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Staff & Advisors

Advisors

Alexa Alexander

Human Resources Coordinator

Alexa is a Human Resources professional who has dedicated four years working at various international non-profit organizations focused on reproductive health, accessible education for all and women's health issues. Her professional experiences include strategic program management, talent acquisition and retaining staff, training/employee development, policy creation and implementation, and employee relations. She has a Bachelor's degree in International Relations from Goucher College. Alexa currently lives in Baltimore, MD, and occasionally travels to DC to see family and friends. When not keeping busy with work, she enjoys trying new restaurants, practicing her cross stitch and going on short hikes.

Jeanne Baron

Senior Producer & Editor

Jeanne is AVAC's Senior Producer & Editor, overseeing content and strategy for our online presence. She came to AVAC in 2016 as an award-winning broadcast journalist with 18 years of experience reporting on justice and human rights issues in the US and overseas. Her reporting work in the Central African Republic, Uganda, Rwanda and South Africa has often focused on the impact of HIV and HIV prevention. Just before joining AVAC, Jeanne was part of a global team that covered forced resettlement practices at the World Bank for The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. That 2015 series won numerous honors including the Online News Association Award for Innovation. She has twice won grants from the Fund for Investigative Journalism. Jeanne has created original programming for WGBH and The GlobalPost. She has reported stories for the BBC's The World, NPR's foreign and national desks, WNYC, VPR and MPBN. She was the Senior Producer and Editor for NPR's Justice Talking with Margot Adler and the on-air Host and Producer of Maine Things Considered at the Maine Public Broadcasting Network. She is a graduate of the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

Wanda Buckner

Finance Director

Wanda is responsible for managing AVAC's day-to-day accounting. She works with the Chief Financial Officer to implement internal controls and to ensure organizational compliance with AVAC's policies and procedures and donor requirements. She has over 25 years of accounting experience working with organizations in the non-for-profit and for-profits sectors. Prior to joining AVAC she worked for several years at the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative within the Grants & Contract Unit of the Department of Finance and Administration, first as Grants and Contract Manager then as Grants and Contract Liaison. She holds a Bachelor's degree from the City University of New York Hunter College where she majored in Economics with a minor in Political Science.

Levi Butcher

Coordinator: Operations

Levi joined AVAC in the Spring of 2017 as the Coordinator: Program Coordination and Special Projects. He provides administrative support across all of the programs at AVAC. Before working at AVAC, Levi was the Support Specialist in the Center Services department at the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Community Center in New York City. Levi received a BA in Art History from Hunter College.

Manju Chatani

Director: Partnerships & Capacity Strengthening

Manju joined AVAC in 2009 as Senior Program Manager focusing on partnership management and capacity strengthening. Currently, she oversees AVAC's Advocacy Fellows Program, coordinates activities in building civil society capacity and preparedness for microbicides introduction and other interventions that could be important to women's HIV prevention, and is also AVAC's liaison to several partner groups and collaborative projects. She was on the AVAC Board prior to joining the staff. Manju co-founded the African Microbicides Advocacy Group in 2003 which she coordinated till 2008. Prior to that, she worked with Health & Development Networks, an organization she co-founded, facilitating information-sharing amongst the international civil society involved in AIDS work. She has worked as community mobilizer in Ghana, program manager in South Africa and Thailand, networking manager in Switzerland and an HIV case manager in Hawaii. Her work has been published in several peer-reviewed journals and she has a Master's degree in Public Health.

Cindra Feuer

Senior Program Manager: Partnerships & Capacity Strengthening

Cindra is a Senior Program Manager at AVAC: Global Advocacy for HIV Prevention. She co-manages its various advocacy programs in the US, Europe and Africa. She sits on the steering committees of IRMA (International Rectal Microbicide Advocates) and the Wits RHI Key Populations Programme. Cindra held staff positions at POZ and HIV Plus magazines, covering the pandemic both domestically and internationally. She also worked with various groups including the Lesbian Avengers and Sex Panic!, a sexual activism group dedicated to pro-queer, pro-sex worker and anti-racist campaigns for sexual freedom in the age of HIV and AIDS.

