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ASEC Leadership

ASEC is led by Executive Director Kelly Cleland and a Steering Committee comprised of leading reproductive health leaders from high-impact organizations.

Kelly Cleland

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MPA MPH (she/her)

Executive Director

Kelly has an extensive background in research, and spent 14 years at Princeton University focusing on projects related to contraception and medication abortion. As Executive Director of ASEC, Kelly creates guidelines and factsheets on challenging clinical questions, provides expert review of EC-related materials, develops the agenda for the ASEC annual meeting (the EC Jamboree), and supports collaboration among ASEC’s 1,200+ constituents. Prior to her work with ASEC, Kelly evaluated comprehensive sexuality education programs at the University of California, San Francisco and Planned Parenthood of New York City. Kelly received her MPA and MPH from Columbia University in 2002, where she concentrated in Population and Family Health. Kelly is a Fellow of the Society of Family Planning, a liaison to the Planned Parenthood National Medical Committee, and a member of the editorial board for the journal ​Contraception.

Kelly Blanchard

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MSc (she/her)

Kelly is President of Ibis Reproductive Health, a global research organization working with partners around the world to design and conduct rigorous research to advance policy and service-delivery solutions that transform people’s reproductive lives. Kelly provides overall strategic leadership for the organization and heads Ibis’s Senior Management Team. Her research has included clinical and social science studies on improving contraception and abortion technologies; expanding access to and quality of reproductive health services; and documenting the impact of policies on women’s health around the world. Kelly also has had a range of leadership roles in key HIV prevention clinical trials evaluating safety and effectiveness of microbicides and the diaphragm in sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia. Kelly has authored over 100 peer-reviewed publications in high-impact journals like the American Journal of Public Health and has also published op-eds, letters, and blogs in the New York Times, the Boston Globe, and RH Reality Check. 

Aisha Chaudhri (I-shuh CHOH-dree)

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MA (no pronouns - just my name pronounced correctly)

Aisha has been a social justice activist for over 21 years and has been working in nonprofits on Reproductive Justice (RJ) issues for over 13 years. Aisha has worked with immigrant survivors of gender-based violence at a domestic violence shelter and young people around sexual health, rights, and identities to create training programs on how to provide trauma-responsive social services and health care. Aisha is currently the RJ Manager at EverThrive Illinois leading the Contraceptive Justice Project, a community-driven contraceptive access project rooted in the RJ framework, and RJ-centered legislative and administrative policy advocacy. Aisha is also the co-chair of the board of directors at the Illinois Caucus for Adolescent Health (ICAH) and is a steering committee member of the American Society for Emergency Contraception (ASEC). Aisha’s commitment to anti-oppression work stays rooted in the experiences of marginalized communities including Aisha’s own queer, femme, Punjabi, immigrant, and Muslim identities.

Mara Gandal-Powers

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JD (she/her)

Mara is Director of Birth Control Access and Senior Counsel at the National Women’s Law Center. Her work focuses primarily on access to and coverage of contraceptives through both federal and state-level advocacy and initiatives. She previously was counsel, legal fellow, and an intern at the Center. During law school, Ms. Gandal-Powers was a law clerk for Senator Al Franken on the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, and she interned for the Children’s Health Advocacy Project, a medical-legal partnership between Legal Services of Eastern Missouri and health centers and children’s hospitals in St. Louis. She received her undergraduate degree from Bowdoin College and her law degree from Washington University in St. Louis School of Law, where she served as co-president of Law Students for Reproductive Justice and was an associate editor of the Washington University Global Studies Law Review. Prior to attending law school, Ms. Gandal-Powers worked for the Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs. She currently serves on the the Board of Trustees of The Barker Adoption Foundation and is a past member of the Alumnae Board of The Holton-Arms School.

Elizabeth Gay

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MPH (she/her)

Elizabeth is a strategist, advocate, communicator, and convener who turns evidence into social impact. Her life’s mission is to create a world where women of color have what they need to achieve their ideal well-being. Elizabeth is a recognized thought leader on women of color, reproductive and maternal health, and social justice who has been published in The Nation, Rewire, The Root, EBONY.com, and other outlets. As the founder of Sisu Consulting, she combines her technical expertise in reproductive, racial, and social justice and skills in strategy and communications to support her clients. Elizabeth holds a Master of Public Health in Health Policy from The George Washing University and a Bachelor of Arts in Urban Studies from the University of Pennsylvania. Elizabeth is a global citizen based in the Washington, DC area.

June Gupta

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MSN, WHNP-BC (she/her)

June is a nurse practitioner with nearly 20 years of experience in sexual and reproductive health. She is the Director, Medical Standards at Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA), where her responsibilities include overseeing the production of the PPFA Medical Standards and Guidelines. She serves as a member of the Board of Directors of Nurses for Sexual and Reproductive Health and PPFA’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Council. June also maintains clinical practice with local Planned Parenthood affiliates. June completed her nursing education at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing, and lives in central Maryland.  

Erin Matson

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(She/her)

Erin is co-founder and co-director of Reproaction, a national group using bold action to increase access to abortion and advance reproductive justice. Erin has appeared on MSNBC, CSPAN, Al-Jazeera English, ABC World News, BBC World News, and PBS’ To The Contrary. Erin served as action vice president for the National Organization for Women, and at age 23 she was elected to be the youngest NOW state president in the country. She also served as an editor at larger for Rewire.News. Her writings have appeared in a variety of publications, including Rolling Stone and three books. Erin serves on the NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia Foundation board of directors, writes on her personal blog at www.erintothemax.com and is on Twitter @erintothemax. 

Rebecca Stone

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PharmD (she/her)

Rebecca is a clinical pharmacist and faculty member at the University of Georgia (UGA) College of Pharmacy. Dr. Stone completed two years of residency training and is a Board-Certified Ambulatory Care Pharmacist and Pharmacotherapy Specialist. Her area of expertise is medication use in Women’s Health. She currently provides patient care and pharmacy services at Mercy Health Center, a free health center for the underserved in Athens, GA. Prior to her position at UGA, she served as faculty at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), where she practiced in the Family Medicine Clinic and Women’s Health clinics. Her research and scholarship interests include emergency contraception access, contraceptive access and use for women with substance use disorder, and medication use during pregnancy. 

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