Chair
Brigid Riley, MPH
Consultant
Willow Consulting
Vice Chair
Catherine Watson, MSW
Director of Adolescent and Reproductive Health
Baltimore City Health Department
Secretary
Nadine Finigan-Carr, PhD
Research Assistant Professor
University of Maryland
Treasurer
Bhupendra Sheoran, MD, MBA
Executive Director
Youth+Tech+Health (YTH)
Members-at-Large
Amira Adawe, MPH
Legislative Liaison
Minnesota Department of Public Health
Lori Casillas, BA
Programs Officer
Buell Foundation
Jenifer DeAtley, LMSW
Director of U.S. Programs, Adolescent Sexual & Reproductive Health Senior Technical Advisor
EngenderHealth
Justin Floyd, JD
Associate
Ropes & Gray LLP
Judith Herrman, PhD, RN, ANEF, FAAN
Professor
University of Delaware
Sam Killerman, MA
Creative Director, CEO
Hues
Wanda Thurston, DNP, PNP, RN
Assistant Clinical Professor, Department of Community & Health Systems
Indiana University School of Nursing
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Staff Biographies
Healthy Teen Network » About Us » Who We Are » Staff Biographies
Our staff represent diverse disciplines including public health, education, social work, business management, nursing, public administration, humanities, health services administration, marketing, law, and research. They have worked in diverse settings such as primary health centers, health departments, universities, family planning clinics, schools, community-based organizations, for profit businesses, foundations, and public policy advocacy organizations. Read more about our staff in our biographies, below.
Pat Paluzzi, President & CEO
Janet Max, Vice President
Finance & Operations Department
Dawn Ireton, Director, Finance & Operations
Carol Partonen, Accounting Associate
Shanise Taylor, Administrative & Executive Coordinator
Capacity Building & Evaluation Department
Janet Max, Vice President
Durryle Brooks, Trainer/Instructional Designer, Capacity Building & Evaluation
Deborah Chilcoat, Senior Manager, Capacity Building & Evaluation
Alexandra Eisler, Manager, Capacity Building & Evaluation
Bob Reeg, Program Development and Policy Consultant
Valerie Sedivy, Senior Manager & Evaluator, Capacity Building & Evaluation
Innovation & Research Department
Genevieve Martínez-García, Director, Innovation & Research
Milagros Garrido, Associate Director, Innovation & Research
Yewande Olugbade, Research Associate, Innovation & Research
Nicholas Sufrinko, Digital Marketing Communications Specialist
Marketing & Communications Department
Gina Desiderio, Director, Marketing & Communications
Kelly Connelly, Senior Manager, Marketing & Communications
Allison Tomai Felsen, Coordinator, Marketing & Communications
Patricia Paluzzi, CNM, DrPH
President and CEO
Pat@HealthyTeenNetwork.org
Patricia Paluzzi, CNM, DrPH, President and CEO of Healthy Teen Network, has been active in the fields of reproductive and maternal and child health for over 40 years, as a clinician, researcher, administrator, and advocate. Her clinical and content expertise spans the full scope of midwifery care, substance abuse, intimate partner violence, high-risk maternal child health (including pregnant teens), incorporating men into clinical services, and trauma-informed approaches. Pat is an accomplished researcher and evaluator, with experience in qualitative and quantitative analysis, multivariate data analysis, and organizational and program evaluation design. She has held senior management positions for over 25 years, with over 20 years of experience in strategic planning at the local and national levels.
Pat has served as the visionary leader for Healthy Teen Network since 2003, building momentum for inclusive, innovative, and integrated adolescent sexual and reproductive health care and services. Over the past 14 years, Pat has provided executive oversight and strategic planning for Healthy Teen Network’s programs and evaluation, resulting in a new social-ecological frame for supporting healthy sexual development among teens and teen parents, a place for the organization on a government Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quality (IDIQ) contractor roster, Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) funding for the agency to develop a teen pregnancy prevention mobile health app, a subsidiary B-corporation (mPOWrd Media) to further Healthy Teen Network’s Mission by offering youth-centered resources, and building extensive multi-disciplinary collaborations and partnerships for the organization.
Before joining the Healthy Teen Network team, Pat led the Baltimore City Health Department as the Bureau Chief of Adolescent and Reproductive Health; ran a nationwide education project focused on changing the paradigm of care for survivors of intimate partner violence; was part of a multi-disciplinary team working with pregnant substance abusing women, and provided full scope clinical services to young families. For over 25 years, Pat worked in diverse clinical settings and with diverse populations while providing direct care as a registered nurse and certified nurse midwife including rural and urban settings, the Indian Health Service, and among adolescents and young adults through mature adults; in out of hospital and in-hospital settings, in the U.S. and overseas.
