Rebecka Lundgren is an applied anthropologist with 35 years of experience in implementation science, and expertise in family planning, adolescence, social norms and gender-based violence. She brings broad research experience in sexual and reproductive health in 18 countries including 12 years managing operations research programs in Latin America. She currently leads Agency for All, a USAID-funded project to generate evidence on agency and effective social and behavior change strategies through local partnerships. She also led Passages, a USAID-funded project designed to bridge the gap between science and effective policy and practice through research, technical assistance and catalytic support for social norms-focused adolescent sexual and reproductive health interventions. Rebecka is recognized for innovative mixed-methods approaches to designing, monitoring and evaluating gender transformative programs for youth, with a particular focus on early adolescents. Dr. Lundgren has authored over 35 peer reviewed articles and book chapters.

Katherine Hay is a Distinguished Fellow in Gender Equity and Health, and a Senior Strategy advisor at UCSD. Prior to joining UCSD, for eight years Katherine was a Deputy Director at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, where she led work to evaluate large-scale health and gender empowerment program in low resource settings, and co- developed the foundation’s first Gender Equality strategy. She also spent 12 years with the International Development Research Centre in New Delhi, where she led efforts to evaluate global health, gender, and economic policies and programs. Throughout her career, Katherine has been a consistent voice for gender and equity in policy, research, evaluation, and change. Named one of the world’s most influential people in gender policy by Apolitical, she has helped foster new think tanks and institutions on gender and health in Africa and Asia, and established dozens of initiatives and investments resulting in enduring global research collaboratives. She has dozens of peer-reviewed publications, including several in leading medical journals such as the Lancet.

Katherine and Rebecka replace GEH Founder and Director Dr Anita Raj, who joins Tulane University’s Newcomb Institute. Says Chancellor Pradeep Khosla, “After more than a decade with UC San Diego, I am proud to see Dr. Raj transition into a prominent leadership role at Tulane University. Dr. Lundgren and Ms. Hay will take on a co- leadership role in which their significant technical expertise and diverse and complementary strengths will ensure the Center on Gender Equity and Health continues to deliver impactful work in support of our regional and global community. I look forward to their continued work and strong partnership to address disparities and further health equity for all.”

Rebecka and Katherine are particularly interested in new models of shared leadership, hence the new Co- Directorship model. UCSD is committed to building on GEH’s 10-year strong foundation of creating innovative, impactful research and training on gender inequities, with the goal of producing impact at scale in partnership with communities, governments, NGOs and INGOs, and academic institutions.

We believe gender equity, health, and dignity for all people is achievable.

Please feel free to reach out to any of us for more information. Email: geh@ucsd.edu

Media contacts:
Scott LaFee: 858-249-0465; slafee@health.ucsd.edu
Yadira Galindo: 619-379-3977; y2galindo2@ucsd.edu