Alison Footman

Senior Program Manager: Sexually Transmitted Infections

Alison joined AVAC in 2023 as a Senior Program Manager focused on building an STI advocacy program. Prior to joining AVAC, Alison was a postdoctoral fellow at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in the HPV Cancer Prevention Program, working to improve HPV vaccination coverage rates. Her research has primarily focused on promoting current and future vaccines to prevent sexually transmitted infections. Alison received her bachelor’s degree from Agnes Scott College. She also received an MPH in Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases from Yale School of Public Health and a PhD in Health Behavior from University of Alabama at Birmingham.

Annette Gaudino

Global AIDS Policy Partnership Advocacy Coalition Manager

Annette brings 30 years of experience as a community activist in the LGBTQ, HIV, harm reduction and drug decriminalization movements. As US and Global Health Policy Co-Director with Treatment Action Group (TAG), she led the organization's domestic and global policy work primarily on hepatitis C, access to medicines, and healthcare systems issues with significant expertise in harm reduction policy and the rights of people who use drugs. Prior to TAG, Annette coordinated the passage of a universal single payer health care bill in the State Assembly for the Campaign for NY Health. Annette also provided rehabilitation therapy to patients as a licensed speech, language and swallowing therapist. At AVAC, Annette will be focusing much of her efforts on stabilizing and managing GAPP advocacy, but will be an important collaborator and thought partner on federal/multilateral policy and implementation advocacy initiatives across the organization.

Randy Goetz

Senior Manager: Human Resources

Randy is the Human Resources Manager of AVAC and manages the full spectrum of HR initiatives at the organization. Working closely with the management team, Randy develops and oversees AVAC's systems for performance management, recruiting and hiring, professional development, benefits administration, and employment law compliance. Prior to joining AVAC, Randy served as the Operations Officer at the Global HIV Vaccine Enterprise, a nonprofit dedicated to accelerating the development of effective HIV vaccines, where he managed operational and HR activities. Randy is a PHR-certified Human Resources partner with over 15 years' experience managing administrative initiatives in the nonprofit, arts, fashion and publishing fields. He holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Otterbein University.

Deirdre Grant

Director: Program Coordination

Deirdre joined AVAC in 2005 and has worked in a number of different areas over her AVAC tenure including print and digital communications, conference management and US-based advocacy. Since 2017, she has served as the Director of Program Coordination. Her team is responsible for organization-wide knowledge management and collaboration; project management processes and implementation; supporting in-person and virtual work needs; and fostering an inclusive and engaging organizational culture. Prior to joining AVAC, Deirdre worked as an independent consultant in New York. She received a BA in Political Science from Bates College.

Stacey Hannah

Director: Research Engagement

Stacey joined AVAC in 2011 as a Senior Program Manager with a focus on research literacy and capacity building. She manages AVAC's Good Participatory Practices program, and oversees training related activities of AVAC and its partners. Stacey has over twelve years of experience in HIV prevention research, which began in South Africa helping prepare the first HIV vaccine trial site in the country. Her experience has focused on country programming, preparedness, and advocacy for HIV prevention research and introduction of new interventions. She has served long-term posts in Kenya, South Africa, and Uganda. Before joining AVAC, she took a short break from the HIV world to develop and implement a research literacy program for the TB Alliance, a product-development-partnership for new TB drug regimens. Stacey has degrees in microbiology, nutrition and chemistry from the University of Florida and an MHS in international health from the Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health. Stacey has completed two full marathons and does not have plans for a third. Her home is in Brooklyn, New York.

Micky Hingorani

Senior Manager: Digital & Technology

Micky joined AVAC in 2010 and currently serves as a senior manager. He manages the development and expansion of the organization's several websites‚ e.g., working with web developers to build a searchable database, overseeing a user experience analysis to improve a site's layout and organization or just building a site himself when necessary. Micky also directs IT services at AVAC, including managing outside vendors, researching new technologies, and developing and implementing IT policy and best practice guides. Prior to joining AVAC, Micky was Web Strategist at The Opportunity Agenda, a social justice organization working to expand opportunity for all in the United States. He worked in print and digital communications at Doctors Without Borders and taught foreign affairs to undergraduates at Rutgers. Micky received his bachelor's degree from New York University and has a master's from Rutgers University.

