STRATEGIC COLLABORATORS
Alana Kolundzija works at the intersection of public health, empowerment of women and girls, and social justice. She applies an intersectional feminist approach to promote human rights, asset-based community development, and results-based accountability.
As the Founder of Collective Impact, Alana fosters cross-sector collaboration, promotes opportunities for meaningful community engagement, and supports the transformative power of artivism.
As a public health consultant that specializes in sexual and reproductive health and rights, Alana works to build a multidisciplinary consortium of researchers and activists around the world that contribute to local and global policy debates through strategic policy-oriented research and analysis of current trends.
Alana has a Master of Public Health from Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health from the Department of Socioeconomic Sciences. She is fluent in Spanish and Portuguese.
Chelsea L. Ricker is a lifelong sexual and reproductive rights activist whose work focuses on amplifying and integrating the voices of women, young people, LGBTI groups, and local communities into programs, policy, and research spaces. Chelsea is an expert in access to and quality of sexual and reproductive health services, comprehensive sexuality education, sexual and gender-based violence prevention and response, and international human rights structures.
In addition to her advocacy, Chelsea has developed games, learning, and capacity-building tools and strategies for human rights and sexual and reproductive health and rights organizations including Amnesty International, the International Planned Parenthood Federation, the International Women’s Health Coalition, Pathfinder International, and UNAIDS, among others.
Dana Smiles is a public health professional, sociologist, community organizer, and activist whose work focuses on the integration of community-led solutions into programs and policies that affect the daily lives of the most excluded individuals, families, and communities across the world. Using a rights-based social justice framework, Dana collaborates with community members, leaders, and key stakeholders in a range of geographies to co-create healthier and more equitable environments.
Her areas of expertise include sexual and reproductive health, rights, and justice, gender and sexuality, adolescence, social determinants of health, linkage to care, and health equity. Dana has advised, co-designed, and evaluated programs with international agencies, organizations, and governments in Sub-Saharan Africa, the Caribbean, South America, and the United States including UNFPA, USAID, and CDC, and has lived in Ethiopia, France, the Netherlands, Spain, and the U.S. Dana is also the co-author of “Growth and Changes,” a puberty guidebook made with and for Ethiopian girls, widely distributed throughout Ethiopia in three local languages.
Dorian Nii Lantey Bortey has over 10+ years’ experience in project research management and design that has led to the implementation of HIV/AIDS and other public health and biotechnology projects in Africa and the United States. His expertise includes human and community development, research, training, and strategic planning of non-governmental organizations, government institutions, faith-based and community-based organizations' activities within U.S Government funded programming.
In 2016, Nii Lantey served as a United States Peace Corps Volunteer in Malawi as NGO Advisor/Coordinator for the PEPFAR DREAMS initiative. Apart from working closely with the USAID PEPFAR Team and other stakeholders to develop a framework for improved NGO coordination and efficiency, his leadership ensured a successful implementation of the Girl Roster™ to identify OVCs in Machinga District.
Nii Lantey has participated in many leadership and sustainable development conferences and workshops across East Asia, North America, and Sub-Saharan Africa.
Elvia Gomez has 15+ years of professional experience in impact investing, entrepreneurship, consulting, finance and risk management in Latin America. In her consulting practice, Elvia specializes in sustainable business development, strategic planning and development of strategies for obtaining resources for social enterprises and non-profit organizations. Her areas of expertise also include access to finance, female economic empowerment, especially focused on creating sustainable economic autonomy for women, and investment of the private sector in gender-responsive conservation, natural resource management and sustainable development in Colombia.
Elvia has demonstrated experience leading interdisciplinary teams, working in multicultural settings, managing projects in diverse industries in corporates and entrepreneurial fields, and mentoring entrepreneurs.
Elvia has a Masters in Business Administration and a Bachelor’s degree in Government and International Relations. She is fluent in English and Spanish.
Jennifer Whitney is a meditation and yoga instructor in Brooklyn, New York with extensive training and experience in working with trauma, at risk, and burnout populations. Since 2006 she has explored how these healing modalities intersect with meaningful conversations on values and ethics to serve the well-being of these populations as well as in community settings. Jen has taught across the country from Hawaii to New York, as well as internationally in France, Nicaragua and Panama.
Jen has a Masters in Clinical Psychology and is currently a Doctoral Candidate in Clinical Psychology at The New School for Social Research. Her research focuses on the interpersonal effects of meditation in close relationships as well as in interracial dyads. She also explores the ways meditation values deepen the field’s understanding of mindfulness and how it shapes personal and interpersonal health and well-being. Clinically, Jen is interested in working with trauma populations, and integrating her yoga and meditation expertise into the therapy process for a whole-person integrated approach.