HI, I’M DR. SARAH DENNY LORIO
Founder and Owner of What Women Are, bioethicist, women’s health specialist, speaker, podcast host, writer…
AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, A WIFE AND MOTHER WHO IS PASSIONATE ABOUT EDUCATING WOMEN ON THEIR NATURE AND DIGNITY, WHICH INCLUDES A ROBUST EDUCATION ON THEIR BODIES AND THE GIFT OF SEX.
Growing up, I experienced and saw the great disconnect in education. We either educate women about their dignity without ever going into the power and beauty of a woman’s body as it naturally functions, or we educate them about various systems within the body without ever connecting this back to the person as a whole. My goal is to equip you with the tools you need both to understand your body—holistically as it connects to your womanhood as a whole—and to be able to educate the young women around you about their own dignity and bodies. The key to authentic freedom is integration, and What Women Are is here to serve you on your journey of knowing yourself more fully.
FRUSTRATED BY THE LACK OF
evidence-based, holistic women's health resources and formation
ON YOUR JOURNEY THROUGH WOMANHOOD?
We've heard it time and time again
“Why weren’t we taught this information when we were younger?”
“How can I help to educate my own daughter so that she doesn’t experience the same struggles as I?”
After almost two decades of presenting on topics related to women’s health, body literacy, identity, vocation, prayer, and womanhood, it has become clear to us that there is a lack of integrated formation and resources for women. It feels like you need to go to twenty different places just to find the deeper formation you desire, whether that be within medicine or within your faith. This is where What Women Are comes in.
Educating women on their nature and dignity—all in light of the four foundational pillars of philosophy, science, faith, and beauty—is our mission and goal. We have so many women looking for essential answers to some of life’s most pressing questions, and an integrated education in the gift of womanhood serves as the foundation to our work. Whether you are looking for answers for your little girl, hoping to navigate puberty with your adolescent child, wanting to learn the language of your own cycle, preparing for the Sacrament of Marriage, or navigating in the in-between space of the hormonal changes that accompany perimenopause—we are here for you.
Whatever your season of life, What Women Are has something to offer you.
MEET DR. SARAH DENNY LORIO
Founder, Owner, Mother, Bioethicist, Speaker, Writer, Podcast Host
When I was a little girl, I loved being part of the conversations had at my grandmother’s kitchen table. I wasn’t there to speak but to sit and to watch and to listen. Without fail, after all holiday gatherings, the adult women in my family would linger until late in the evening over cups of coffee and various desserts. I felt like I was somehow let into their worlds as they shared and laughed and just spent simple time together. Without realizing it, I was being formed in the powerful gift of how women pass down wisdom and truth, the kind that is lived in and molded to real-life experiences. No matter how times change, women still gather at tables around the world to share struggles and dreams, heartbreaks and new beginnings.
No matter their age, in my work I daily encounter women seeking understanding to some of life’s most important questions: Who am I? What is the purpose of my body? How can I better know myself and grow into the woman I long to be? In particular, every time I offer women an integrated formation about their womanhood—including the great gift and power of their bodies and sexuality—I have also heard their cries, asking why they were not given this information sooner.
What Women Are was born out of my desire to educate and empower women with the knowledge and confidence to step into the unique gift of who they are in reality, not who the world tells them to be. This information is meant to be passed down and shared because in the truth of who we have been created to be as women, there is freedom.
Having been blessed to study for my PhD in Bioethics in Rome, I traveled back and forth to Italy several times a year for my classes, all while continuing to work as a high school teacher & cross country coach or as a campus minister on the the campus of Louisiana State University. These experiences molded me as much as any degree, and I learned firsthand that the essential questions women hold in their hearts span cultures and countries—we all desire the truth.
