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
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.
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.