Meet the Team
Principals
Dr. Angel M. Foster 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 different countries. She is the Immediate Past Chair of the Population, Reproductive, and Sexual Health Section of the American Public Health Association and a member of the Board of Directors of the National Abortion Federation. She is a co-founder of CRHC.
Cari Sietstra is a specialist in reproductive health and justice. She earned her JD from Stanford University and her BA from Harvard University. At CRHC her current work is devoted to exploring innovative frames for the very early use of medication abortion drugs, and protecting and expanding access to misoprostol in the US. Previously her projects focused on increasing access to safe abortion in long-term conflict settings, particularly on both sides of the Thai/Burma border. She was the founder and first Executive Director of Law Students for Choice (now If/When/How: Lawyering for Reproductive Justice). She is a co-founder of CRHC.
Consultants
Nancy Chaung 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.
Dr. L.L. Wynn is an Associate Professor in the Anthropology Department 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 is funded by an Australian Research Council Discovery Project grant and focuses on new and emerging reproductive health technologies in Egypt, including emergency contraception and hymenoplasty.
Professor Michelle Oberman is an internationally recognized scholar on the legal and ethical issues surrounding adolescence, pregnancy and motherhood. Professor Oberman's current research focuses on reproductive health and abortion regulation in countries with widely divergent abortion laws. Her work in El Salvador, along with other countries and a range of US jurisdictions, informs her 2018 book, Her Body, Our Laws: On the Frontlines of the Abortion War from El Salvador to Oklahoma, about what will and won’t happen if abortion becomes illegal in the U.S.
Stephanie Kraft Sheley is an attorney and advocate for reproductive justice in Missouri and Illinois. She focuses on developing full-spectrum legal and practical supports for young pregnant people. She earned her JD and MHA from the University of Iowa. Her original comic appears in Comics for Choice: Illustrated Abortion Stories, History, and Politics (2018).
Fellows
Manizha Ashna is a 2019-2020 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-found 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. At CRHC she is working on a multi-country project related to the collection of sexual and reproductive health data and indicators in humanitarian settings. She is currently completing her MSc in Interdisciplinary Health Sciences at the University of Ottawa.
Kassandre Messier is a 2019-2020 CRHC Research Fellow based in Ottawa, Canada. She completed her Honour’s Bachelor’s in Biomedical Sciences at the University of Ottawa and is now a second year master’s student in Interdisciplinary Health Sciences. She is currently working on a number of international projects focusing on abortion care in humanitarian settings. She is interested in establishing new programs and initiatives to improve sexual and reproductive health and rights in the Global South.
Srishti Hukku is a 2018-2020 CRHC Research Fellow based in Ottawa, Canada. She is currently a doctoral candidate in the University of Ottawa’s Population Health program. Ms. Hukku is a dedicated scholar and former recipient of the Joseph Armand Bombardier Canada Graduate Scholarship from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. She has undertaken comparative research internationally focusing on the welfare state and health systems of Canada and Sweden. Her current research interests include the role of disruptive technologies in reproductive health, reproductive autonomy, reproductive issues in minority communities, infertility and assisted human reproduction. Outside of academia, Ms. Hukku is a two-time recipient of the Canadian Public Service Award of Excellence, the highest recognition given to a public servant in Canada, for innovation and exceptional leadership. Ms. Hukku holds a Master’s of Public Administration from Queen’s University and a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Economics from McMaster University.
Luisa Marval is a 2018-2020 CRHC Research Fellow. She received her Honour’s Bachelor Health Sciences degree in 2017 from the University of Ottawa, where she is currently completing a master's degree in Interdisciplinary Health Sciences. Luisa has supported a variety of sexual and reproductive health projects over the last four years, including the Canada Abortion Provider Hospital Study and a project on the efficacy and safety of medication abortion drugs at 28 to 35 days gestation. In addition, she has partnered with a Venezuelan feminist advocacy organization to conduct a project on women's experiences with an abortion telemedicine service. Luisa is passionate about improving sexual and reproductive health in low-resource settings, specifically in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Staff
Dr. Eduard Niesten 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.
Kathryn LaRoche holds a Cotutelle PhD in population health and anthropology between the University of Ottawa (Canada) and Macquarie University (Australia). She has over eight years of experience leading action-oriented, qualitative research related to health policy and service delivery in Canada, Australia, and internationally. At CRHC, she serves as the Operations Manager and is responsible for the maintenance and updating of this website.
Board of Directors
Angel M. Foster, DPhil, MD, AM (President)
Cari Sietstra, JD (Vice President)
Frances Hsieh, JD, MBA