Program Leadership
Suellen Miller, PhD, CNM
Director | Safe Motherhood Program, Bixby Center for Global Reproductive Health, UCSF
Principal Investigator and Ignitor of NASG Projects
Professor | Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, UCSF
Emerita Professor | Maternal and Child Health Program, School of Public Health, UC Berkeley
Alison El Ayadi, ScD, MPH
Associate Professor | Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences & Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, UCSF
Core Faculty & Staff
Michelle Skaer Therrien, MPH
Project Director | Safe Motherhood NASG Programs
Executive Director | International Childbirth Initiative
Michelle Skaer Therrien is the Project Director for NASG programs within the Safe Motherhood Program and the Executive Director of the International Childbirth Initiative (ICI), a respectful maternity care platform that supports facilities in 35+ countries. Her work focuses on promotion of evidence-based practices, protection of women’s rights, and education of healthcare providers. She also serves as Principal Investigator for maternal and child health research in Kenya and Haiti.
Monica Getahun, MPH
Research Program Director | Bixby Center for Global Reproductive Health, UCSF
Monica Getahun is the Research Program Director, overseeing research and operations for sub-Saharan African programs. With over 15 years of experience in applied research and evaluation, she has collaborated with governments, consultancies, and non-profits in health and education. Her interests include evaluation, research capacity building, equity and inclusion in the research process. Monica works on projects in maternal health, HIV/AIDS, reproductive health, implementation science, child and adolescent health, COVID-19, and climate. Her research takes place in California and sub-Saharan Africa, including Ethiopia, Kenya, Ghana, Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Uganda.
Abner Korn, MD
Professor | Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences, UCSF
Dr. Korn is a Professor and Director of Gynecology at the San Francisco General Hospital. His work is largely around surgical education, Obstetric fistula repair, recovery, African healthcare provider training and support in Rwanda and Uganda.
Jackie Odiase
Research Data Analyist | Institute for Global Health Sciences, UCSF
Ms. Odiase serves as a Research Analyst. Jacqueline obtained her M.S. in Global Health Sciences at UCSF and her B.A. in Psychology at UCLA. She also works with other projects in the Institute of Global Health Sciences (IGHS) related to maternal and child health, human mobility, and HIV.
Nessa Ryan, PhD, MPH
Dr. Ryan is a Social Epidemiologist, Implementation Scientist, and Adjunct Professor with over 10 years of experience in designing, implementing, and conducting epidemiological studies that inform public health interventions and strategies. Her work focuses on gender and health and includes improving vaccine uptake, preventing maternal morbidity and mortality, reducing the burden of chronic and infectious diseases, and addressing health-related stigma both in the U.S. and globally.
Sarah Reed-Guy
Intern | Safe Motherhood Program, UCSF
Sarah Reed-Guy is currently the Safe Motherhood Program Intern and an MPH student at UC Berkeley, focusing on epidemiology and maternal health. She received her Bachelor of Science in Ecology, Behavior, and Evolutionary Biology from UCLA. Her research interests include respectful maternity care and she specializes in analysis and design for effective healthcare communication.
Maddie Wong, MS
Program Coordinator | Center for Global Nursing & Bixby Center for Global Reproductive Health, UCSF
Maddie Wong is a program coordinator within the Institute for Global Health Sciences at the University of California, San Francisco. She obtained her MS in Global Health Sciences from UCSF, and her BS in Health Sciences from Northeastern University. Maddie's research interests include maternal and reproductive health, improving access to care, and health equity. Maddie has worked on several studies addressing female genital fistula in sub-Saharan Africa and has collaborated on a variety of studies evaluating nursing education across the globe.