Pat is a Certified Nurse Midwife with both a Master’s and Doctorate in Public Health from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, MD.
Max, Janet_2013Janet Max, MPH, CHES
Vice President
Janet@HealthyTeenNetwork.org
Janet Max, MPH, CHES, is the Vice President of Healthy Teen Network. During her 12 year tenure with Healthy Teen Network, Janet has collaborated with public, private, and individual funders to conceptualize, design, implement, and evaluate programs and services to empower youth to thrive. As a result, Janet has launched over 18 projects, ranging in scope and totaling over $6.5 million.
Janet provides vision and senior-level oversight for Healthy Teen Network’s capacity building activities, resource development, and multiple collaborative projects related to adolescent sexual and reproductive health. Janet also provides direct supervision to the Education and Outreach Department staff and regularly aligns project needs with the appropriate staff, assigning roles and responsibilities efficiently and accurately. Janet mentors and fosters staff development and believes high quality staff retention is a key aspect to organizational success.
Janet is responsible for the design, implementation, management, and budget oversight of numerous ongoing projects including several large federally funded projects with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC); U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Office of Adolescent Health (OAH); and the Administration of Children and Families (ACF), Family and Youth Services Bureau (FYSB). As a proficient capacity-building assistance provider, Janet has convened expert panels, advisory groups, and various national-level federal conferences, as well as Healthy Teen Network’s annual national conference. She has served as a public health advocate and leader for more than 15 years. Janet is a known presenter for national, state, and local groups and can speak on topics ranging from adolescent development to supportive housing programs for pregnant and parenting teens.
Prior to coming to Healthy Teen Network, Janet worked as a health educator at New York University’s Health Promotion Office and for Planned Parenthood, New York City. Janet is a Certified Health Education Specialist and holds a Master of Public Health from New York University (with a concentration in community public health) and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Tulane University.
Durryle Broooks, MA
Trainer & Instructional Designer, Capacity Building & Evaluation
Durryle@HealthyTeenNetwork.org
Durryle Brooks, MA, is a native of Baltimore City. Over the past 15 years, his research agenda has explored the impact of systemic oppression on the holistic health of Black communities with a focus on exploring how racism, sexism, and heterosexism impact LGBTQ+ people’s mental, physical, spiritual, emotional, and sexual health.
As a Trainer and Instructional Designer with Healthy Teen Network’s Capacity Building and Evaluation department, Durryle provides capacity-building assistance to Local Education Agencies for the Division of Adolescent School Health (DASH). Additionally, he manages e-learning courses and designs interactive content for partners as well as delivering interactive in-person trainings around the intersections of race, gender, and sexuality.
Durryle’s early work with the Baltimore City Health Department as a Special Populations HIV Outreach worker provided him not only firsthand experience regarding the challenges facing many of those seeking services, but it also provided him with the human experience, which served as a catalyst for his commitment to sexual and reproductive justice. This commitment to sexual and reproductive justice and ensuring that historically marginalized populations have access to quality services has manifested in many ways over the last 10 years. As a trainer, Durryle has provided capacity building assistance to teachers, educators, public health workers, and community-based organization leaders in the areas of creating safe spaces, moving from cultural competency to cultural humility frameworks when serving diverse population, creating culturally affirming and youth friendly services, LGBTQ+ HIV and teen pregnancy prevention, impact of internalized oppression on health, among other things.
Durryle is currently finishing his dissertation, entitled Moving from Trauma to Healing: Discourses of Love among Black Queer Cultural Workers. This work explores how the trauma resulting from racism, heterosexism, in addition to other discrete traumatic experiences impacts their capacity to live and love, while also highlighting the strategies they used to heal trauma. Durryle also holds a degree in Religious Studies from St. Mary’s College of Maryland and a Master of Arts in Sexuality Studies from San Francisco State University. He is also an African American HIV/AIDS Fellow with the Black AIDS Institute, CA.
In Durryle’s free time, he volunteers with national organizations to provide youth and young adults with immersive social equity and leadership development training.
Chilcoat, Deb_2013Deborah Chilcoat, MEd
Senior Manager, Capacity Building & Evaluation
Deborah@HealthyTeenNetwork.org
Deborah Chilcoat, MEd, brings over 16 years of experience in adolescent sexual and reproductive health and an unyielding commitment to improving the health and well-being of young people, as Senior Manager at Healthy Teen Network. Deb’s extensive experience in project management, capacity-building assistance, collaborative partnerships, as well as evidence-based and innovative approaches has served to meet the needs of diverse youth and communities across the U.S.
