wellness consultant. For over 25 years, he has worked with Indigenous communities across Canada, offering training workshops and consultation related to personal and community wellness, grief and trauma healing, suicide and substance-use related issues. He has worked many years as a therapist in private practice and in association with substance-related healing centres. His doctoral dissertation related to Indigenous resilience and social activism and he is currently an adjunct faculty member at the Adler Graduate University where he teaches Social Justice Psychology.
Darien has previously served as a clinician at Child and Youth Mental Health and as the Director of Community Education and Professional Development at the Vancouver Crisis Centre. His “Through the Pain to Wellness”, a culturally driven community-based suicide prevention program has been used in over 40 Indigenous communities across the country and as a national program in Australia. “Choices” and “Reaching Out”, his youth suicide awareness education video & seminars have been used by more than 350 suicide prevention programs world-wide.
Darien has presented workshops at many local, provincial, national conferences, and international conferences in: Canada, the United States, and Australia.
Lisa Chan is a Sauder MBA graduate specializing in marketing and entrepreneurship. She is an accomplished property developer and entrepreneur in the field of real estate. Lisa’s core strengths include project management, effective communication, and the ability to lead and motivate teams.
As the founder of TrufElle, a non-profit organization, Lisa demonstrated strong leadership skills in leading a non-profit movement that inspires intimate, passionate relationships. She is dedicated to empowering women to embrace their sexuality and build meaningful relationships through personal pleasure and erotic freedom. Her mission is to inspire women to take ownership of their sexual well-being and foster positive, fulfilling connections.
Lisa brings a wealth of personal experience to her role, having been in a committed relationship with her husband for 32 years. Throughout this time, she has consistently worked on reinventing and redesigning their marriage, demonstrating her commitment to growth and adaptation in long-term relationships.
In her capacity as a board member for PPI, Lisa aims to leverage her expertise and passion to normalize positive conversations about sexuality. She believes in the importance of open, healthy dialogue surrounding sexual topics and strives to inspire others to embrace this approach in their own lives and communities.
