FACTS About Fertility's 2026 Annual Conference

Teresa Kenney is a board-certified Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner with over 25 years of experience in women’s healthcare. She earned her certification from the University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Nursing and began her career in 2000 at the Pope Paul VI Institute for the Study of Human Reproduction, where she became a medical consultant in NaProTechnology under the direction of Dr. Thomas Hilgers. After two decades at the Institute, Teresa transitioned to Sancta Familia Medical in Omaha in 2019, where she continues to provide full-time, comprehensive women’s healthcare. She is a member of the American Academy of FertilityCare Professionals and serves as an active member of FACTS about Fertility, teaching medical students biweekly through case studies that emphasize restorative reproductive medicine and NaProTechnology. In August 2020, Teresa co-founded The Hormone Genius Podcast with Jamie Rathjen, a platform dedicated to inspiring, educating, and empowering women to understand and embrace their hormonal health. In just five years, the podcast has reached over 800,000 listeners worldwide. Teresa is deeply passionate about helping women recognize the beauty and complexity of their bodies, encouraging them to become advocates for their own health and well-being. She is also the author of The Happy Girl’s Guide to Being Whole, available through Lumen Press and Amazon.

Paul W. Hruz, M.D. Ph.D. is an academic pediatric endocrinologist and tenured physician scientist with faculty appointments in both Pediatrics and Cellular Biology and Physiology. He received his MD and PhD degrees from the Medical College of Wisconsin. He completed residency training in Pediatrics at the University of Washington in Seattle and fellowship training in pediatric endocrinology at Washington University in St Louis. Dr. Hruz has over 25 years of clinical experience in caring for children with disorders of sexual development puberty. He has authored over 65 peer-reviewed manuscripts, scientific reviews and book chapters. Most importantly, together with his wife Anne, he has raised his five children in St Louis.

Dr. Monica Minjeur is the founder and CEO of Radiant Clinic in Cedar Rapids, IA and also provides telehealth services to multiple different states across the USA. The mission of Radiant Clinic is to restore natural menstrual cycles to improve health and promote fertility. Dr. Minjeur is also the host of the “Cycle Wisdom” podcast. As a restorative reproductive medicine physician, she specializes in testing and treatment for irregular or painful periods, PCOS, recurrent miscarriages, infertility, postpartum depression, PMS/PMDD and other gynecological conditions. She is the US Director of Communications and Development for the International Institute of Restorative Reproductive Medicine and also is on the board of NeoFertility USA. She has completed medical training in NeoFertility, NaPro Technology, and FEMM. Dr. Minjeur is passionate about providing education for using fertility awareness methods to get to the underlying causes of menstrual-related concerns and improve the health of the women & couples she serves.

Dr. Kathleen Carlson is a board certified OBGYN, and NaProTECHNOLOGY™ surgeon, dedicated to providing personalized, restorative reproductive care. She attended medical school at the University of Virginia where she was inducted into the Alpha Omega Alpha and Gold Humanism medical honor societies. She completed her residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Maine Medical Center, followed by a fellowship in medical and surgical NaProTECHNOLOGY™ at the Saint Paul VI Institute. Her areas of expertise include infertility, recurrent pregnancy loss, endometriosis, polycystic ovarian syndrome, uterine fibroids, hormonal imbalances, and abnormal bleeding. Dr. Carlson utilizes the DaVinci robotic surgery platform and CO2 laser to perform advanced gynecologic procedures, including complete excision of endometriosis with pelvioplasty (repair of pelvic tissue), ovarian wedge resection, uterine fibroid excision, cesarean scar defect (isthomocele) reconstruction, and fallopian tube repair.

Dr. Helen Ejiogu is an obstetrician-gynecologist and a medical and surgical specialist in NaProTECHNOLOGY. She received her medical degree from Michigan State University College of Human Medicine, in East Lansing, MI, and completed a fellowship at the Saint Paul VI Institute in Omaha, Nebraska. She is currently the only surgeon in Illinois with this specialty training.

Patrick Yeung Jr. MD is a Fellowship-Trained Obstetrician-Gynecologist, and founder of RESTORE Center for Endometriosis LLC, which offers root cause treatment for pain and fertility. He is an Adjunct Professor at Saint Louis University. Dr. Yeung has dedicated his career to helping women with endometriosis, for over 15 years and over 4,000 surgeries. Dr. Yeung specializes in the optimal laser excision (LAPEX) of endometriosis, combined with the best strategies for adhesion prevention. Dr. Yeung has authored multiple landmark, peer-reviewed publications, including a landmark culmination manuscript showing a very low rate of repeat surgery in 10 years, demonstrating the possibility of one-and-done surgery for endometriosis. He has been invited to speak nationally and internationally, and has been voted one of Best Doctors annually since 2013.

Dr. Sarah E. Hill is an award-winning research psychologist with 100+ research publications to her name. Sarah’s groundbreaking research has been featured in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Scientific American, The Economist, and on television shows like Good Morning and The Today Show. Sarah is a thought-leader in the area of women’s hormones and is a sought-after speaker, consultant, and media expert. In addition to running her research lab in the psychology department at TCU, Sarah serves on the scientific advisory boards for women’s health companies like 28 Wellness and Flo Health. Sarah has also authored two groundbreaking books that uncover the hidden truths about women’s sex hormones, THIS IS YOUR BRAIN ON BIRTH CONTROL and THE PERIOD BRAIN.

