Dr. Daniella Thorne is a sexual health education enthusiast who has over thirteen years of experience in research, curriculum writing, direct service, training design development and facilitation. As the Associate Director of Sexual Health Education at Advocates for Youth she works collaboratively with non-governmental organizations to provide sexual health education technical assistance and training support to school districts across the country. Prior to transitioning to Advocates, Daniella worked at a statewide organization where she managed training and technical assistance needs for Georgia school-based staff to increase their knowledge regarding sexual health topics and comfort implementing evidence-based curricula. She holds a Doctorate of Public Health, with expertise in Community Health Behavior and Education from Georgia Southern University, a Master of Public Health, and a Bachelor of Science in Human Biology State University of New York at Albany.

With over 20 years of progressive experience at the United Nations, Dawn has dedicated her efforts to advocacy for sexual reproductive health, gender equality and youth empowerment working with UN Women, United Nations Development Programme and currently UNFPA. Her current role involves setting normative standards from a gender perspective to guide how UNFPA’s work, with a particular focus on gender-based violence, can be strengthened by working across the continuum of humanitarian, development, and peace-responsive actions. Dawn’s career has spanned diverse roles from Head of Office to Special Assistant to the UNFPA Executive Director. She’s served at the country, regional, sub-regional and headquarters levels across duty stations in Barbados, Jamaica, South Africa, and Nigeria, and the UNFPA Headquarters in NY. Dawn is also committed to cultural diversity and social justice. She serves as Diversity Equity and Inclusion Corporate Advocate for UNFPA and holds certification for that function. She also holds a MA degree from York University, Canada. She actively engages in nurturing young professionals and team members through mentorship and professional development. Outside of work, Dawn wears many creative hats. As a published author, poet, blogger, and motivational speaker she channels her creativity to inspire and connect with diverse audiences. She also serves as a ministry leader within her church community testimony to a holistic approach to her personal and professional life.

Deborah Levine is the Director of CUNY Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy's Harlem Health Initiative, a role in which she addresses neighborhood service priorities and aims to reduce health disparities throughout Harlem. Levine began her training at Fairleigh Dickinson University, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in social work followed by a master’s degree in clinical social work with a minor in family therapy at New York University. She later honed her abilities in Hunter College’s post-graduate program in social work supervision and training, Columbia University Graduate School’s Institute for Not-for-Profit Middle Management program, and its leadership and executive management program. Throughout her career, she has worked to apply capacity building and technical assistance to community-based organizations, national non-profits, and houses of worship by implementing strategies that increase access to and utilization of health promotion, disease prevention, and risk-and reduction avoidance services for racial/ethnic minority individuals. Levine is a founding board member and national secretary of the National Black Women’s HIV/AIDS Network, Inc. She also serves on the board of the Coalition on Positive Health Empowerment (COPE), an organization dedicated to the eradication of viral hepatitis. She is the founding and past community co-chair for New York Knows and chair of the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene’s Women’s Advisory Board. Levine was recently appointed to the NYC Health + Hospitals Community Advisory Board, where she is the Chair of the mental health subcommittee.

Dr. Micaela E. Martinez is a Chicana scientist, artist, and justice advocate. She is the newly appointed Director of Environmental Health at WE ACT for Environmental Justice, in New York City. She is responsible for advancing efforts to improve environmental health in communities of color and low-income communities by conducting research, promoting public health awareness, education, coalition-building, and advocacy. Dr. Martinez earned her Ph.D. in Ecology & Evolution in 2015 at the University of Michigan, and did her postdoctoral training at Princeton University. Before joining WE ACT, she served as an Assistant Professor at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, followed by Emory University, in the Dept. of Biology. From 2017-2023, Dr. Martinez was supported by the prestigious NIH Director’s Early Independence Award. Over the past decade, her research has focused on infectious disease ecology, climate change, maternal and infant health, social justice, and environmental impacts on health (including biological rhythms). Dr. Martinez is currently leading WE ACT’s Beauty Inside Out campaign and she is on the advisory committee of the Black Beauty Project, both projects seek to address the problem of toxic chemicals in beauty products, particularly those that enforce Eurocentric beauty standards and are marketed toward women of color.