Wendy is a seasoned strategist and committed advocate for sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) in the U.S. and globally. Over nearly three decades, she has worked to advance contraceptive choice, adolescent access to SRHR information and services, public financing for family planning, and universal health care.

During her time at PAI, Wendy managed grantmaking programs designed to provide rapid, flexible financial and strategy support to CSOs across Africa and Asia engaged in SRHR advocacy and accountability efforts at national and subnational levels. This work also involved encouraging funded organizations to nurture their in-house advocacy and communications expertise, invest in coalitions and the power of collective action, and practice the principles of good governance. Before joining PAI, Wendy was a registered federal lobbyist for the Guttmacher Institute and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, advocating for women’s health and rights with the U.S. Congress and Administration.

Nicole Cheetham is the Director of the International Youth Health and Rights Division at Advocates for Youth. She has more than 20 years of experience working in international public health and provides technical assistance and training to partner organizations in sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, and Latin America and the Caribbean in support of adolescent and youth sexual and reproductive health and rights program design and implementation. Core areas of expertise include school-based and out-of-school sexuality education, community mobilization, peer education, youth-friendly services, parent-child communication, and youth-led advocacy. Nicole leads the organization’s international efforts on comprehensive sexuality education and directs the AMAZE Initiative, which develops short, animated sexuality education videos for adolescents and resources for parents and educators in collaboration with organizations around the world. She has authored numerous assessments, teacher training modules, scripted lesson plans, and technical guidance. Nicole holds a Masters of Health Sciences in International Public Health from the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, serves on the Editorial Advisory Board of the Journal of American Sexuality Education, and speaks English, Spanish and French.

Sarah Jonson works at the International Youth Foundation (IYF), a global organization whose mission is to connect young people with opportunities to transform their lives. As IYF's Technical Advisor for Youth Agency and Engagement, Sarah is responsible for providing strategic leadership for the organization and supporting existing projects and business development efforts in the areas of youth agency, leadership, civic education, and meaningful youth engagement.

Sarah joined IYF in 2017, bringing her experience and passion for youth workforce development, technical and vocational education and training (TVET), and gender mainstreaming. She has since worked closely with teams and projects from around the world. Sarah earned a Bachelor of Arts in business from William and Mary in 2011 and a Master of Arts in public and international affairs from Virginia Tech in 2016, but is equally proud of and appreciative for the education she has received from the various people and places she has worked with and in throughout her career.

Wendy Benzerga has over thirty years of experience in health program design, management, and evaluation with expertise in HIV prevention and treatment, sexual reproductive health and family planning, maternal child health, and malaria as well as community engagement and local capacity building. Wendy joined USAID in 1999 and served in Madagascar, South Africa, and Eswatini (formerly Swaziland) as the Health, Population, and Nutrition Office Team Lead, HIV Prevention Advisor, and the USAID Country Office Director for the PEPFAR program respectively. She is currently the Health Team Lead for USAID/Jamaica. In the 1990’s Wendy worked for Family Health International managing HIV prevention programs in Nigeria, Ghana, Mali, and Niger, and she provided technical assistance to programs in Tanzania, Haiti, Zambia, and Rwanda. She also served the US Government as a VISTA Volunteer in rural Colorado and for the Peace Corps in Cameroon in the 1980’s. She has a Master of Science Degree from American University in Organization and Behavioral Science. She is proficient in French.

Janet Fleischman is independent consultant and has worked for numerous nongovernmental organizations addressing policy and programmatic issues around sexual and reproductive health and rights, HIV/AIDS, gender-based violence, maternal health, and Covid-19, as well as education for girls and economic empowerment for women. Janet is a senior associate with the Global Health Policy Center at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), where she focuses on women’s global health and U.S. policy. She has authored dozens of reports and articles, hosted podcasts, and produced and directed several videos. From 1983 to 2003, Janet worked for Human Rights Watch, as a researcher on Eastern Europe and Africa and then as Washington director for Africa.