Advocates' staff is a vibrant and diverse team of youth-serving professionals and youth activists. Staff come from a variety of backgrounds, including public health, law, social work, political science, international affairs, sociology, finance/administration and research, and are dedicated to improving adolescent reproductive and sexual health, securing young people’s rights, and realizing the Rights. Respect.Responsibility.^® vision.

Management Team

James Wagoner
President

James Wagoner, a respected public policy and reproductive health expert, has been the President and Executive Director of Advocates for Youth since September 1997. He represents the organization with the media, funders, and colleague organizations, and during speaking engagements, both nationally and internationally. Before coming to Advocates, James spent seven years at NARAL, most recently as Executive Vice-President. During the decade prior to that, James served on the staff of Senator Howard M. Metzenbaum from Ohio. He is a graduate of Georgetown University.

Debra Hauser
Executive Vice President

Deb has been with Advocates for over 15 years, first as Director of the Support Center for School-based Health Care, then as Deputy Director, and most recently as Executive Vice President. Her responsibilities include strategic and operational planning and management of program staff. Before coming to Advocates, Deb served as Director of Community Health Services for the City of Atlantic City where she designed, implemented, and evaluated sexuality education, health promotion, teen pregnancy prevention, and teen parenting programs for an urban population. Early in her career, Deb served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Paraguay, implementing child spacing, oral re-hydration, and childhood immunization programs. Deb holds a Masters of Public Health in Population Planning and International Health from the University of Michigan and is the author of numerous publications in the area of adolescent reproductive and sexual health.

Kathleen Farrell
Vice President, Finance and Administration

Kathleen Farrell, Vice President of Finance and Administration, oversees the organization’s financial management/controls. She prepares the organizational budget, works with program staff to develop proposals and financial reports for Advocates’ funders, and works closely with the Board of Directors’ Finance and Board Leadership Committees. She has spent the vast majority of her career working in various program and management capacities for Advocates for Youth. Kathy holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Virginia and an MBA from the College of William and Mary.

Marcela Howell
Vice President, Communications, Marketing, and Policy

Marcela provides overall direction, supervision, and coordination of Advocates’ media strategy and marketing outreach campaigns, as well as strategic planning for its international, domestic, and state policy initiatives. Before becoming the Vice President of Communications, marketing and policy, Marcela served as Advocates’ Director of Public Affairs and supervised the public policy and communications activities. Marcela is the author of Walk in My Shoes: A Black Activist’s Guide to Surviving the Women’s Movement, a collection of inspirational essays to empower young African American women to become involved in the fight for reproductive justice.

Staff

Brian Ackerman
Program Manager, International Policy

Brian joined Advocates for Youth as the International Policy Intern in fall 2006. Since then, he has held various positions supporting the Public Policy Department. Brian’s work focuses on Congressional and international lobbying efforts to ensure that U.S. foreign policy and international policy reflect the values of Rights, Respect, and Responsibility. A native of Clearwater, Florida, prior to joining Advocates for Youth, Brian was a legislative intern on Capitol Hill and worked in the Development Department of the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants.  Brian holds a bachelors degree in International Affairs with a concentration in International Economics from the George Washington University.

Urooj Arshad
Manager, Youth of Color Initiative

Urooj Arshad has 10 years of experience working with marginalized youth including youth of color and lesbian, gay, bi, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ) youth. Urooj has been the Program Manager for the Youth of Color Initiative at Advocates for Youth since 2005. She provides capacity building services to organizations working on HIV prevention issues within young women of color communities. Capacity building services include seed grant dissemination, customized onsite trainings and year-long support and technical assistance around work plan implementation, organizational development, and working with diverse youth communities. Prior to joining Advocates, Urooj worked for the National Youth Advocacy Coalition, an organization that advocates for and with LGBTQ youth in an effort to end discrimination against these youth and to ensure their physical and emotional well being.