Navita Jain

Senior Program Manager: Research Engagement

Navita joined AVAC in 2016 as Program Manager with a focus in program implementation, grant management and monitoring, and operations. She supports AVAC's work in advocacy, research translation, research preparedness and policy engagement through the development of project and partner workplans, strategic planning, reporting and operations. Prior to joining AVAC, Navita worked as a Senior Project Officer with ICAP at Columbia University supporting the implementation and monitoring of HIV care, treatment and prevention programs in South Africa, Kenya, Myanmar, South Sudan, Sierra Leone and Tanzania. Navita also worked as a fellow with ICAP in Rwanda on the intersection of gender-based violence and HIV, and as a USAID Global Health Fellow in Cambodia assessing HIV home-based care programs. She has a BA in Economics and Global Health from Northwestern University and an MPH in Population and Family Health and Global Health from Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health.

Angelo Kaggwa-Katumba

Senior Program Manager: Partnerships & Capacity Strengthening

As Senior Program Manager at AVAC, Angelo is responsible for providing technical and communications support to the AVAC team with a specific focus on expansion of activities and materials focused on building research literacy in communities affected by and involved with research. Angelo previously worked as the Communications Officer with the UVRI-IAVI HIV Vaccine Program in Uganda. The program is sponsored by the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) and has the Government of the Republic of Uganda as a partner. In this role, he was responsible for communications, documentation, media relations, public relations, and development of education and communication materials. He was also the editor of the program's quarterly newsletter, The Uganda AIDS Vaccine Update. Angelo sits on the Governing Council for the Public Relations Association of Uganda (PRAU), and formerly worked as Assistant Public Relations Officer for The Mildmay Centre, a specialist HIV/AIDS treatment, care and training center. Angelo holds a BA in Mass Communications from Makerere University (Uganda) and received his Masters in Public Health from New York University.

Erin Kiernon

Chief Operating Officer

Erin joined AVAC in 2019 as Chief Operating Officer. She leads AVAC's finance, HR, administrative and project management operations, partnering closely with the Executive Director on AVAC's strategic direction and operational priorities. Previously, Erin held leadership positions the Population Council, Planned Parenthood Federation of America and Girl Scouts of the USA. At the Population Council, Erin served as chief of staff to the president and head of external relations, overseeing branding and communications, policy advocacy and government relations, philanthropy; and board relations. Prior to joining the Council, Erin was vice president at a health communications firm where she served as a senior advisor to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention around major public health news, including national prevalence and incidence data on HIV and other sexually transmitted infections; national HIV and STI awareness campaigns; CDC's international clinical trials of pre-exposure prophylaxis for HIV prevention; and the nation's first public health guidance on PrEP.

Breanne Lesnar

Program Manager: Research Engagement

Breanne Lesnar joined AVAC in the fall of 2018 as a Program Coordinator for Research Engagement. She supports the implementation, monitoring and reporting of AVAC's work in advocacy, research translation, research preparedness and policy engagement to build a supportive environment for biomedical HIV prevention research. Prior to joining AVAC, Breanne focused on program planning & implementation with Latinx and refugee populations. Her work was based in Guatemala, Honduras, Argentina and the US. Breanne holds an MPH from the Gillings School of Global Public Health at the University of North Carolina, where she worked as a Teaching Assistant for the Public Health Leadership Program. Breanne enjoys traveling, distance running, the great outdoors and making homemade greeting cards.

Justine MacWilliam

Senior Program Manager: Partnership Action Plan

Justine has over a decade of experience in global health and development with a focus on sexual and reproductive health, health systems strengthening and infection prevention and control. In her last role she was Director of Africa and Middle East Programs at Americares, where she oversaw health programs and operations in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Tanzania and Malawi, and a network of partnerships across Africa and the Middle East. In a prior role, Justine headed Americares Ebola response in Sierra Leone during the West Africa Ebola Epidemic. She was also Reproductive Health Program Manager at Public Health Solutions, where she managed family planning and HIV prevention grants to partners across New York City. Justine has an MA in International Affairs from the New School and completed her graduate field work with the Family Planning Association of India in Mumbai. She holds a BA in History from Jacobs University in Bremen, Germany.

Suraj Madoori

Director of Policy and Advocacy

Suraj Madoori has led and collaborated on legislative, regulatory, fiscal, human rights and social justice policy advocacy efforts across HIV, tuberculosis, and hepatitis C with Treatment Action Group, as their US and Global Health Policy Director. Suraj hails from Chicago where he started as a community organizer, journalist, and case manager for LGBTQ HIV-positive youth. He then joined the policy staff of AIDS Foundation Chicago in late 2012, coordinating and then leading multiple campaigns with the HIV Prevention Justice Alliance—a national grassroots network focused on the advancement of intersectional health and human rights issues in the domestic HIV epidemic. Suraj holds three graduate degrees in bioethics and health policy, public health, and journalism with an extensive interest in health and human rights, access to medicines and drug development issues. In his spare time, Suraj is an avid runner, enjoys photography, and is currently working on a letter-writing project to his three children.

