About Steph
Steph Zapata is a nationally recognized, award-winning Nuyorican sexuality educator and space creator, known for their radically transformative approach that challenges traditional sex education. Life in The Bronx as a queer-masc-Boricua with a neurodivergent sparkle and anti-capitalist heart led Steph to create the communities, frameworks, conferences, curriculums, and spaces they desperately needed as a young person. With an unwavering commitment to social justice and liberation, Steph calls out systems of oppression while creating spaces for people to disrupt, heal, and reimagine. They are a self-described "Unprofessional Professional," unapologetically working to dismantle white supremacy through the joy and freedom of decolonial sexuality education.
Steph unapologetically pushes back against white supremacy, heteronormativity, and shame-based education models. Their decolonial framework centers joy, consent, and inclusivity, making room for traditionally excluded voices and creating spaces where honesty, courage, and connection can flourish. Steph’s workshops offer an experience that is as warm as it is empowering, combining their unique blend of authenticity, knowledge, and community commitment to inspire transformative change. Infusing anti-colonial, trauma-informed, and empathy-driven perspectives, her work transcends traditional sex education, inviting participants to engage deeply while gaining practical skills and emotional insights. Each session is designed to be a transformative experience, clearly outlining takeaways that resonate with participants on both personal and societal levels.
Zapata's commitment to social justice is palpable as she boldly calls out systems of oppression, advocating for collective liberation through decolonial sexuality education. Her radical intention manifests in workshops that empower individuals to reclaim and redefine their relationships with sexuality, joyfully exploring identity and self-expression while challenging societal norms.
In her workshops for youth, conference keynotes, and staff trainings, Zapata fosters a warm and empowering environment where participants can explore their sexuality within a framework of compassion and transparency. By “calling in” others to engage in collective reimagination, she provides tools that encourage exploration of pleasure while dismantling oppressive narratives. Her approach champions the idea that sexuality education can and should be a pathway to societal change, focusing on building community and nurturing relationships that honor every individual's experience. Their work is a call to collective liberation, inviting participants to dismantle internalized shame and engage in authentic self-discovery.
About Rising In Pleasure with Steph:
As a pleasure facilitator, they guide individuals and couples toward finding pleasure and connection beyond societal restraints, making room for everyone—especially those traditionally disenfranchised by mainstream, abstinence-only, and heteronormative curriculums. Their approach is both rigorous and compassionate, recognizing that liberation begins with radical self-acceptance and the reclaiming of one’s whole self.
In Steph’s workshops, trainings, and one-on-one sessions, they guide individuals through deeply transformative experiences that blend practical skills with emotional insight. They prioritize pleasure as a radical tool for healing and self-reclamation, viewing it as a pathway to understanding our most genuine selves. Through practices like kink, dirty talk and Domming, Steph emphasizes that pleasure can help heal the scars of colonial shame, offering a consensual space to reclaim agency, explore identity, and cultivate a life grounded in fulfillment and joy.
They champion pleasure as a pathway to understanding our most genuine selves—exploring who we are without the burden of imposed narratives and societal guilt. In this journey, kink emerges as a powerful modality for healing, offering a unique and consensual space to redefine relationships with vulnerability, agency, and self-expression. Steph’s facilitation supports participants in experiencing pleasure as a radical act of self-reclamation, ultimately allowing them to live more fulfilling lives aligned with their true desires and identities.