Jamie Rathjen, MA, FCP is a community health professional, FertilityCare Practitioner, and women’s health educator specializing in fertility awareness-based methods and hormone health. She is the founder and owner of the Fiat Institute, a professional training and certification program for hormone coaches, the founder and former director of Guiding Star Cedar Valley, and the co-founder and co-host of the Hormone Genius Podcast. Her graduate research examined barriers faced by medical professionals in educating female patients about fertility awareness methods, highlighting critical gaps between evidence-based science and clinical implementation. Jamie’s work integrates research, clinical insight, and education with a clear cultural aim: to restore trust in the female body, elevate the menstrual cycle as a vital sign of health, and equip women—and those who serve them—with the knowledge to support authentic, whole healing.

Dr. Annevay Conlee is a board-certified Family Medicine with Obstetrics physician dedicated to providing comprehensive, compassionate care for women and families. She earned her medical degree from the University of Illinois in 2009 and completed her residency in Family Medicine with advanced surgical obstetrics training in 2012. During residency, Dr. Conlee also completed Medical Consultant training and has been practicing in Galesburg, Illinois since 2012. In her current role as Vice President of the Women’s Service Line at OSF HealthCare, Dr. Conlee leads initiatives to enhance women’s health services across the organization, integrating clinical excellence with patient-centered innovation. Outside of her professional life, Dr. Conlee and her husband, Greg, have been married for 21 years and are proud parents of six children. Their family includes Vincent, a junior at Texas A&M University studying computer science; Emily, a high school senior; Joshua, a freshman; Declan, a sixth grader; Zac, a fourth grader; and Luke, a first grader. Dr. Conlee enjoys traveling, hiking, skiing, and spending quality time with her family and friends.

Anna Lisa Schmitz, MD is the daughter of an officer in the United States Navy, who grew up traveling from coast to coast and overseas. She earned a BS in biology from William and Mary in Williamsburg, VA and attended medical school at the University of Wisconsin, where she met her husband, George. She completed her obstetrics and gynecology residency at Reading Hospital and Medical Center in Reading, PA, during which time her two daughters were born. After residency, she moved to Champaign-Urbana for her husband’s job and began working at Carle Hospital as an OB/GYN. She now has 7 beautiful children, continues to work part time at Carle as an OB/GYN, and volunteers her time at her local Pregnancy Resource Centers. She is an active member of the Catholic Medical Association (CMA) and the American Association of Pro-Life OB/GYNs (AAPLOG).

Chrysa Bourtzinakou, DDS, MSc, is a dentist, AI Engineer at MEDIPASS, and PhD researcher at BiHELab (Ionian University), specializing in Natural Language Processing (NLP), Large Language Models (LLMs), and AI agents for healthcare applications, with a strong focus on developing trustworthy and evidence-based AI systems. At MEDIPASS, she works on AI-driven fertility support solutions, applying advanced NLP and agentic approaches to improve patient education and personalized guidance across the fertility journey. With an interdisciplinary background in dentistry, digital health, and data science, her work aims to support evidence discovery and build more patient-centric, intelligent, and safe healthcare technologies.

After receiving his doctorate in Microbiology from the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Dr. Manhart embarked on a career in Research & Development with Procter & Gamble. While there, he held numerous management roles of increasing responsibility in various global health care and pharmaceutical organizations; he retired in 2008 as a Director of R&D. Michael also served on the CCL Board of Directors from 2007 to 2009. In July 2009, he was appointed executive director and led the organization until 2016. He and his wife have served as volunteer CCL teachers for over 35 years. An author of several published studies related to Natural Family Planning, he currently serves as Board Chair and Senior Scientific consultant for CCL and is a member of the FACTS Board of Directors. He resides in Cincinnati Ohio and is the proud father of four and grandfather of eleven.

Paula Gallagher is the founder of Catholic Infertility Coaching, an online one-on-one coaching program where she accompanies women on the path of infertility. After more than a decade of primary infertility and discovering many diagnoses contributing to her own infertility, Paula felt called to turn her pain into purpose by sharing what she learned the hard way with other women. She helps her clients navigate the emotional burden of infertility, equips them with practical coping tools, and makes them feel seen and supported. She also shares advice and resources on social media.

Dr. Joseph B. Davis D.O. FACOG is a board certified Obstetrician and Gynecologist and Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility specialist. He serves as the FACTS about Fertility FIRM Fellowship director. For over 15 years, Dr. Davis has worked in the infertility field and is globally recognized in his field for his clinical success as well as his role in developing ethics guidelines for the American Society of Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) and the World Health Organization (WHO). A trained restorative reproductive surgeon, Dr. Davis is the founder of Palm Integrative Fertility, a private practice in Orlando, Florida treating couples with an integrative and holistic approach as well as restoring fertility through surgery.

Gisela Valer Chavez, MD, is an obstetrician-gynecologist with 25 years of clinical experience in fertility care, known for a person-centered approach grounded in careful clinical reasoning and reproductive physiology. She trained early in IVF, gynecologic endocrinology, and restorative-focused gynecologic laparoscopy, experiences that shaped her commitment to identifying and addressing underlying causes of reproductive dysfunction rather than relying on isolated biomarkers. Her perspective is further informed by prior work in the pharmaceutical industry and health communication, offering insight into how medical evidence and messaging influence fertility counseling. Dr. Valer later completed formal training in NaProTechnology and NeoFertility and is the first gynecologist in Peru to formally practice restorative reproductive medicine. She regularly presents clinical work internationally and serves as a Case Study Leader with FACTS.