Dr Stella O’Malley

Executive Director & Founder

Ireland

Stella O’Malley, PhD, is a psychotherapist and author whose work focuses on parenting, family dynamics, and adolescence, with a particular emphasis on mental health and well-being. She is a regular contributor to the media.

Her first book, Cotton Wool Kids, was first published in 2015 while Bully-Proof Kids was published in 2017. Fragile came out in 2019 and What Your Teen is Trying to Tell You was published in 2023. In the same year, she co-authored When Kids Say They’re Trans with Sasha Ayad and Lisa Marchiano.

In November 2018, Stella was the writer and presenter of the documentary Trans Kids: It’s Time To Talk broadcast on Channel 4 and, in 2019, she contributed a chapter to the book, Inventing Transgender Children and Young People.

In December 2020, Sasha Ayad and Stella launched Gender: A Wider Lens, in a bid to explore the concept of gender from a psychological depth perspective.

Since then, Sasha and Stella have pursued separate professional projects and in February 2025, Stella launched her podcast, Beyond Gender, co-hosted with Dr. Bret Alderman and Mia Hughes.

In 2021, Stella co-founded the Gender Exploratory Therapy Association with Lisa Marchiano and Sasha Ayad, which was renamed Therapy First in 2023. 

Stella is the vice-president of the Gender Dysphoria Institute and the founder of Beyond Trans. She was a founding member of Thoughtful Therapists, the Clinical Advisory Network on Sex and Gender and the Society for Evidence-based Gender Medicine. 

Stella has co-authored several peer-reviewed publications including:

Stella holds a B.A. in Counselling and Psychotherapy, an M.A. in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, and a PhD in Social Work, where her primary research focused on gender dysphoria in children and adolescents.

Nancy McDermott

Director, Genspect USA

United States

Nancy McDermott is a writer, speaker, and expert on American parenting culture. She is an affiliate of the Centre for Parenting Culture Studies (CPCS) at the University of Kent at Canterbury, and a former advisor to the Park Slope Parents online community where she earned the moniker “the voice of reason”.

She became concerned about the impact of therapeutic child-rearing while writing her history of American parenting culture since the 1970s, The Problem with Parenting: How Raising Children Is Changing Across America (Praeger 2020). “What began as a well-meaning attempt to free children to ‘be themselves’ has undermined our ability to transfer key cultural values and norms from one generation to the next, Gender distress is the most profound expression of this disorientation. As adults we need to take responsibility for helping our youngest citizens to find their way.”

Mia Hughes

Director, Genspect Canada

Mia Hughes is a researcher and writer focusing on paediatric gender medicine, psychiatric trends, and the phenomenon of social contagion, with particular attention to the ethical and clinical implications of medical interventions for minors.

She is the director of Genspect Canada and has contributed extensively to public debate on gender-related healthcare practices. Mia is the author of The WPATH Files, an investigative report based on leaked internal communications from the World Professional Association for Transgender Health, which examines decision-making processes and standards of care within the field.

In addition to her research, Mia engages in advocacy and public education, contributing articles and commentary across a range of media platforms. Her work has positioned her as a prominent voice in ongoing discussions about gender medicine, safeguarding, and  clinical responsibility.

Erin Friday, Esq

Board of Directors Member, Genspect USA

United States

Erin Friday is a licensed California attorney specializing in parental rights and educational advocacy. Her commitment to these causes deepened after her daughter briefly identified as transgender, motivating her to actively challenge policies she believes undermine parental authority and child protection. Erin co-leads Our Duty USA, an international organization dedicated to shielding children from the influence of gender ideology, and previously led a local branch of Parents of Rapid-Onset Gender Dysphoric Kids, offering crucial support to families facing similar challenges. She remains heavily involved in legislative advocacy, frequently working in Sacramento to propose and oppose bills related to gender interventions for minors. Additionally, Erin assists parents and lawyers willing to sue to protect children from what she considers gender-related harms. Her work and perspectives have been featured in respected outlets such as The Daily Signal, The Epoch Times, Prager U, and Post Millennial, establishing Erin as a significant voice in national discussions on parental rights and child protection.

Jude Hunter

Australia Spokesperson

Australia

Jude Hunter holds a degree in Commerce and Business and is a mother and stepmother to five adult children. She is a founding member of Genspect Australia and has represented the organisation in parliamentary hearings, as well as on digital and social media platforms. Jude is also a contributor to Genspect’s Substack.

Jude’s advocacy journey began through her family’s own experiences navigating health services that, operating under the “gender affirmation model of care,” prioritised gender above all other health considerations. She is passionate about supporting other parents and helping them stay informed and empowered to support their children.

Jan Rivers

NZ Spokesperson

New Zealand

Jan Rivers is a former public servant whose roles were in information management, library services, and information policy. She is also a lesbian, an activist on public issues, and works part-time as a meditation teacher. Passionate about the quality of public services and democracy in New Zealand, she was involved with others working on issues of the public good such as open government, trade agreements, media policy, and the use of big data and algorithms in government. In 2018, she recognized gender ideology as a threat to the public sector, social cohesion, and women, children, and same-sex attracted people. She helped found some of New Zealand’s gender-critical organizations and is the author of articles on the impact of gender ideology on government and the dangers to children and young people of gender medicine.

