Catharsis Productions CEO and leadership

Christian Murphy founded Catharsis Productions with Gail Stern in 2000. He serves as Chief Executive Officer for the company where he oversees the strategies and implementation of the company vision, mission, and its core values. In addition to co-creating SEX SIGNALS with Dr. Stern and serving as the original main male presenter for the program, Mr. Murphy focuses primarily on the aesthetic and creative content of the programs. He has also served as the chief architect of the adaptation of the civilian script for military audiences, engaging with staff in each branch of the military in a diligent effort to have each script reflect the military jargon, customs, and courtesies of that branch of service. Mr. Murphy also co-wrote with Dr. Christopher Kilmartin and co-produced the U.S. Army sexual harassment video “Amateur Night,” which is now seen as part of the sexual harassment refresher course for U.S Army Soldiers. He serves as a major contributor to the online trainings designs, in particular, U GOT THIS!. Mr. Murphy worked as a professional actor for over twenty-five years and as an award-winning playwright. His one-person show, Meditations, won the 1998 Factory Theater Shut Up and Laugh! One-Act Play Festival, where he met Dr. Stern. Shortly thereafter he and Gail began developing “Sex Signals” (then known as “The Sensitive Swashbuckler & Other Dating Myths”) through Downstage Left Program at Stage Left Theatre in Chicago. Mr. Murphy also served as the founder and original Artistic Director of Voices in Harmony, a Los Angeles-based non-profit organization that paired urban youth with theater and film professionals to collaborate one-on-one in creating and performing personal stories. He has been trained as a certified rape victim advocate through Chicago’s Rape Victim Advocate program. He designed a peer-education training program on gender issues for Lambda Chi Alpha and its undergraduate fraternity members. He served as the co-chair on the MEN (Men Endorsing Non-Violence) subcommittee for Illinois Coalition Against Domestic Violence and co-created its highly successful Male Ally Pilot program for students at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He received his Bachelor of Arts and Masters of Business Administration degrees from the University of Notre Dame. He currently serves on the board for the non-profit Stage for Change and teaches the Our Whole Lives (OWL) healthy sexuality curriculum to eighth graders. He is happily married to Lauren Murphy, co-owner of Laurenceleste, makers of some really hip, organic personalized baby blankets. Visit them at www.laurenceleste.com. Christian is also known for his extraordinary Chewbacca impression.

Dr. Gail Stern is a Founder and Chief Visionary Officer at Catharsis Productions and is based in Chicago, Illinois. She has worked as Associate Director for Law Enforcement Training at ADL (Anti-Defamation League) and Senior Project Coordinator, Campus Advocacy Network at University of Illinois Chicago. Gail studied at University of Wisconsin-Madison between 2003 and 2012, University of Illinois Urbana Champaign between 1987 and 1991, and University of Illinois Chicago between 1995 and 1998.

Dr. Gail Stern is a Founder and Chief Visionary Officer at Catharsis Productions and is based in Chicago, Illinois. She has worked as Associate Director for Law Enforcement Training at ADL (Anti-Defamation League) and Senior Project Coordinator, Campus Advocacy Network at University of Illinois Chicago. Gail studied at University of Wisconsin-Madison between 2003 and 2012, University of Illinois Urbana Champaign between 1987 and 1991, and University of Illinois Chicago between 1995 and 1998.