Deb is a nationally recognized trainer and capacity-building professional who designs and delivers engaging and interactive learning events that bolster the knowledge and skills of learners on a variety of topics such as working with youth, program planning, training adults, and evidence-based interventions. Since joining Healthy Teen Network in March 2008, Deb has delivered well over 100 learning events nationwide including the U.S. Virgin Islands and Hawaii. Deb has also provided capacity-building assistance including training, technical assistance, and resource development across a variety of federal projects for many years, including: (1) HHS OAH Teen Pregnancy Prevention Initiative; (2) HHS OAH Pregnancy Assistance Fund; (3) ACF FYSB adolescent pregnancy prevention programs; and (4) two previous CDC DRH projects.
In additional to her national work, Ms. Chilcoat manages a portfolio of projects in Baltimore, including the U Choose Evidence-Based Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program, a five-year project of the Baltimore City Health Department, and a grant from the Annie E. Casey Foundation. Deb is also the project manager and instructional designer on the Baltimore City Teen Pregnancy Prevention Initiative for Youth in Out-of-Home Placement, in which she collaborates with project partners to design, implement, and continuously improve the adult training component. Previously, Deb served as the project director for the CDC DRH Integrating Services, Programs, and Strategies through Community-Wide Initiatives project and managed aspects of the Promoting Science-Based Approaches project. Deb also serves as the content lead for Healthy Teen Network’s annual conference, an event that attracts hundreds of professionals, working together to advance the field of adolescent sexual and reproductive health.
Prior to joining Healthy Teen Network, Deb worked at Planned Parenthood of Maryland, where she developed and delivered education programs and provided the instructional design and training for local and state education agencies, community-based organizations, and healthcare providers. She served on several county school health councils and teen pregnancy prevention coalitions, and she contributed to the development of the Maryland Voluntary State Curriculum in Health Education.
When she is not building the capacity of organizations across the country, Deb is savoring every moment with her incredibly fun family, Scott, Audra, and Owen, and her ridiculously high-energy German Shorthaired Pointer, Olive Luna.
Connelly, Kelly_2008Kelly Connelly, BA
Senior Manager, Marketing & Communications
Kelly@HealthyTeenNetwork.org
Kelly Connelly, BA, possesses high-level marketing and communication skills, including website and social media management and dissemination, conference management and logistics, copy editing and graphic design. She is a quality graphic designer, photographer, and videographer, and she is experienced at developing skills-building workshops and programs, for professionals as well as youth.
As the Marketing and Communication Manager, Kelly manages Healthy Teen Network’s website, blog, and other online communication. With Healthy Teen Network since 2008, Kelly established and manages Healthy Teen Network’s online social media presence, including Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, and Pinterest. Kelly researches, develops, and disseminates Healthy Teen Network’s weekly members-only electronic newsletter, as well as a monthly electronic newsletter that is distributed to the field at large. Serving as the organization’s primary graphic designer, Kelly is responsible for refining Healthy Teen Network’s organizational identity and image. She also handles all public relations for Healthy Teen Network.
Kelly manages the Healthy Teen Network Conference, providing project management for event logistics, marketing, and exhibiting. Additionally, she produces all marketing materials for the conference, as well as provides graphic design and other support for onsite conference materials.
Kelly managed two successful crowdfunding campaigns for the organization, overseeing an effort that raised $6,000 to provide scholarships to young professionals as well as a subsequent campaign that garnered $5,000 in donations in order to provide anti-bullying graphic novels to Baltimore City Public School students.
Kelly is a former teaching artist at the Creative Alliance and has taught high school and middle school Art, Art History, and Computer Science. For more than 10 years, she edited Music Monthly, a now defunct regional music publication. Her photography has been featured in numerous publications, as well as in exhibits in the Mid-Atlantic region. She holds a Bachelor of Arts from New York University in Art History
Desiderio, Gina_2013Gina Desiderio, MA
Director, Marketing & Communications
Gina@HealthyTeenNetwork.org
Gina Desiderio, MA, Healthy Teen Network Director of Marketing and Communications, has over 10 years of capacity-building and project management experience, supporting professionals to provide programs and services to empower youth to thrive. She is skilled at developing and disseminating accessible, quality resources across to translate research to practice.
Gina leads the organization’s marketing and communications strategies. Her responsibilities include oversight of branding and quality assurance; resource development and dissemination; graphic design; social media marketing; elearning; membership recruitment and retention; conference event planning; as well as contributing to fund development and grant writing. Gina leads the initiative to develop and disseminate Healthy Teen Network’s Youth 360⁰ initiative, encouraging health promotion to integrate the range of factors that influence health outcomes. Additionally, she manages the strategic planning and implementation of Healthy Teen Network’s technology infrastructure, including oversight of the website, Salesforce customer relationship management (CRM) and project management platform, Moodlerooms learning management system (LMS), IT support, and other organizational software and hardware systems.