Travis Brown

Content Producer

United States

Travis Brown is a filmmaker living in the Pacific Northwest. He is the president of The Signal Education Project, which is a non-profit that creates engaging content that shines a light on how dogma and tribalism distort the truth. Since leaving his religious faith behind, he has been interested in how religious and political ideology shape our view of reality, how ideology affects our conversations, and what it does to relationships and society as a whole. His previous work includes The Woke Reformation, which features Peter Boghossian, Douglas Murray, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Vivek Ramaswamy, and many other brave intellectuals. He is currently exploring the difficult topic of gender identity in his upcoming docuseries Uncomfortable Truths: The Reality of Gender Identity Ideology and is making a feature-length documentary called When in Doubt, based around Peter’s book How to Have Impossible Conversations, which features three pairs of subjects as they navigate difficult topics in an attempt to improve their understanding of each other’s beliefs and find better ways to communicate.

Soren Aldaco

United States

Soren Aldaco is a consultant, grad student, and former “trans kid” interested in digital impacts on human development.

After working on Genspect’s American College Survey in 2024 and speaking at The Bigger Picture Albuquerque conference in 2025, Soren now helps produce the Beyond Gender podcast. She also lends a hand on various other projects, including planning for Detrans Awareness Day.

Kathleen H. Dooley

United States

Kathleen is an attorney, having been in private practice with international law firms as a civil defense lawyer for several decades before taking on a general counsel role for a tech startup for one year.

She is currently on hiatus as she seeks to (1) serve the community of parents of ROGD kids where she can; (2) educate her local school board officials on the need for appropriate school board policies that include, inform, and involve parents; and (3) educate her community as a whole on the dangers of ideologies that seek to convince vulnerable children, tweens, teens, and adolescents that they were born in the wrong body – all with compassion, care, and respect.

Helena Kerschner

United States

Helena Kerschner is a detransitioned woman who identified as transgender during her teenage years and eventually was prescribed testosterone shortly after her 18th birthday.

After being on testosterone for a year and a half, she realized that transitioning was a misguided way of dealing with her social and emotional struggles. Now, years later, she is interested in exploring the cultural and psychological factors that contribute to the sharp rise in adolescents identifying as transgender and choosing to medically transition with hormones and surgeries.

Marit Rønstad

Norway

Marit Rønstad from Norway is an art teacher and has worked with children of all ages for over 20 years. The last 8 years her experience is mostly with teenagers in public school settings. She has a wide range of experience working with children in groups and learning communities.

As a result of working with children since the 1990s, she has experienced the changes brought to the new generations of kids who’ve grown up in the quickly changing online and social media eras.

One of her observations is children’s increased alienation from reality and ability to differentiate between roleplay and real life. Marit believes this plays an important part in the exponential rise in children and young people identifying out of their birth-sex.

Marit has met a large number of parents seeking answers to their children’s often rapid urge to change sex through the Scandinavian network GENID – genderchallenge.no. These parents are often more than willing to go all the way with their child, but find that the help being offered puts the parent-child relationship at risk. Marit is engaged in connecting practitioners and parents across Norway, Scandinavia, Europe, and other parts of the world.

Sinéad Watson

United Kingdom

Sinéad Watson is a detransitioned woman from Scotland who underwent medical transition between 2015-2019.

Her personal experience of having been evaluated, diagnosed, and treated at a gender clinic has given her some insights into the process that others may not have.

As a detransitioned woman who has spent many hours discussing and dissecting her transition with her mother and father, she is very aware that the parents of gender-questioning people may have questions and concerns that have been ignored or dismissed. For that reason, she is happy to advise anyone from a personal, rather than a professional, position.

Jonni Skinner

Jonni Skinner is a detransitioner and speaker who writes and advocates on issues related to gender identity, medical transition, and patient safeguarding. Drawing on personal experience, Jonni focuses on the psychological, social, and clinical factors that can influence individuals—particularly young people—to pursue gender transition, as well as the challenges faced by those who later choose to detransition.

He is a Genspect Ambassador and has contributed to public discussions on gender medicine through interviews, essays, and appearances in media and advocacy forums. His work often highlights the importance of informed consent, long-term outcome data, and the need for greater support systems for detransitioners navigating complex medical and emotional consequences.

In addition to advocacy, Jonni engages in public education aimed at broadening understanding of detransition experiences and encouraging more nuanced debate around gender identity and healthcare practices. His perspective has made him a notable voice within a growing international conversation about medical ethics, patient care, and the diversity of experiences within gender-related treatment pathways.

David Allison

Substack Editor

Germany

David Allison was born in the UK, where he studied English literature, law and social policy and worked for a number of years as a social worker. At the age of 30, he moved to Germany and worked as a professional editor and translator before engaging in another stint of social work following the influx of around 1.2 million refugees to the country between 2015 and 2016.

He was an elected local government representative for several years and was formerly a member of the German Green Party. He first came into conflict with the party over its attitude towards the sexual abuse of children. This disagreement culminated in open antagonism regarding the party’s self-ID policy and the occupation of positions reserved for female candidates by self-identifying transgender women (men).

In response to Germany’s strict online media laws, he became the public face and spokesperson for the critical parents’ group Trans Teen Sorge Berechtigt in 2021. The group publishes extensively on its own website and is a key source of information for critical media outlets.

When he is not in his garden, playing the piano or spending time with his family, his interests include the politics of mental health care. Good policy must be based on reality.

Chris Burgess

United Kingdom

Chris Burgess is a UK-based digital marketing specialist and creative professional with over two decades of experience in digital strategy, online technology, and content production.

He is responsible for video editing, website management, and a range of digital operations supporting the organisation’s online presence. His work focuses on producing and distributing content across multiple platforms, combining technical expertise with a strong creative sensibility.

Through his work, Chris supports Genspect’s mission and the wider detransitioner community, helping to communicate their perspectives through digital media while contributing his skills in content and platform development.