Errol Alexis is currently the Project Manager for the Making Proud Choices (MPC) project at PPNYC. Mr. Alexis oversees all aspects of MPC- an evidence-based HIV, STI, and pregnancy prevention program serving middle school-aged youth in the Bronx, Manhattan, and Brooklyn. He has extensive experience in training professionals on sexual reproductive health and rights issues and has directed many PPNYC international and domestic programs including on Family Life Education, Parent Education, Male Involvement, Peer Education, Sexuality Education, fathering, Gender Equity promotion, HIV/AIDS, Gender based Violence Prevention, and religious Family Life Education.
Michele Bayley, M.P.H., is the Associate Vice President of Education and Training at PPNYC. Ms. Bayley supervises director level staff in the Education and Training Department and assists the Vice President of Education and Training in select duties related to strategic planning and overseeing the department operations. Ms. Bayley has extensive experience in training professionals on sexual health issues and she has directed both international and domestic adolescent and women’s health programs.
Alice Berger, R.N., M.P.H., is the Vice President of Health Care Planning at PPNYC. Ms. Berger has more than 20 years of experience working in the policy and program areas of public insurance, health care reform and family and reproductive health. She directed a large New York City PCAP program and a comprehensive primary care identification and tracking program for at-risk infants. Ms. Berger currently chairs a citywide Adolescent Health Committee and has been instrumental in the NYS Health Care Reform process.
Carmina Bernardo, M.A., M.P.H., is the Director of Health Care Planning and Family Planning Benefit Program (FPBP) Training Coordinator at PPNYC. She conducts outreach, training, and technical assistance about the FPBP and other public health insurance to health and social services providers in all five boroughs of New York City and in the counties of Orange, Putnam, Rockland and Westchester. She has been a PPNYC staff member since September 2000 and volunteered as a PPNYC Center Escort for six years. Before joining PPNYC, Ms. Bernardo worked at Women In Need, a nonprofit organization that provided housing and other services to homeless women with children. She has Master’s Degrees in both Public Health and Sociology.
Randa Dean, M.P.H., is the Teen ACTION Program Coordinator at PPNYC. In this role she delivers SRH technical assistance and training to afterschool providers. Last year, Randa returned to PPNYC after three months with International Planned Parenthood Federation and Partners In Health in Haiti. Previously, she was the Associate Director of Adult Education at PPNYC. In this role, she supervised the Adult Role Models program and coordinated SRH training for professionals. Prior to coming to PPNYC, provided HIV education and outreach to homeless youth and adults in Sacramento, facilitated HIV education sessions for staff at the United Nations headquarters in New York City, and conducted HIV education workshops abroad, primarily in Kenya. Randa has an MPH in Sexuality & Health from Columbia University.
Caroline Erickson is a Sexuality Educator/Trainer at PPNYC. She facilitates sexual and reproductive health workshops within schools and community based organizations throughout Brooklyn, the Bronx and the Lower East Side. Before joining PPNYC, Caroline was a Rural Community Health Volunteer with the Peace Corps in Benin, West Africa. She conducted trainings on various public health topics, including STI/HIV prevention and awareness, nutrition and sanitation practices.
Jasmin Espinal is a Sexuality Educator and Trainer at PPNYC. She implements youth sexual health and communication skills workshops in schools and community based organizations throughout the Bronx, Brooklyn and Manhattan. Prior to joining PPNYC she was a Peer Health Educator at The Door, where she created and implemented age appropriate interactive workshops to middle school and high school participants.
Leah Graniela is the Coordinator of the Training Institute (TI) at Planned Parenthood of NYC. Ms. Graniela manages the daily operations of the Training Institute and collaborates with the Education Department to develop a strategic vision for the TI. A firm believer in the power of education and community, Ms. Graniela brings experience in creating youth-driven programs around social justice issues for NYC high school youth. She has worked as an advocate, organizer, and facilitator around issues of women’s rights, public education, community health, and housing.
Joyce McFadden is a certified psychoanalyst with an MSW from Columbia University, and her book is currently being taught in university women's studies programs. Publishers Weekly calls Your Daughter's Bedroom "a fascinating and empowering text for women of all ages" and Kirkus Review cites it as "an empowering resource for mothers and daughters everywhere." She’s a faculty member, training analyst and clinical supervisor at the Training and Research Institute for Self Psychology, faculty member of Naomi Wolf's Woodhull Institute for Ethical Leadership, and the New York City Open Center. Author of the ongoing anonymous web-based Women’s Realities Study, she’s been practicing for 25 years and has offices in Manhattan and East Hampton, NY.
Claudia Martinez has spent the last 6 years working with young people as a mentor, educator, and organizer. As an educator, she has developed and facilitated hundreds of curricula around social justice, leadership, oppression and self-empowerment. As an organizer, she led campaigns in Boston and NYC around issues of youth violence, educational justice, police harassment in schools and mayoral control. Throughout all her work, her passion and focus remains the same: to support the development, empowerment and self actualization of young people. Today, she is the Community Educator at Day One, and the teacher for Sisterhood Academy a year-long after school program of the Sadie Nash Leadership Project.