John W. Meade, Jr.

Senior Program Manager: Policy

John W. Meade Jr. most recently served as a Health Program Coordinator within the Office of Planning and Community Affairs, AIDS Institute at the NYS Department of Health and was responsible for the development of program policy and standards, data management and the development of special initiatives to address emerging needs of all HIV impacted communities in NYS. He also served as Chair of the Health Equity Initiative Steering Committee within the AIDS Institute to guide health equity strategic planning. John has acquired over nine years of global health experience, focusing on socio-contextual determinants of health including addressing health inequities and stigma among MSM of color, youth and sex workers. He has also worked internationally, supporting sexual health promotion efforts and HIV prevention research among priority populations in South America and Sub-Saharan Africa. John holds a BA in Cell and Molecular Biology from Connecticut College and a Master's degree in Public Health with a concentration in Sexual and Reproductive Health and Population Studies from Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University.

Shiva Mozaffarian

Program Manager for Data Analytics

Shiva is a public health professional with a background in cellular and developmental biology. She has an MPH in Epidemiology with an emphasis in Global Health from Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health. Her career has focused on quantifying and addressing disparities in health in the global setting including access to equitable care, education, and resources. In her free time, she is working towards specializing as a rescue scuba diver and cares deeply about the advocates and movements working to maintain the ocean’s health and diversity around the globe. She speaks English, Spanish and Farsi and has a deep passion for learning from and about different cultures.

Richard Muko

Regional Implementation Advocacy Manager

Richard Muko is AVAC's Regional Implementation Advocacy Manager. His work with AVAC began in 2018 as a coordinator of Tanzania's COMPASS project. Muko has also worked in Eastern and Southern Africa to strengthen Community systems for HIV and TB, strengthening Alternative Dispute Resolution structures and Directorates of Ministries of Health and Education in Somalia and South Sudan, and taken a number of assignments with the African Union among other actors. He also has at one time advised the European Parliament directorate of external policy on the use of social economy to spur local development and improve community health response in Sub-Saharan Africa. Trained as a health economist, Muko has taught in both European and African universities and worked with a number of humanitarian organizations in both conflict and post conflict Africa in various capacities.

Hannah Nelson

Program Manager, Capacity Strengthening & Partnerships

Hannah has over a decade of experience working in global health with a focus on program design and management, capacity building, and M&E. Most recently, she served as the Manager of Training and Evaluation at Gradian Health Systems where she designed and scaled technical and clinical simulation training programs in more than 20 countries. Hannah holds a BA from NYU in history and African Studies and a Master's in Public Health from Tulane University School of Public Health & Tropical Medicine. In her free time, Hannah loves to listen to African music while wandering in search of tacos. She speaks fluent Swahili, Yoruba, French and Spanish. She lives in Brooklyn.

Estelle Ngaba

Finance Manager

Estelle joined AVAC in February 2018 as Finance Coordinator: Accounts Payable. She is in charge of payments to consultants and sub-grantees. Prior to joining AVAC, she was an investment advisor for four years and has ten years of accounts payable experience. Estelle received a Bachelor of Science in Finance from Kansas State University. She also received a certificate in forensic accounting. Estelle is fluent in English and French.

Wawira Nyagah

Director: Product Introduction & Access

Wawira has over 15 years' experience in strategic design and implementation of development and public health programs. Wawira's area of expertise is diverse and includes: markets systems development, social behavior change, social marketing, strategy design facilitation and project management. Prior to joining AVAC, Wawira was working as a consultant supporting different organizations including WHO, Mann Global Health, and Palladium, across Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda. Previously, Wawira served with PSI Kenya/PS Kenya for over a decade in various capacities including: Director of Strategy & Innovations, whereby she supported programs in the design and implementation of highly effective Marketing, Communication and Service delivery interventions addressing various public health issues; Director of Business Incubation, leading strategic programs & new business development; and Director for Partnerships. Wawira holds a Master's Degree in Social Communications and BA in Social Sciences, both from Gregorian Pontifical University in Italy.