Since joining Healthy Teen Network in 2006, Gina has facilitated more than 95 trainings, workshops, and webinars at the national, state, and local levels, related to adolescent sexual and reproductive health. In her 10-year tenure with the organization, Gina has applied her diverse skill set in many roles, including Senior Program Manager and Training and Technical Assistance Coordinator. She has developed resources and provided training/TA on supportive housing for pregnant and parenting teens, evidence-based approaches and programs, program planning and implementation frameworks, and using teachable moments to connect with young people.
Previously, Gina coordinated the sexual violence outreach and education under the Violence against Women Act campus grant for the Virginia Tech Women’s Center. As an adjunct instructor and a graduate teaching assistant, she taught courses on composition, technical communication, and Women’s Studies at Virginia Tech and New River Community College. As a high school teacher, she has taught English and Journalism, advising the yearbook and school newspaper.
Gina volunteers as a member of the Virginia Tech English Department Distinguished Alumni Board, where she earned a Master of Arts degree in English, with a certificate in Women’s Studies. She has a Bachelor of Arts in English Education from the University of Delaware. Gina completed the Georgetown University Nonprofit Management Executive Certificate program and the Technology Leadership Academy with the Nonprofit Technology Network.
Working at Healthy Teen Network has sometimes prepared Gina for spontaneous sex positive conversations with her two young sons. When she’s not too busy answering the tough questions, she enjoys sailing with and photographing her family.
Eisler, Alex_2013Alexandra Eisler, MPA
Manager, Capacity Building & Evaluation
Alexandra@HealthyTeenNetwork.org
Alex Eisler, MPA, is a creative and innovative champion for adolescent health and well-being. Alex’s experience in resource development, instructional design, management, training, and delivering capacity-building assistance (CBA) across the U.S. has enabled her to develop nuanced and inventive approaches to meet the sexual, reproductive, and social-emotional needs of adolescents, including youth who are pregnant or parenting. Alex is especially enthusiastic working on projects that seek to communicate about health in imaginative, concise, appealing, and approachable ways, whether that is in person or online.
Alex’s passion for promoting sexual and reproductive health began as a teen and since then she has been fortunate to lead and support efforts for diverse populations including communities from various ethnic and racial groups, sexual orientations, and geographic areas. Her current work includes spearheading Healthy Teen Network’s elearning efforts, delivering in-person training, and providing CBA on federal teen pregnancy prevention, HIV prevention, and teen parent projects. Through this work, she has partnered with schools, government agencies, and other nonprofits to deliver high-quality educational and public health interventions.
Alex provides capacity-building assistance to local and state communities and schools funded by Health and Human Services, through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Division of Adolescent School Health (DASH) Promoting Adolescent Health Through School-Based HIV/STD Prevention and School-Based Surveillance; and the Office of Adolescent Health (OAH) Teen Pregnancy Prevention Initiative (TPPI).
During her time at Healthy Teen Network, Alex has also provided CBA on several other federal projects, including CDC Division of Reproductive Health (DRH) Integrating Services, Programs, and Strategies through Community-Wide Initiatives; Family and Youth Services Bureau (FYSB) Personal Responsibility Education Program (PREP) supporting state, local, and tribal communities; and the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) managing a subcontract to identify and respond to the needs of child victims of sex trafficking across Maryland.
Previously, Alex worked as a local and statewide public policy advocate, CBA provider, and conference planner in Colorado. She studied at the University of Colorado, Denver, earning her MPA, where she researched assessment tools that measure how well sexual health programming met state and local policy requirements. She holds a BA in Psychology from the University of Colorado, Boulder, where she completed an independent study on reproductive rights and access to care for Chilean women.
Alex’s community volunteer work includes preparation of free nutritious meals for HIV and chronically ill patients in Maryland, supporting teens accessing sexual and reproductive health services at a local teen-friendly clinic, and working with juvenile victims of domestic abuse through play therapy.
Garrido, Mila_2013Milagros Garrido, MS
Associate Director, Innovation & Research
Mila@HealthyTeenNetwork.org
Milagros Garrido, MS, Associate Director of Innovation and Research at Healthy Teen Network, is a dedicated and creative educator committed to helping individuals and communities to create, learn, use, and translate practical and innovative approaches to solve public health issues. Mila is especially interested in the intersection of economic development, technology, and public health practices. She has over 10 years of strategic planning, grant writing, capacity-building, and project management experience. In her current position, she provides leadership to conceptualize, develop, and implement the internal strategic vision of the Innovation and Research Department.