Sarah Audelo
Program Manager, Youth Activist Network

Sarah Audelo is the Manager of the Youth Activist Network. She works with youth across the country to fight for accurate sexual health information and services so that they can prevent unintended pregnancy and/or STIs, including HIV. Before joining Advocates, Sarah was a high school special education teacher in La Joya, Texas as part of the Teach for America program. She was also the sponsor of the G-Force, a college preparation club, and advisor to the National Honor Society on her campus. While Sarah attended Georgetown University, she was a member of Advocates’ International Youth Leadership Council, working on international reproductive health and HIV and AIDS issues. Sarah is originally from Bakersfield, California and can’t wait to help represent the youth of the San Joaquin and Rio Grande Valleys in the fight for effect sex education.

Jennifer Augustine
Director, HIV and STI Prevention

Jennifer Augustine is the Director of the HIV/STI Prevention Division at Advocates for Youth. She oversees the provision of technical assistance and training to national and community-based organizations serving high-risk youth. Jennifer has 14 years of experience in adolescent sexual and reproductive health. She received a Master’s in Public Health from the George Washington University and is a certified health education specialist.

Sarah Axelson
Program Manager, Teen Pregnancy Prevention Initiative

Sarah Axelson is the Program Manager for the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program. She manages the day-to-day operations of the team and the overall Teen Pregnancy Prevention project. She is also involved in planning multiple conferences, including the SOLAR and DC Summit events. A native of Northern Virginia, Sarah brings both social work and organizational leadership experience to Advocates.  She is a graduate of James Madison University with a double major in communication and language. Between college and graduate school, Sarah served as a Family Support Worker for low-income first-time parents. Most recently, she earned a Master’s Degree in Social Work and Certificate in Nonprofit Leadership from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.

Joy Baynes
Program Manager, National Emergency Contraception Initiatives

Joy Baynes is the Program Manager for National Emergency Contraception Initiatives. She designs and implements programs in South Carolina and West Virginia to increase access to and awareness about emergency contraception among young women and men. She also provides technical assistance and resources to state organizations interested in emergency contraception work. Joy has a Master’s in Public Health from New York University.

Emily Bridges
Director of Public Information Services

Emily Bridges has been Advocates’ Director of Public Information Services since 2006. She oversees the content of Advocates’ Web sites, edits materials for publication, and writes fact sheets and other educational materials. She also manages Advocates’ library, a comprehensive collection of the best and most current information about adolescent sexual and reproductive health, and assists staff, Advocates’ partners, and the public with research. Emily has a Master’s in Library Science from the University of Maryland.

Nicole Cheetham
Director, International Division

Nicole Cheetham is the Director of the International Division of Advocates for Youth. She has 13 years of experience working in public health and oversees Advocates’ international youth reproductive and sexual health programs. Nicole currently supports the implementation of programs in sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean focused on youth-led advocacy, life skills education, parent-child communication, and media, in addition to U.S.-based advocacy on international family planning and HIV/AIDS. Nicole holds a Masters of Health Sciences in International Public Health from the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Gail Cowan
Director of Development

As Advocates’ Director of Development, Gail is responsible for coordinating the organization’s fundraising efforts, which include foundation proposal and report writing, researching and cultivating new prospects, and producing individual donor appeals. She has worked in fundraising for 12 years, including positions as Development Associate for the Center for Community Change and Associate Director of Development for the Henry L. Stimson Center. Gail also served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Haiti, where she worked with a women’s cooperative to teach them small business skills. While in Haiti, she also taught grant writing to local organizations. Gail has a B.S. in Economics and a B.A. in Political Science from Miami University (Ohio) and a Masters in Social Work from Virginia Commonwealth University.

Laura Davis
Director, Adolescent Sexual Health Services

Laura Davis is Director of Adolescent Sexual Health Services at Advocates for Youth. She has both international and domestic experience, including more than twenty years of program planning, teaching, training, and organizational development in the field of reproductive and sexual health. She is the former manager of a mall-based family planning clinic for teens and has worked as a consultant with International Planned Parenthood Federation and the United States Agency for International Development in Latin America and the Caribbean. She is the co-author (with Dr. Claire Brindis and Susan Pagliaro) of Communities Responding to the Challenge of Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention (Advocates for Youth, 1998) and Protection as Prevention: Contraception for Sexually Active Teens (National Campaign, 2000).

