Meet the team
Leadership
Dr. Angel M. Foster (she/her/hers/anything respectful) is a Professor in the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Ottawa where she held the 2011-2016 Endowed Chair in Women’s Health Research. A 1996 Rhodes Scholar from Oregon, she received her DPhil in Middle Eastern studies from the University of Oxford. She received her MD from Harvard Medical School and her AM in International Policy Studies from Stanford University. Her research focuses on emergency contraception, abortion, and health professions education and she currently leads projects in 22 countries. She is the Editor-in-Chief of Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health and from 2016-2022 served on the Board of Directors of the National Abortion Federation. She is the President and co-founder of CRHC.
Dr. Eduard Niesten (he/him/his) has over 15 years of experience providing economics and finance support to non-profit organizations in more than 30 countries around the world. He holds a PhD in Applied Economics from Stanford University. He serves as the Director of Finance of CRHC.
Consultants
Nancy Chaung (she/her/hers) is a designer, product developer, and documentary photographer. After switching careers from graphic/web design to fashion design, she spent nearly five years on the Thailand-Burma border combining these skills, working for economic and personal empowerment of migrant Burmese women and youth through art/design-focused social enterprise. While living in Mae Sot, she also designed reports and brochures for various local NGOs. Her photography work can be seen here. She is currently based in New York.
Kelly Cleland (she/her/hers) has more than 20 years of experience in the sexual and reproductive health field conducting research, advocacy, and writing projects. As Executive Director of the American Society for Emergency Contraception, Kelly brings together the EC community for an annual meeting (the EC Jamboree), leads a student-powered campus activism project (Emergency Contraception for Every Campus), and synthesizes complex biomedical research into clinical guidelines for healthcare providers. Kelly currently provides technical assistance, expert review, and substantive background to organizations seeking to improve or initiate research, clinical services, and advocacy projects related to medication abortion and emergency contraception. Kelly is on the Editorial Board of Contraception, a Fellow of the Society for Family Planning, an allied member of the Abortion Care Network, and a liaison to the National Medical Committee of Planned Parenthood Federation of America. Kelly received her MPA and MPH from Columbia University.
Dr. Kathryn LaRoche (she/her/hers) is an Assistant Professor of Public Health at Purdue University. Dr. LaRoche holds a Cotutelle PhD in Population Health from the University of Ottawa and Anthropology from Macquarie University (Australia). She also completed a Postdoctoral Research Fellowship at Indiana University Bloomington. She has over 10 years of experience leading action-oriented, qualitative research related to health policy and service delivery in Australia, Canada, and the US.
Dr. L.L. Wynn (she/her/hers) is a Professor in the School of Social Sciences (Discipline of Anthropology) at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia. She received her PhD in Anthropology from Princeton University, where she also held two Postdoctoral Research positions. Her current research focuses on new and emerging reproductive health technologies in Egypt, including emergency contraception and hymenoplasty. She is an Associate Editor of American Ethnologist and served as President of the Australian Anthropological Society. She is the author of two books and the co-editor of three edited volumes.
Fellows
Dr. Manizha Ashna (she/her/hers) is a current CRHC Research Fellow based in Ottawa, Canada. Manizha is a passionate advocate for sexual and reproductive health and rights for women and is interested in enhancing reproductive health service delivery in conflict-affected and low-resource settings. She co-founded the Women’s Health and Welfare Organization based in Afghanistan, where she co-led the non-profit organization's advocacy and training projects on promoting the health and welfare of Afghan women and girls. She has also worked with the World Health Organization (WHO) on Gender Mainstreaming in Health and Emergency Settings. She holds an MD from Balkh University and an MSc in Health Sciences from the University of Ottawa. She is completing her PhD in Population Health at the University of Ottawa.
Dr. Cady Nyombe (she/her/hers) is a current CRHC Fellow based in Ottawa, Canada and Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo (CRHC). A physician by training, she is affiliated with the School of Public Health in Kinshasa and has worked for over nine years in the humanitarian and development sector. Dr. Nyombe has extensive knowledge of the health system in the DRC, has conducted evaluations of health programs in the DRC context, and has expertise in advanced statistical and qualitative research methods. She is completing her PhD in Population Health at the University of Ottawa.
Nished Rijal (he/him/his) is a current CHRC fellow based in Ottawa, Canada. He has over five years of experience working with different non-governmental organizations in Nepal and Bangladesh in promoting sexual and reproductive health and rights. He also worked in Nepal earthquake emergency response. Mr. Rijal is a passionate public health worker interested in enhancing reproductive health service delivery in conflict-affected and low-resource settings. He completed his MPH from the French National School of Public Health (EHESP) and currently completing his PhD in Population Health at the University of Ottawa.
Operations manager
Sarah Shahi (she/her/hers) is an MSc student in Interdisciplinary Health Sciences at the University of Ottawa. She is interested in sexual and reproductive health and justice within minority communities. Passionate about sexual and reproductive health, she currently serves as the Operations Manager at CRHC.
Board of directors
Angel M. Foster, DPhil, MD, AM (President)
Majd Hammad, MA
Tracy A. Weitz, PhD, MPA
L.L. Wynn, PhD
IT manager
Luis Aumann Punteño (he/him/his) is an BHSc student in Interdisciplinary Health Sciences at the University of Ottawa. He is interested in Health Administration & Tech. Passionate data collection & project management, he currently serves as the IT Manager at CRHC.