Mila identifies opportunities to strengthen the organizational impact of Healthy Teen Network and promotes the use of innovation in the field of sexual and reproductive health (SRH). She also provides vital organizational strategic planning and sustainability support, including pursuing opportunities to advance the organization’s mission.
Mila enjoys developing complex strategies, especially for projects with many moving pieces. These types of projects inspire her to come up with new and unorthodox solutions. Regardless of her specific work, she thrives in work that is meaningful, challenging, and multifaceted. Mila’s trajectory into the public health field was not a straight line; her work has been very diverse. She has worked in economic development, international exports, medical repatriation, and teaching. She has several years of experience working with multidisciplinary teams in research, higher education, product development, and clinical care. Mila’s expertise spans the breadth of sexual and reproductive health, working with state and local communities, clinics, and schools to implement evidence-based approaches. She has extensive experience working with diverse youth and communities, including Latinx youth, LGBTQ+ youth, American Indian youth and communities, HIV-positive individuals, and youth who are pregnant or parenting.
Mila is currently manages two multi-year projects: a five-year cooperative agreement funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Office of Adolescent Health (OAH) Teen Pregnancy Prevention Tier 2B grant to rigorously evaluate new or innovative approaches to prevent teen pregnancy; and a five-year federal IDIQ Task Order Sub-contract funded by HHS Administration for Children and Families (ACF). In addition, Mila provides oversight and management of Healthy Teen Network’s fee-for-service program. Through these initiatives, she works with a wide variety of partners and consultants working in different disciplines and types of institutions (e.g., research institutions, technology firms).
Mila completed her master’s thesis researching Latina women’s attitudes and beliefs toward reproductive health. She holds a BA in International Affairs and Economics, Post-Baccalaureate in Family Professional Collaboration, and an MS in Social Science from Towson University.
Ireton, Dawn_2013Dawn Ireton
Director, Finance and Operations
Dawn@HealthyTeenNetwork.org
Dawn Ireton brings over 30 years of experience providing senior-level fiscal and administrative management expertise to her position as Director of Finance and Operations at Healthy Teen Network. She has high-level accounting skills, experience planning and implementing financial systems and developing and executing protocols for many small businesses and nonprofits.
Dawn oversees the Finance and Operations Department, which supports the financial and administrative functions of the organization. Dawn manages the financial compliance of federal, state, and local contracts/grants reporting, development of Fee-for-Service contract billing, conference administrative staff functions, and Human Resources. Dawn has developed a tool used to track actual time spent within the organizations’ many funding streams, keeping them discrete and enabling improved project management. She compiles quarterly payroll returns, cash flow, annual budget preparations, travel expense report reconciliations, and proposal budget preparations. As the staff liaison on the Healthy Teen Network Board Audit Committee, Dawn boasts a consistent record of clean audits.
Prior to Healthy Teen Network, Dawn served as Staff Accountant, Director of Finance and Operations, and Chief Financial Officer at several national, local, and international nonprofit organizations, also serving as staff liaison with board members on the Strategic Planning Committee, Audit Committee, and Capital Campaign. Dawn served as Acting Executive Director for SARC in Harford County, MD. At SARC, she not only functioned as key financial person and acting Executive Director, she also served on a committee comprised of various organizations (SARC, Child Protective Services, Harford County Sheriff Office, and the State’s Attorney Office); its function was the adaptation of the Danger Assessment Instrument, a screening tool used by first responders for domestic violence situations. Dawn has also functioned as an emergency room rape companion and a hotline volunteer for sexual assault, domestic abuse, and suicide prevention.
Dawn has worked together with a federal/state/community partnership called Ticket to Work, and a programmer to set up the countywide database system to track activity. This program is designed to assist individuals with disabilities involving the Core Service Agency in Harford County, Social Security Administration, and Maryland Department of Mental Health and is committed to offering individuals with disabilities access to and maintaining meaningful employment through employment networks. She has organized the initial set up new nonprofits: SpinUSA and Sigma Sigma Sigma Hagerstown Alumnae Chapter. Dawn has assisted with the startup of museum data systems and has been a small part of civil war reenactment at Jerusalem Mill in Baltimore County, MD.
When Dawn is not busy managing and organizing, she loves to cruise in the Caribbean, with a Sudoku book in hand and no phone or computer.