Rosanna Dixon
Manager of Graphic Design and Internet Services

Rosanna Dixon is the Manager of Graphic Design and Internet Services. Rosanna formats outgoing email newsletters and alerts as well as the organization's website while maintaining the visual consistency and vibrancy of Advocate's print and web graphics. She is a recent member of the socially-oriented design workshop Project M and contributed to the spin-off project PieLab. Rosanna received a Bachelor's of Fine Art in Graphic Design from the Corcoran College of Art + Design.

Yvonne Gaither
Officer Administrator

Yvonne Gaither has been Advocates for Youth’s Office Administrator since 1994. Yvonne has over 14 years of corporate bookkeeping and accounting experience and has worked with nonprofits for over 19 years. Yvonne has also participated in volunteer work at D.C. General Hospital and Columbia Hospital for Women. 

Donald Hitchcock
Director, Public Policy

Donald Hitchcock is the Director of Public Policy. Prior to his work at Advocates, Donald was a Public Health Specialist managing on routine HIV screening campaign for the Washington, DC HIV/AIDS Administration.  Donald also has an extensive background working in the LGBT civil rights and health movements as co-founder of Stetson University’s Students Transcending Homophobia, Southern Field Organizer at the Human Rights Campaign, National Field Director at the National Coalition for LGBT Health, and founding member of DC for Marriage.  Donald is currently a candidate for Masters in Public Policy from George Washington University.

Rana Holland
Executive Secretary

Rana Holland has been at Advocates for Youth since July 1987. After nine months on the front desk, she became the Executive Secretary. She worked for Judith Senderowitz, our founding Executive Director/President, until Judy left in 1992 (Judy is currently on our board).  She also worked for Margaret Pruitt Clark, who was the Executive Director/President from 1992 to 1997. She has worked for James Wagoner, Advocates’ current President, since 1997.

Barbara Huberman
Director, Education and Outreach

Barbara Kemp Huberman has been actively involved in sexuality education and adolescent sexual health for almost 40 years. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing from the University of Florida and a Masters in Education from the University of North Carolina. She is a certified sexuality educator and counselor and was one of the first Lamaze childbirth instructors and trainers in the U.S. Ms. Huberman has authored books on teen pregnancy prevention and building community and state teen pregnancy prevention councils, and co-authored the widely recognized monograph “European Approaches to Adolescent Sexual Behavior and Responsibility.” She is the founder of “Let’s Talk Month,” an international campaign each October to support parents and families in their role as sexuality educators of their children and “Teen Pregnancy Prevention Month” each May. She is the coordinator of Advocates’ Rights. Respect. Responsibility.^® Campaign.  

Nickie Imanguli
Coordinator, International Youth Leadership Council

Nickie Imanguli is the International Program Coordinator, overseeing Advocates’ International Youth Leadership Council (IYLC) and other international program activities. The IYLC is a group of young leaders with ties to or an interest in low- and mid-income countries working to change policy through direct lobbying, media work, campus organizing, and participation in international conferences. As an undergraduate, she was a member of the IYLC and worked with Student Advocates For Education about Rape (SAFER), Alternative Spring Break, and the HELP Center hotline. She received her undergraduate degree from the University of Maryland at College Park.

Tom Klaus
Program Director, Teen Pregnancy Prevention Initiative

Tom Klaus oversees the national teen pregnancy prevention work for Advocates for Youth. In his role as Program Director for Teen Pregnancy Prevention, he leads a team that provides organizational development training, coaching, and technical assistance to state and regional organizations to build their capacity to deliver proven effective programs that work to prevent pregnancy among youth. Previously, Tom was the Executive Director and a founding board member of FutureNet, the Iowa Network for Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention, Parenting and Sexual Health. Tom earned an M.S. in Counseling from Drake University, is an alumnus of the Greater Des Moines Leadership Institute, and is a trained facilitator in “Appreciative Inquiry,” an asset-based change and development management model for organizations.