Matthew Morales is the Programming and Training Manager for Planned Parenthood of Nassau County’s (PPNC) Education and Training Department. He is also an Adjunct Professor at Nassau Community College in the subject of Human Sexuality and family planning. Matthew manages PPNC Male Health Education Programming as well as PPNC’s Reproductive Freedom Initiative with a goal of educating community members throughout Nassau County on the need for reproductive health services and education as a means to community empowerment. Mr. Morales also overseas training for new employees beginning their career with PPNC. Matthew graduated SUNY Stony Brook receiving his Bachelors in Psychology. He has his Masters in Business Administration.
Sarah Elspeth Patterson, M.Ed. is a Sexuality Educator/Trainer at PPNYC, experienced in developing and implementing sexuality education curricula for youth and adult audiences, with particular focus on promoting the health and well being of gender and sexual minorities. Prior to joining the Education Department at Planned Parenthood, Sarah conducted sexuality workshops for Babeland. and was involved in HIV/AIDS research at the Center for HIV Studies and Training (CHEST) at Hunter College. She co-leads the Educational Team for the Sex Workers Outreach Project of New York City and also teaches for the American Medical Students Association’s Sexual Health Scholars Program. Sarah is a member of the American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors and Trainers (AASECT) as well as the Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality (SSSS).
Amanda Perez, M.P.H., is a public health professional with over 10 years experience in creating, implementing and managing effective health education programs for parents, youth, and professionals. Currently, she is the Director of Adult Education and Professional Development Programs at PPNYC. Amanda oversees an award-winning capacity building program which promotes “Sexual and Reproductive Health-Ready” youth organizations through policy development, trainings, and educational materials. She also leads the Training Institute and facilitates over 25 trainings per year. Her dedication to and experience working with parents dates back to 2002 when she began coordinating the Adult Role Models program, which helps parents via peer-led workshops to better communicate with their children around sexuality and strengthen the parent-child bond. She has recently launched a Promotoras de Salud program to promote greater health care access for immigrant women living in NYC. Amanda has also worked to promote sexual and reproductive health in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Lauren Porsch, M.P.H., is the Program Director for Clinical Training, Research and Special Projects at PPNYC. She collaborates in the planning and delivery of PPNYC's training and education programs for physicians, advanced practice clinicians, and medical students, and in the implementation of clinical research projects at the agency’s health centers. Her areas of expertise are contraception, abortion, HIV risk reduction counseling, and the provision of LGBT-sensitive reproductive and sexual health education and services.
Jessica Rivera is the Bronx Teen Advocate Program Coordinator at PPNYC. Ms. Rivera contributes to the development and implementation of new youth programs targeting adolescents in the Bronx. She also supervises a cadre of 10 Teen Advocates who go out into the community to provide outreach sexuality education to their peers. Prior to joining PPNYC, Ms. Rivera was the Outreach Specialist at the Adolescent AIDS Program of Montefiore Medical Center for more than four years. In that position, she conducted street outreach, yearly trainings, HIV testing, and presentations. Ms. Rivera has presented at Ryan White conferences and at the National Youth Advocacy Coalition's Annual Youth Conference. Her participation mobilized young people to get tested, as well as to learn more about their sexual and reproductive health and access to care.
Kimberly Seals Allers is an award-winning journalist, a leading authority on issues relating to mothers of color, author of The Mocha Manual™ series of books and founder of www.MochaManual.com, a pregnancy and parenting lifestyle destination and blog for African Americans. A leading consultant, commentator and public speaker on African American motherhood experience, Kimberly is also a fiercely committed and highly respected advocate in the fight to reduce the high infant and maternal mortality rates and increase the low breastfeeding rates in the African American community.
Kiana Walbrook, M.P.A., is the Director of the Center for Training and Professional Development at Big Brothers Big Sisters of NYC (BBBS of NYC) and has been with the agency for five years now. Kiana has extensive experience working within youth service sectors, Community-Based Organizations (CBO’s), Faith-Based Organizations (FBO’s) and afterschool programs. She provides comprehensive on-site technical assistance, training and professional development for hundreds of non-profit organizations. Currently, she manages and facilitates the Mentoring Supervisor Certificate Program, provides volunteer training sessions and a variety of workshops for the Professional Development Workshop Series. Her experience in alternative education, training facilitation and youth development comes from her experience as an Educational Coordinator/GED Instructor at New Life of New York City Inc. Kiana holds a Master in Public Administration and Policy from Metropolitan College of New York.
Meghan Weidl, M.P.H., is the Associate Director of Adult Education and Professional Development Programs at PPNYC. Ms. Weidl manages the Capacity Building Assistance Program that assists community-based organizations in creating and nurturing sexuality-friendly agency environments. She also heads up PPNYC’s new Promotores de Salud Program that aims to increase access to sexual and reproductive health services for Latina immigrants in New York City. Prior to coming on board at PPNYC, Ms. Weidl managed a women’s HIV education and prevention program at five methadone clinics in the Bronx. She has also developed and implemented sexual and reproductive health education programs in adolescent group homes in Bolivia.