Martinez Garcia, Gene_2013Genevieve Martínez-García, PhD
Director, Innovation & Research
Genevieve@HealthyTeenNetwork.org
Genevieve Martínez-García, PhD, Director of Innovation and Research at Healthy Teen Network, is a health educator committed to bringing innovation to the field of sexual and reproductive health. She has over 14 years of experience researching adolescent sexual and reproductive health issues such as mHealth, fertility, social determinants of health, cultural and economic barriers to health care access among minority populations, health media literacy, characteristics of programs for pregnant and parenting teens, and Latino youth pregnancy intentions.
More recently, Genevieve’s research has focused on teen use of mobile technology for sexual health education, which has led her to develop two mobile interventions to improve sexual health among minority young women. She is the Principal Investigator of two large randomized controlled trials with over 1,000 girls nationwide to test the efficacy of these two interventions in increasing contraception use and utilization of clinical services among young women. She is currently designing an innovative program for youth who are pregnant and parenting.
Genevieve is an experienced qualitative and quantitative researcher with strong expertise in interview and focus group methods, including development, implementation, and analysis, ethnographic methods, and formative research. She has expertise in designing face-to-face and digital surveys, survey translation, and cognitive interviews. She has conducted extensive research with multiple cultural minorities (diverse Latino populations in Latin America and the U.S., over 13 Asian American communities, urban Black youth, and Native American communities). She is keenly aware of multi-cultural interpretations of data collection instruments, and has expertise in developing age, culturally and linguistically sensitive instruments. As a Latina and Spanish-dominant researcher, she pays close attention to cultural differences among Latino groups when conducting research with this population.
Genevieve has led the evaluation of capacity-building activities in large-scale multi-year federal projects funded by the Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention (CDC) Division of Reproductive Health (DRH) and Division of Adolescent and School Health (DASH). She trains on social determinants of health and on the social-ecological model. She has developed multiple evaluation instruments for federal grantees and provides technical assistance on selecting and using evaluation data, and communicating evaluation data to different stakeholders.
Previously, Genevieve conducted multiple evaluation projects in Latin America, including evaluating a media literacy program and cancer research media coverage, and evaluated an obstetric nurse training program in El Salvador and a micro-finance program in Central America. She has extensive university-level teaching experience on sexual health and community health.
Genevieve holds a Bachelor’s degree in Latin American Studies from Tulane University, a Master’s degree in International Development and Global Health from George Washington University, and a doctoral degree in Public Health and Education from the University of Maryland.
olugbade-yewande-2015Yewande Olugbade, MPH
Research Associate, Innovation & Research
Yewande@HealthyTeenNetwork.org
Yewande Olugbade, MPH, has experience supporting the research and evaluation of adolescent health education programs and working with diverse communities. Her focus has been in implementing mHealth programs aimed at reducing teen pregnancy and STIs among African American and Latino adolescent women.
As a Research Associate at Healthy Teen Network, Yewande is responsible for the evaluation activities. She provides research assistance on the Crush project to develop a prototype of a smart phone application to support girls ages 15-17 to prevent a pregnancy. Yewande supports all Crush research activities, content development, and creation of data collection tools for program implementation. The app combines a combination of media and interactive interfaces to help girls obtain medically accurate and relevant information on sex, health, contraception, clinic location, and pregnancy. Additionally, Yewande provide research and evaluation support for a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Division of Adolescent and School Health (DASH) project to promote adolescents’ well-being through school based health education.
Prior to Healthy Teen Network, Yewande supported a randomized control trial that assessed the impact of a web-based health education on pregnancy and STl rates among African American women in New Orleans. She provided recruitment assistance and technical assistance, and she conducted focus group interviews. In addition, Yewande has completed training and gained experience in conducting epidemiologic data analysis and using statistical analysis software such as SAS, Stata, and SPSS.
Yewande obtained an MPH degree at the Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine in Epidemiology where she conducted an independent study on the risk factors associated with congenital hearing loss among Louisiana newborns from years 2005-2010. In addition, she has conducted independent research on the increase use of elective Cesarean Sections among Brazilian women, as well as the importance of clean delivery kits usage in low resources communities to decrease maternal/child health mortality. She obtained a BS in Biological Sciences from the University of Pittsburgh.
Carol Partonen
Accounting Associate, Finance & Operations
Carol@HealthyTeenNetwork.org
Carol Partonen is a new addition to the Healthy Teen Network team, having joined in December 2016. With experience in accounting and administrative support, she assists to the Director of Finance and Operations, as well as the President and staff. She maintains accounts, pays bills, and completes reconciliations, as well as processes expense reports and supports human resources. She also provides research, transcription, and copy editing support for the rest of the staff, and she assists with various other projects as needed.
