Meet Our Educators
Andrea Derkits, MPH, CPH is the founder of Developmental Dialogues and an Instructor of Public Health at the University of North Florida. She is a trained sexuality educator with over twelve years of experience teaching hundreds of students in K-12 and college settings from diverse backgrounds. Andrea provides medically accurate, culturally competent, and skills based sexuality education lessons to individuals of all ages. She takes pride in her ability to openly discuss taboo topics and create safe spaces for her students. Andrea’s passion and dedication led to her being the recipient of several awards throughout her career, such as SHAPE Florida Health Teacher of the Year.
Andrea’s personal life plays a significant role in her interests in sexual and reproductive health education. Her journey to motherhood included several challenges such as endometriosis, infertility, preterm birth, NICU/medically complex parenting, infant loss, and pregnancy loss. She has personal insight and knowledge about the reproductive health topics she teaches. Her experience with these topics gives her the gift to empower and educate others.
Andrea strives to provide engaging, memorable, and comfortable experiences for students of all ages!
Dr. Elissa Barr, professor of Public Health at the University of North Florida, focuses her teaching, research, and service on program planning, program evaluation, and curriculum design aimed at improving student outcomes. Her work emphasizes the development and evaluation of evidence-informed health programs in adolescent reproductive health, mental and emotional well-being, and sexuality education. She has extensive experience designing and assessing curricula that are engaging, developmentally appropriate, and grounded in best practices.
Dr. Barr has collaborated with schools, community organizations, and state agencies to strengthen educational initiatives through advocacy, measurable learning outcomes, and data-informed evaluation practices. She has published numerous peer-reviewed articles, authored a high school reference book, and delivered more than 90 presentations at international, national, and state conferences.
Dr. Barr contributed to the national “Future of Sex Ed” initiative, which sought to advance sexuality education across the U.S. In Florida, she has worked closely with the Florida Department of Education as a sexuality education specialist on county- and state-level projects focused on educational quality improvement. She is the Chair and a founding member of the Florida Healthy Youth Alliance, a statewide initiative dedicated to promoting the health and well-being of youth through quality education.