Arlene Osborne-Francois

Finance Manager

Arlene Osborne-Francois has over 15 years of nonprofit accounting experience including payroll, reconciliations, cash flow and budget vs actual reports. She obtained her degree in Accounting and a certification in the Fundamentals of Not-for-Profit Accounting from New York University. During her free time, Arlene enjoys cooking, tending to her garden and reading.

Daisy Ouya

Communications Manager

Daisy joined AVAC as Communications Advisor in March 2017. She provides technical support to AVAC's communications and content development, with a focus on in-country and Africa-centric perspectives. Her 10-years-plus experience in development and science communications comes from working with international research and development non-profits as science writer, science editor and communications specialist (with a penchant for social media). Between 2007 and 2012 she managed the Africa communications program of one of AVAC's partners, the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI). Daisy has an MS in chemistry from the University of Connecticut and a BSc in chemistry from the University of Nairobi in her native country, Kenya. She is also a board-certified Editor in the Life Sciences (ELS, Boston).

Samantha Rick

Manager: Multilateral/Pandemic Preparedness and Response (PPR) Advocacy Specialist

Samantha joined AVAC in 2021. She has been in global health for six years and previously served as an advocacy and policy officer at IntraHealth International and as deputy director of the Frontline Health Workers Coalition and currently serves on the DC Executive Committee of Women in Global Health. Before that, she worked with the USAID Bureau for Global Health and the Smithsonian Institution Office of International Relations. She received her master's degree in anthropology of development and social transformation from the University of Sussex. In her free time, she loves traveling (she's been to 54 countries so far!), making scones, gardening and spending time with her cat, Giles.

Jason Rosenberg

Communications Manager

Jason Rosenberg is a lifelong New Yorker born and raised in Long Island. He graduated from SUNY University at Buffalo, where he earned his BA in Political Science and African American Studies. He currently serves as the Communications Manager at AVAC. Previously, Jason was the National Organizer at Housing Works assisting on the Act Now End AIDS coalition and other policy goals integral to ending the epidemic in the US. Before that, Jason worked as a Program Manager of Communications at the 92nd Street Y where he mobilized the Jewish community with in-person programming and other innovative online initiatives. He is a co-founder of PrEP4All, ensuring universal PrEP access to all, an ACT UP NY and Reclaim Pride Coalition member, and was named in 2020's "Logo30" by LogoTV. You can find writings of his on public health, HIV/AIDS, and Queer identity in publications such as Teen Vogue, Out Magazine, The Advocate, TheBody, and Alma.

Jessica Salzwedel

Senior Program Manager: Research Engagement

Jessica joined AVAC in 2013 as Program Coordinator. She focuses on developing innovative tools for the AVAC/UNAIDS Good Participatory Practice Guidelines and supporting their implementation. Jessica also works closely with the research literacy database, both in its management and content development. Prior to joining the team Jessica worked at the NIH in the Division of AIDS as a bioethicist. At DAIDS she worked on community engagement ethics and became familiar with GPP. She holds degrees in Biology, Philosophy and Bioethics and like her coworkers enjoys distance running, completing several marathons.

Rachel Saunders

Program Assistant: Research Engagement

Rachel joined AVAC in 2023 as a Program Assistant within the Research Engagement department. Rachel has experience creating and facilitating educational programming to college audiences on sexual and relationship violence prevention and sexual health education. Rachel also has experience conducting both qualitative and quantitative research within gender and sexual minority youth communities through her involvement with the International Network of Queer Youth Resilience’s training network. Rachel holds an MPH in Community Health from CUNY Graduate School of Public Health & Health Policy, where she worked to develop and implement a TGNC inclusivity training for CUNY faculty. She also holds a BA in Political Science from Syracuse University.

Kate Segal

Senior Program Manager: Product Introduction & Access

Kate joined AVAC in fall 2018 as the Program Coordinator for Policy & Data Tracking. She is responsible for policy analysis and data collection, management and analytics of HIV prevention research and implementation. Prior to AVAC, Kate was the Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights Policy Analyst and Global Health Corps Fellow at the Center for Health and Gender Equity (CHANGE), where she coauthored their report Prescribing Chaos in Global Health: The Global Gag Rule from 1984-2018. Kate has also worked with the Women's Rights Division and Americas Division at Human Rights Watch, and with the Global Legal Program at the Center for Reproductive Rights. She has a BA from Tulane University and an MA in International Affairs from The New School.