Originally from Southern Maryland, Carol earned a Bachelor’s of Arts degree from St. John’s College in Annapolis, MD, only to wind up in Seattle, WA, at a small law firm specializing in worker’s compensation. She worked her way up from reception to form a new position at the firm as part administrative and legal assistant and part bookkeeper.
Though a long-time Maryland resident, Carol is new to Baltimore. She is enjoying exploring the city with her partner, particularly its food, museums, and parks. When not out and about, she can be found reading, listening to narrative/design/history podcasts, and devouring nature documentaries like the nerd that she is.
reeg-webBob Reeg, MPA, CVA
Program Development and Public Policy Consultant
Bob@HealthyTeenNetwork.org
Bob Reeg, MPA, CVA, Program Development and Public Policy Consultant, is an accomplished nonprofit organization program director and public policy analyst and advocate, and an emerging social purpose entrepreneur. With over 25 years in the nonprofit sector, Bob has held positions in public policy, program development, and national service project management with organizations supporting diverse beneficiaries ranging from people experiencing homelessness and marginalized youth to military veterans and their families. Bob has a proven track record of developing comprehensive mission and program delivery strategies, leading complex systems and operations, and producing complex analytical and instructional publications.
In Bob’s program development capacity with Healthy Teen Network, he manages the organization’s health education project to increase adolescent and young adult men’s access to and utilization of primary care, sexual and reproductive, and other health and human services. He also supports the organization’s funding proposal development activities. In his public policy role, Bob advises the organization on public policy priorities and strategy. He oversees the development and implementation of organizational public policy positions and strategies, including development of public policy statements, organizational representation before Congress, the Executive branch, and with coalitions, and communications on public policy matters with Healthy Teen Network members.
In addition to consulting for Healthy Teen Network, Bob is the founder and part-time chief executive officer for Peace Through Action USA, a national nonprofit social purpose organization missioned to achieve peace between people and within communities in the United States of America by activating and mobilizing citizens to resist violence and aggression and instead choose peaceful action.
Bob holds a Master of Public Administration from The George Washington University and a Bachelor of Arts from Vanderbilt University. Bob is designated Certified in Volunteer Administration (CVA). He is an alumnus of the American Express Leadership Academy, a leadership development program for emerging social purpose leaders.
Bob is an active regular volunteer at his church, a community health center, and various theater arts organizations. He is the recipient of a Daily Point of Light Award in recognition for his service to military service members, veterans, and their families.
Sedivy, Valerie_2013Valerie Sedivy, PhD
Senior Manager & Evaluator, Capacity Building & Evaluation
Valerie@HealthyTeenNetwork.org
Valerie Sedivy, PhD, Healthy Teen Network Senior Manager and Evaluator, has over 25 years of experience in the sexual health field and currently supports professionals to provide programs and services that empower youth to thrive. Her experience in multiple roles including program provider, researcher, evaluator, capacity-building assistance provider, resource developer, and project manager has instilled a passion for translating research into practical messages and tools for field staff.
During her 12-year tenure at Healthy Teen Network, Valerie has served as an evaluator, project manager, trainer, and technical assistance provider. In her current role as a Senior Manager and Evaluator, Valerie manages a cooperative agreement with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Division of Adolescent School Health (DASH). She builds the capacity of state and local communities and schools to implement exemplary sexual health education by providing training and technical assistance. She is skilled at designing and implementing in-person trainings, distance learning opportunities, and providing expertise on topics including program selection, evidence-based interventions, instructor capacity, functional health knowledge, and continuous quality improvement.
Valerie has also provided capacity-building assistance on several other federal projects, including (1) CDC, Division of Reproductive Health (DRH) Integrating Services, Programs, and Strategies through Community-Wide Initiatives; (2) HHS OAH Pregnancy Assistance Fund (PAF); and (3) Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Family and Youth Services Bureau (FYSB) State Personal Responsibility Education Program (PREP).
In her previous work as an evaluator, she designed and implemented several quantitative and qualitative studies, and she has developed tools to support performance management. Notably, she designed and implemented a national-level evaluation of eight diverse adolescent pregnancy prevention programs, using the result to produce a guide for programs to assess evaluation readiness. Valerie also served for two years as the Healthy Teen Network evaluator on the CDC Division of Reproductive Health Project, Promoting Science-Based Approaches. While completing her PhD in Population and Family Health at Johns Hopkins University, School of Public Health, Valerie designed and implemented research studies on sexual health services to teens.
Previously, Valerie managed an investment program, developed community research capacity-building plans, and developed organization-wide goals and objectives with the Cancer Council of South Australia. She also conducted a randomized controlled trial of Nicotine Replacement Therapy for low-income smokers and provided technical assistance to smoking cessation programs. In her early work as a direct service provider, she provided health education and reproductive health counseling while managing a Teen Services Center operated by Planned Parenthood of Central Ohio.
