evidence for equity

established in 2022, verge uses a multidisciplinary lens to address longstanding sexual and reproductive inequities by focusing on neglected and intersectional contributors such as climate change, race/ethnicity, economic disadvantage and place of residence. 

about

we are committed to building a multidisciplinary team that is diverse in the broadest sense, bringing together people with different life experiences, professional skills and perspectives to identify new ways to generate the evidence needed to address inequities.

the problem

access to reproductive options and successful reproductive outcomes remain highly constrained by numerous situational and systemic factors. greater focus on the role of factors such as race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, culture and geography is needed.

our approach

we believe that collaboration among people with wide-ranging backgrounds and perspectives will yield new ideas, approaches and strategies for addressing reproductive and intersectional inequities. verge will ask novel questions, seek new sources and types of information, and utilize creative approaches to analyze data.

we believe that collaboration among people with wide-ranging backgrounds and perspectives will yield new ideas, approaches and strategies for addressing reproductive and intersectional inequities.

mission

verge aims to advance reproductive equity and address reproductive health disparities by generating evidence rooted in community-based partnerships and multidisciplinary, creative approaches and innovations.

priorities

creativity

bringing new questions and approaches to addressing inequities

under-researched

addressing overlooked or
under-recognized contributors to inequities

multidisciplinarity

collaborating with people who have different skills, training and perspectives

underserved

prioritizing individuals, communities and groups with the greatest needs

open-mindedness

open to new questions, approaches and ideas

collaboration

partnering with individuals and groups who work with those most affected by inequities

board

elisa lee

board member 

elisa practiced law at brobeck, phleger and harrison llp and her own private practice for 16 years, focusing on intellectual property and technology-based transactions for both private and public companies. she was previously a journalist for asianweek and has written for the ann arbor news, third force magazine, koream journal and the oakland tribune. she received a b.a. in english literature from the university of michigan and a j.d. from the university of michigan law school where she was an editor on the michigan law review. she currently writes fiction and lives in burlingame, california with her husband and two children.

rasha dabash

board member 

rasha is a multilingual egyptian-american researcher, technical advisor and advocate. she has over 25 years’ experience in effectively using evidence to drive global srhr and maternal health policy and practice change. most recently, rasha was the director of technical excellence at ipas, leading a department of international experts in research, programmatic and policy innovations for abortion access and intersectional areas such as climate justice.

prior to joining ipas, rasha was a senior director at gynuity health projects, where for over 17 years she designed, led, and helped translate research into evidence-based policy and practices. she worked closely with a wide range of collaborators across 18 countries towards expanding technological innovations in abortion and maternal health.

before joining gynuity, she was a senior research and evaluation associate at engenderhealth with a focus on family planning, hiv/aids, obstetric fistula and postabortion care programs in west and southern africa. she also served as a staff program associate under the population council’s expanding contraceptive choice program.

rasha has published numerous peer-reviewed scientific papers as well as articles, commentaries, and contributed to books on clinical and programmatic issues in srhr. she has served on several advisory boards and committees, including safe motherhood and abortion committees of figo, rcog, and who. she received her master of public health from tulane university’s school of public health and tropical medicine and her undergraduate degree from the university of california, los angeles (ucla). she is fluent in arabic, english and french with professional working knowledge of spanish.

sandra garcia

board member 

sandy is an executive leader and public health researcher with experience in philanthropy and social impact work. most recently, sandy was vice president/director of research and evaluation for the susan thompson buffett foundation, where she served for over a decade. there she helped conceptualize, fund, and steward rigorous evaluations on health and education in the global south and the us. she also championed equitable evaluation methods and helped institutionalize evaluative practices for more impactful grantmaking across the foundation. before this, sandy lived and worked in mexico city. she was country director of the population council’s mexico office for four years, and director of reproductive health for latin america and the caribbean (lac) during all but two years of her 14-year tenure. in 2007, sandy received the guttmacher institute’s darroch award for excellence in sexual and reproductive health research for spear-heading research that “played an important role in the country’s recent decision to legalize first-trimester abortion.”

sandy holds a bachelor’s degree in english and american literature from harvard university, and a masters (reproductive health) and doctorate (social demography) from the harvard school of public health. She has published over 75 peer-reviewed articles and served on numerous technical committees and advisory groups globally, including as advisor to the world health organization’s regional advisory panel for lac. recently, she returned to her native el paso, texas where she has enjoyed family and engagement with local government and community service projects, while on her way to her next professional adventure.

wendy sheldon

founder of verge

wendy is a researcher and evaluator with expertise in demography, health and public policy. she is also principal of wrs consulting and an adjunct lecturer in international and public affairs at brown university. before founding verge, she spent 25 years in the global reproductive health and justice movement, including more than a decade at gynuity health projects as a director and senior consulting associate. while at gynuity, she conducted innovative clinical trials, social science research and program assessments, helping develop the organization’s evaluation portfolio and its work on a potential new service option in the us known as “missed period pills.”

prior to joining gynuity, she worked at planned parenthood global, where she oversaw monitoring and evaluation of reproductive health programs in more than 20 countries; and at the william and flora hewlett foundation, where she was a program officer for population, focused on reproductive health programs in asia and the pacific and the development of reproductive health policies in the united states. she has taught graduate and undergraduate-level courses at a number of universities, including a program evaluation course at brown university, a global reproductive health and rights seminar at princeton university, and a community organizing course at the university at buffalo.

wendy has published dozens of articles in biomedical journals and authored opinion pieces and letters in media outlets such as ms. magazine, the new york times, rewire and slate. she holds a phd in demography and public affairs from princeton university, an mph from the university of california, berkeley and an msw from the university of pennsylvania. she currently lives in new york with her husband and two teenage children.

 

team

board

elisa lee

elisa practiced law at brobeck, phleger and harrison llp and her own private practice for 16 years, focusing on intellectual property and technology-based transactions for both private and public companies.

rasha dabash

rasha is a multilingual egyptian-american researcher, technical advisor and advocate. she has over 25 years’ experience in effectively using evidence to drive global srhr and maternal health policy and practice change.

sandra garcia

sandy is an executive leader and public health researcher with experience in philanthropy and social impact work. most recently, sandy was vice president/director of research and evaluation for the susan thompson buffett foundation, where she served for over a decade.

wendy sheldon

wendy is a researcher and evaluator with expertise in demography, health and public policy. she is also principal of wrs consulting and an adjunct lecturer in international and public affairs at brown university.

staff/consultants

daria james

daria is a lifelong resident of south florida and saint kitts. she has multiple years of experience in social media marketing and community engagement with a focus on maternal health and community health.

manuel bousiéguez

manuel is a senior consulting associate for verge and oversees research activities in mexico. manuel has spent more than 20 years working on sexual and reproductive health issues and has experience conducting clinical studies, evidence-dissemination and technical assistance for health

rasha dabash

rasha is a multilingual egyptian-american researcher, technical advisor and advocate. she has over 25 years’ experience in effectively using evidence to drive global srhr and maternal health policy and practice change.

wendy sheldon

wendy is a researcher and evaluator with expertise in demography, health and public policy. she is also principal of wrs consulting and an adjunct lecturer in international and public affairs at brown university.