As a bioethicist with a focus in women’s health and integrated sex education, I have worked throughout the last 15 years as an ethicist with the National Catholic Bioethics Center, taught at both the university and high school levels, and served as a campus minister at Louisiana State University. My greatest passion, however, is to empower women through knowledge about the great gift and beauty of their bodies, and so this is what I offer through the work of What Women Are. I am so happy you are here, and I hope that What Women Are can be an encouragement to you, wherever you are.
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Bachelor of Arts,Theology with a Minor in Biology, Holy Cross University (New Orleans), 2011
Master of Arts (MA), Theology, Notre Dame Seminary and Graduate School (New Orleans), 2013
Doctorate of Bioethics (PhD), Pontificio Athenaeum Regina Apostolorum (Rome, Italy), 2022
Dissertation Title: “The Role of Freedom and Health in Women’s Reproductive Healthcare and Birth Control Use: Integrating the Thoughts of Margaret Sanger and John Paul II in Sex Education for American Adolescent Women”
Other Professional Certifications:
Creighton Model FertilityCare Practitioner (2013)
Certification in Bioethics, National Catholic Bioethics Center (2014)
FEMM Teacher (2024)
MEET THE TEAM: KATIE SANDERS IBARRA
Wife, Mother, Speaker, Spiritual Director
Katie Ibarra is first a daughter of God the Father, then a wife, mother of six children—three on earth and three in heaven—and a Catholic speaker with a passion for helping others encounter Christ in the midst of the ordinary, often messy, realities of life. She believes some of God's most beautiful work happens through authentic relationships, faithful presence, and the quiet invitation to prayer.
Katie spent four years serving as a FOCUS missionary on college campuses before earning a Master's in Theology from Notre Dame Seminary. She later served for several years as a Catholic educator in the Archdiocese of New Orleans, helping students discover both the truth and beauty of the Catholic faith. It is during her time as an educator that she realized the importance and power of formation in prayer. Katie then received her certification to become a trained lay spiritual director from the Institute of MInistry Formation under the direction of Fr. Boniface Hicks.
Today, Katie serves part-time at Christ the King Catholic Center at LSU, where she offers formation in prayer and provides one-on-one spiritual accompaniment to college students. As a trained lay spiritual director, she delights in accompanying others as they learn to recognize God's voice and grow in deeper friendship with Him.
Whether speaking at retreats and parish events, meeting one-on-one with young adults, homeschooling her children, or serving in her parish community, Katie's desire is the same: to help others discover that God is faithfully present and inviting them into a life of deeper trust, joy, and intimacy with Him.
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Bachelor of Arts, History with a minor in English, LSU, 2010
Master of Arts, Theology, Notre Dame Seminary, 2017
Certification in Spiritual Direction, The Institute of Ministry Formation (St. Vincent's Seminary), 2024
YOU DESERVE HOLISTIC FORMATION
FOR THE SEASON OF LIFE YOU ARE LIVING TODAY.
Looking to feel encouraged and confident as you step into your one, real life? All things womanhood—philosophy, women’s health, faith, and beauty—delivered straight to your inbox. Sent directly from a Doctor of Bioethics whose passion is women’s health.
How to Work with Our What Women Are Team
HOLISTIC WOMEN’S HEALTH CONSULTATION
Individualized evaluation to help you know your options as you search for the root-cause of your issues. 90 minute initial evaluation + 60 minute follow-up sessions at a frequency determined to best meet your goals. All appointments are virtual.
INTEGRATED SEX EDUCATION/WOMEN’S HEALTH COURSES
When you need support from the comfort of your own home, we’ve got you! Gain lifetime access to the formation program specific to your season of life: cycle literacy + women’s health + sex education + Sacramental preparation + holistic health education.
SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS
Schedule a speaker for your school, business, class, or parish! You can let us know what kind of event you are hosting and the topic(s) you want to focus on.
SPIRITUAL DIRECTION
Spiritual direction is a regular, prayerful conversation, the purpose of which is to deepen the directee's intimate relationship with Jesus Christ, grow in awareness of God's presence, and discern and embrace His will with greater freedom and trust.