Nicholas Sufrinko
Digital Health Communications Specialist, Innovation & Research
Nick@HealthyTeenNetwork.org
Nicholas Sufrinko, Digital Health Communications Specialist at Healthy Teen Network, is a designer, writer, and educator whose work occupies the intersection of public health, advertising, and technology. He has over five years of experience designing and implementing public health communications campaigns and promoting inclusive, comprehensive sexuality education through coalition building and grants management.
Since joining Healthy Teen Network in February of 2017, Nick’s work has centered on two randomized controlled trials aimed at testing the effects of sexual health mobile applications on young women’s use of clinics and effective birth control methods. To this end, Nick creates, implements, and analyzes text message-based educational messaging and internet advertising campaigns across a number of platforms to recruit trial participants.
Prior to joining Healthy Teen Network, he served as the Manager of Reproductive Health Special Projects and Communications at Maternal and Family Health Services (MFHS), a women’s health not-for-profit organization headquartered in the mid-sized, rustbelt city of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. Holding numerous positions during his tenure at MFHS, Nick led the organization’s education, advertising, and outreach efforts to vulnerable and hard-to-reach populations, including adolescents, young men and the LGBTQ+ community. He wrote for, received, and managed government and foundation grants; served as both lead copywriter and art director for multiple grant-funded reproductive health communications campaigns; and improved organizational capacity to serve new populations through training and education. Nick expanded LGBTQ+-inclusive, comprehensive sexuality education and counseling to at-risk youth across culturally conservative and high-need region of northeastern Pennsylvania. His efforts led to a rapid expansion in reach for the organization’s statewide adolescent reproductive health information campaign, SafeTeens.org and the 2014 introduction of Pennsylvania’s first statewide adolescent health textline, SafeTeens Answers!.
As a freelance creative director and graphic designer, Nick envisions and designs campaigns that tackle public health problems. One of his campaigns, SuperParks.org, casts his hometown region’s networks of trails and parks as superheroes in order to improve mental wellness. Seizing opportunities to design on larger scales, he completed an immersive, six-week urban design workshop at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design in 2013 to reimagine urbanity in the Boston-Cambridge-Somerville, Massachusetts area. Nick graduated from the Pennsylvania State University in 2011 with a Bachelor’s of Arts in English and Sociology.
Nick enjoys the great outdoors, and he occasionally volunteers at parks and natural areas as a tour guide.
Taylor, Shanise_2013Shanise Taylor
Administrative and Executive Coordinator
Shanise@HealthyTeenNetwork.org
Shanise Taylor, Administrative & Executive Coordinator, joined Healthy Teen Network in April 2008. In her current capacity, Shanise provides support to the President/CEO, Director of Fiscal Operations, Board of Directors, and the Capacity Building and Education, and Innovation and Research departments. She implements systems to maintain inventory and manages Continuing Education credit processing. Shanise also oversees internal office communications, manages meeting and event logistics, provides travel coordination, the donor database in Salesforce CRM, conducts vendor analysis, and supports the annual national conference. She assesses and manages supports for Fee-For-Service trainings and assists with accounts payable tasks.
Shanise came to Healthy Teen Network with a background in educational administrative support. Working various jobs within the Baltimore City Public School System, Shanise also has experience in higher education as she previously supported the Dean’s Office, College of Liberal Arts Morgan State University. Shanise attended University of Maryland Eastern Shore from August 1994 until October 1998. She is a proud alumnus of Baltimore City College High School.
When she is not extolling the virtues of her charming city, Shanise can be seen cavorting around Baltimore’s dining scene as a five-year Yelp Elite. With her vast knowledge of all things Baltimore, she is often called upon to provide recommendations when it comes to exploring her city.
Tomai Felsen, Allison_2013Allison Tomai Felsen
Coordinator, Marketing and Communications
Allison@HealthyTeenNetwork.org
Allison Tomai Felsen has experience providing administrative support, office management, and technology management. As the Marketing and Communications Coordinator, Allison supports office communications, training logistics, and information technology. She provides support to the Marketing and Communications Department though the maintenance of the organization website. Allison is responsible for the content of the weekly member Egram and the monthly Spotlight. She also manages the organizational Salesforce CRM database, membership services, and conference registration and logistics. Allison also provides bookkeeping services through QuickBooks and Click & Pledge.
Prior to Healthy Teen Network, Allison worked as an Administrative Assistant in the public sector where she also managed store operations for Deli Fresh, Inc. Allison received her Associate of Arts degree from Montgomery College and attended the University of Maryland, College Park.
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