Nandisile Sikwana

Regional Stakeholder Engagement Manager

Nandi is AVAC's Regional Stakeholder Engagement Advisor and will provide technical, content-focused support to AVAC's research engagement activities, with a focus on activities in East and Southern Africa. Nandi joined AVAC in December 2019 and brings with her a wealth of knowledge and experience managing community and stakeholder engagement programmes in the biomedical HIV prevention research field, five years of which were spent working for the HIV Vaccine Trials Network (HVTN) where she led HVTN's Community and Stakeholder Engagement Programme for the Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) region. In 2016, Nandi was one of the recipients of the Omololu Falobi Award for Excellence in HIV Prevention Research Community Advocacy. Nandi is a passionate advocate for the needs of girls and young women in her community and is a GPP maven. She holds a Bachelor of Social Science degree from the University of Natal in Media and Communications and Political Science. She also has a post-graduate diploma in Industrial Relations from the University of KwaZulu-Natal.

Abigail Smith

Chief Financial Officer

Abigail joined AVAC as the CFO in 2019. She has extensive experience in finance and operations in the non-profit sector, most recently as the Deputy CFO at Planned Parenthood Federation of America and prior to that as Senior Director of Finance and Operations at the Spencer Cox Center for Health in New York. From 2007–2009, she was based in West Africa as the Regional Manager for the Clinton Foundation Health Access Initiative, and from 2002–2008, she served as Director of Finance and Administration at Doctors of the World USA (now Healthright International). She currently serves as Treasurer on the board of the European Roma Rights Centre. Abigail has a BA from the University of Illinois, as well as an MA in Art History and an MBA from the University of Chicago.

Roberta Sutton

Senior Program Manager: Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning

Roberta joined AVAC in 2020 as the Program Manager for Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning. She is responsible for management and continuous improvement of AVAC's MEL processes and systems, providing technical support to staff and partners to engage in MEL and serving as a thought leader to strengthen AVAC's data collection and use capacity. Previously, Roberta worked as a Strategic Information Specialist for ICAP at Columbia University where she provided technical assistance and capacity building support on the design and implementation of M&E and health information systems for HIV prevention, care and treatment and national technical assistance projects in Angola, Cote D'Ivoire, Mozambique, Myanmar and Sierra Leone. Prior to that, she held positions as a Next Generation Intern for ICAP in Mozambique, as a Health Policy Research Associate at the American Institutes for Research, and as a Research Intern at the UCSF AIDS Health Project. Roberta holds a BA in Psychology from the University of San Francisco and received her MPH in Health Policy and Management and Global Health from Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health.

Janki Tailor

Program Coordinator: Product Introduction & Access

Recently a Health Policy Advocate with Columbia Law School, Janki (pronounced Jaan-Kee) graduated with her Master of Public Health degree from Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Originally from Queens, NYC, Janki joined AVAC with an array of skills in data analysis and coding as well as experience in public/global health, public health advocacy and lab research in the field of HIV. Janki deeply believes that empathy, diligence and a little bit of fun can brighten lives and lift burdens. In this role, Janki aims on improving herself as a public health professional and gaining insights into the interdisciplinary nature of public health advocacy.

Isha Tendolkar

Program Coordinator: Policy Advocacy

Isha holds a BS in public health specializing in health disparities from Rutgers University and a Master's Certificate in health and human rights from New York University. In her last role as a program associate at the Social Science Research Council, she supported doctoral research in the humanities and humanistic social sciences advancing knowledge about US Indigenous or non-US cultures and societies. Additionally, she worked at a political advocacy nonprofit assisting projects related to clean water legislation, environmental justice, and health equity. Her primary interests include humanitarian law and the interactions between both civil and human rights and health.

Grace Tetteh

Program Coordinator: Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning

Grace holds an MPH in Behavioral and Community Health Sciences with a certificate in global health from The University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health. She is an advocate for issues surrounding MCH, Women's Health, sexual and reproductive health and health equity. Prior to joining AVAC, she worked on various research projects supporting Black women's health, and adolescent mental health. She enjoys traveling, experiencing new cultures and reading.

