We’re excited to be hosting experts in the fields of conservation, reproductive health care, and reproductive rights as part of our Summer Speaker Series. Find bios and dates for each presentation below, along with a link to RSVP. Please note that titles for each talk are still pending—we will update this page when more details become available. We hope you’ll join us for what are sure to be interesting and informative conversations over the coming months!
Brian Dixon, SVP for Media and Government Relations at Population Connection and Population Connection Action Fund
Brian began his career working as a legislative assistant for U.S. Rep. Peter Kostmayer before joining Population Connection, then ZPG, in 1993. An expert on reproductive rights policy, Brian heads the advocacy programs at Population Connection and Population Connection Action Fund.
The State of Advocacy for U.S. Investments in International Family Planning Programs*
Brian will lead a conversation outlining the current U.S. policy barriers to full access to reproductive health programs around the world. He will share successes from our hard-hitting #Fight4HER campaign, aimed at repealing the Global Gag Rule forever and expanding U.S. funding for family planning services and supplies for people around the world.
* This presentation is sponsored by Population Connection Action Fund.
Thursday, May 21, at 2:00pm ET
Dr. Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka, founder and CEO of Conservation Through Public Health
Dr. Gladys is a wildlife veterinarian and conservationist. After graduating from the University of London, she established the first veterinary department in the Uganda Wildlife Authority. She led a team that investigated the first scabies outbreak in mountain gorillas, which was traced back to the people living around Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. This led her to establish the non-profit Conservation Through Public Health (CTPH) in 2003, which promotes coexistence of people, gorillas and other wildlife through addressing human and wildlife health together and improving alternative livelihoods in communities sharing their habitats with gorillas.
Responding to COVID-19 through a One Health approach to Gorilla Conservation
Watch Dr. Gladys’s presentation below!
Rodrigo Barillas, MD, Executive Director of WINGS Guatemala
Rodrigo is the Executive Director of WINGS, a non-profit that provides quality reproductive health education and services to primarily indigenous Guatemalans. He has over 15 years of experience working in both the private and public health sectors in Guatemala and the U.S. He is also a current member of Population Connection’s Board of Directors.
Michelle Dubon, MD, Medical Director of WINGS Guatemala
Since 2015, Dr. Dubón has overseen all technical aspects of clinical services provided by WINGS. She has been in practice since 2004 and has specialized in OB-GYN services since 2008. Michelle was part of the 2019 class of the Aspen Institute New Voices Fellowship, a group of 25 leaders from the Global South who work on the frontlines of global development and health.