Jerome Lomax
Manager, Information Technology

Jerome Lomax has worked in the information technology field for more than a decade and has been Manager of Information Technology at Advocates for youth since 2006. Jerome received a Bachelor’s from the University of Maryland, College Park.

Mimi Melles
Program Manager, iYAN Project

Mimi Melles is the Manager of the International Youth Activist Network, a project that builds the capacity of youth-driven organizations in sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean to empower young people as powerful advocates within their own countries and at international forums on reproductive and sexual health and rights of youth, especially young women. Previously, Mimi managed Advocates’ Youth Activist Network, working with youth to fight for accurate sexual health information and services so that they can prevent unintended pregnancy and/or STIs, including HIV.  Mimi was a member of the International Youth Leadership Council during her undergraduate career, and was hired to work at Advocates soon after graduation from the University of Maryland, College Park.

Elizabeth Merck
Manager, Individual Giving

As Manager of Individual Giving, Elizabeth Merck is responsible for expanding and sustaining Advocates for Youth’s individual fundraising efforts. Before joining Advocates, Liz spent eight years doing development work for the American Psychological Foundation, most recently as Assistant Director. She has also held short-term positions or internships at the Metro Washington Chapter of the Arthritis Foundation, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, Marymount University, the Massachusetts Port Authority, and the Boston Police Department. Liz holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Marymount University and an MBA in nonprofit management from Walden University.

Will Neville
Associate Director, E-Campaign Strategies

Will Neville currently serves as Associate Director for E-Campaign Strategies at Advocates for Youth, working to expand the scope of Advocate's online organizing and youth activism. He works closely with program, policy, and communications staff to develop and implement a wide variety of advocacy campaigns and marketing strategies in various media, including print, online, and video. Will received a bachelor’s degree in theatre from Davidson College before spending a year in the United Kingdom and Europe on a postgraduate fellowship from the Thomas J. Watson Foundation, and is currently seeking a Master’s degree in Political Management from the George Washington University.

Meghan Rapp
Manager, State Strategies

Meghan Rapp is a State Strategies Program Manager. Meg works with state advocacy coalitions to build their capacity to improve adolescent reproductive and sexual health policies. She is the former State Policy Assistant at the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States (SIECUS) and was a member of the Pro-Choice Public Education Project’s (PEP) Young Women’s Leadership Council. Meg earned her postgraduate certificate in International Law and Human Rights from the University of Leicester and her Bachelors of Science in Political Science from Old Dominion University, where she received the award of Top Politics Student in her graduating class.

Meredith Schonfeld-Hicks
Manager, State Strategies

Meredith Schonfeld-Hicks is a State Strategies Program Manager. She works in a variety of states with youth organizers and state-based non-profits to advocate for comprehensive sex education. She is a former Legislative Assistant for Women’s Issues at the Unitarian Universalist Association and currently serves on the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice Board of Directors. Meredith earned her Bachelors of Science in Sociology and Women’s Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison where she was a leader at Sex Out Loud, a student-run sexual health organization.

Trina Scott
Program Manager, Young Women of Color Initiative

Trina Scott is the Program Manager for the Young Women of Color Initiative at Advocates for Youth. She has been actively involved in sexuality education and adolescent sexual health for more than 10 years. She has dedicated her life to community activism through educating, advocating, and delivering prevention messages related to health issue for youth and young adults. Trina holds a Bachelor's degree in Health Management/Nutrition from Howard University, and is currently working on a dual Masters/PhD degree in Human Sexuality at Widener University. In addition, she is among the first graduating class of The Black AIDS Institute’s African American HIV University Community Mobilization College. Trina is a member and active participant in a number of community organizations in the DC metropolitan area.

Erica Yates
Administrative and Publications Assistant

Erica Yates has been Administrative and Publications Assistant at Advocates for Youth since 2005 and is a dedicated employee with a passion for working with young people. Erica writes OMG! With E, a relationship advice column on Amplify.