Catherine Verde Hashim

Program Manager: Product Introduction & Access

Catherine Verde Hashim (Cat) is a Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights professional who has been working at MSI Reproductive Choices for the past 11 years in a wide variety of roles, most recently as Channel Manager, where she provided leadership, operational direction, and direct technical support to three of MSI's service delivery channels across 26 countries in Africa and Asia. Cat has a BA in International Development from McGill University and an MSc in Global Health from the University of Edinburgh. Although Cat is a native New Yorker, she lives in London with her husband Max and dog Coconut, and enjoys long distance walking and playing guitar in her spare time.

Mitchell Warren

Executive Director

Mitchell Warren has been the Executive Director of the AVAC since 2004. He was previously the Senior Director for Vaccine Preparedness at the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) and also spent four years as Vice President and Director of International Affairs for The Female Health Company (FHC), the manufacturer of the female condom, where he directed efforts to design and implement reproductive health programs that integrate the female condom and led global advocacy efforts for expanded commitment to female-initiated prevention methods. Mitchell also spent six years at Population Services International (PSI) designing and implementing social marketing, communications and health promotion activities in Africa, Asia and Europe, including five years running PSI's project in South Africa. Mitchell is a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the International AIDS Society (IAS) Governing Council and the IAS Towards an HIV Cure Initiative; President of the TB Alliance Stakeholder Association and Past President of the Global HIV Vaccine Enterprise. In 2013, he helped establish the biennial HIV Research for Prevention conference and was one of the co-chairs for R4P 2020/1. Mitchell has degrees in English and History from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and studied health policy at the Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health.

Alysha White

Senior Manager: Program Coordination

Alysha joined AVAC in the spring of 2010 as the Finance Assistant. She assists on a variety of projects and reports, as well as providing administrative and logistical support to AVAC staff. Prior to AVAC, Alysha was an administrative assistant for an art advisory and production firm in New York City. Alysha received a BA from SUNY College at Old Westbury in 2007 in American Studies and served as the president of the American Studies Club from 2006-2007.


Advisors


Kay Marshall

Senior Communications Advisor

Kay is a senior advisor focusing on communications and media relations. She coordinates AVAC's four international Communications Working Groups composed of staff from major HIV prevention research and advocacy organizations and funders focusing on pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), microbicides, vaccines and voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC). Kay also leads AVAC's media relations in the US and globally, including media training and engagement with key African journalists. Kay has worked with a number of organizations on HIV and global health communications issues for more than two decades. She has degrees in English and Philosophy from Loyola University in New Orleans.

Jim Pickett

Senior Advisor

Jim Pickett is a consultant working on domestic and global advocacy in support of HIV prevention research and implementation of new modalities. His work in this space has been ongoing for more than two decades, including leading the International Rectal Microbicide Advocates, working at AIDS Foundation Chicago for 17 years and a 6-year consultancy with the Chicago Department of Public Health. He led the development and implementation of Chicago's renown PrEP4Love social marketing and community mobilization campaign and regularly conducts trainings related to PrEP for a wide array of audiences. POZ magazine refers to him as a soldier, instrumental in fighting for much-needed new prevention methods, undeterred by subjects many would prefer to ignore. He was inducted into Chicago's Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame in 2005, and has been living with HIV since 1995.

Bill Snow

Senior Advisor

Bill Snow was Director of the Global HIV Vaccine Enterprise Secretariat, which represents the alliance of organizations conceived in 2003 to accelerate the search for an HIV vaccine, through mutual coordination, collaboration, knowledge sharing and increasing and optimizing resources to the field. Starting at the Enterprise Secretariat in 2012, Bill restructured Enterprise activities by reshaping the Strategic Convening function: with the Timely Topics in HIV Vaccines program, strategy roundtables and Enterprise Explorations with four focus areas. The Secretariat holds regular meetings of funders and clinical collaborators and work with industry advisors. The Secretariat is also hosting the new HIV Research for Prevention (R4P) Conference, the world's first and only scientific meeting dedicated exclusively to biomedical HIV prevention research. An advocate for HIV vaccines since 1990, he was instrumental in establishing national, local and global community advisory boards at the NIH clinical trial networks and continues to serves on many scientific leadership and review groups. Bill was a founder of AVAC and has written about the many challenges of developing AIDS vaccines, including major portions of the first several AVAC reports and the first edition of AVAC's widely used HIV Vaccines Handbook.