Meet Our Collective
Established in 2020, Pandemic Periods is a global group of volunteers on a mission to elevate menstrual health during this pandemic, and to further establish it’s importance in the post COVID-19 pandemic world. Our group is multicultural, interdisciplinary, and regionally diverse. We practice ethical leadership and discussion, and we aim to elevate each other. Together, we are stronger and more creative.
Dr. Jennifer Martin
Global Director
Dr. Jennifer S. Martin is an award-winning global health professional and Menstrual Rights Activist. She has worked on global and grassroots advocacy, and research projects focusing on menstrual health since 2014. She led local and global campaigns surrounding menstrual health in the context of WASH, sexual and reproductive health rights, gender equality, and behaviour change.
She has also worked on universal health coverage and non-communicable disease programmes in the public, private and third sector leading projects across India, Bangladesh, USA, Scotland, Colombia, England, Malawi, Kenya, South Africa, Brazil, Mexico, Nigeria, Nepal, and Zimbabwe.
She has a NIHR-funded PhD in Public Health from the UniversityCollege London Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, and a master’s from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
Victoria Heaney
Senior Advisor
Founder of #FreePeriodsScotland
Halima Lila
Senior Advisor
Based in Tanzania, Halima is the Regional Coordinator for Menstrual Health and Youth Participation for the UNFPA African Coalition for Menstrual Health Management, she is the Founder and Executive Director of Hope Centre for Children, Girls and Women in Tanzania, and she Leads SheDecides, Tanzania. She considers herself to be a global public health specialist, with a special interest in international sexual and reproductive health and rights advocate.
Laura Nyiha
Kenya Correspondent
General Secretary of Federation of African Medical Students’ Association, & Medical Student
Ruth Oladele
Nigeria Correspondent
Physiotherapist, and Administrative Officer, Slum and Rural Health Initiative Network
Karan Babbar
Research Fellow
PhD Student, Indian Institute of Management
Karan Babbar is a PhD Scholar at Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad. His research focus lies in the intersection of education and sexual and reproductive health with a focus on gender. He critically engages with issues of social concern like gender, menstruation through media articles, movies and documentaries, and creating awareness about them on the social media platform.
Becca Residorf
Research Lead
MPH Student and WGH Chile Lead
Alhelí Calderón
Mexico Correspondent
Choolwe Jacobs
Zambia Correspondent
public health specialist & Epidemiologist
Claire hunt
ireland Correspondent
Claire Hunt is the founder and general manager of Homeless Period Ireland, a volunteer initiative that was founded to provide free period products to women & girls in need.
Claire is passionate about changing the negative perceptions of menstruation and normalizing the subject of women’s health through education.
In 2019 Claire was the driving force behind an all-female cross-party motion in Dáil Éireann (Irish Parliament) that proposed the provision of free period products in all schools and universities which was passed by the house.
Dina Saintilmon
Haiti Correspondent
Dina is a medical student from Haiti. She is also a social activist who has participated in many projects of the Haitian association of medical students (AHEM-IFMSA) – first as coordinator of the commission on human rights, then as coordinator of health campaigns, and finally as vice president of external affairs.
She is a dynamic girl with a critical mind. She has an interest in social medicine, public health, research, women, and children’s rights.
Ursula Maschette
Brazil Correspondent
urdula is a psychologist and menstrual health researcher, with a master’s degree in education, health promotion and international development from university college London. Her studies at UCL focused on menstrual health promotion and education in Brazilian schools. she has 10 years of experience working in community-based research with. focus on SRH, menstrual health, education, health promotion, and public health.
Ivonne Rodríguez Díaz is a journalist, communications and partnerships specialist. Feminist and human rights advocate.
Ateeb Ahmad Parray
Senior Editor
Ateeb Ahmad Parray is a global health researcher and intersectional feminist based in Bangladesh at BRAC James P Grant School of Public Health, BRAC University. He works in the areas of gender, sexual and reproductive health, humanitarian emergencies, intersectionality, health systems and health policy with a special focus on vulnerable and marginalized populations including urban informal settlement dwellers and displaced populations. Ateeb Co-Chairs the SHAPES Thematic working group of Health Systems Global and serves as the Country Director (Bangladesh) of the STAR Scholars network which envisions to advance global social mobility by using research and advocacy. Ateeb is also co-lead of the ‘intersectionality’ and ‘humanitarian emergencies’ sub-groups under Gender and COVID-19 initiative. Ateeb holds a Masters degree in Social Sciences from the University of Dhaka and a Masters degree in Public Health from BRAC James P Grant School of Public Health, BRAC University.
Fatima Umar
Editor-in-chief
Fatima Umar is a student of Peace and Conflict Studies at National Defence University, Islamabad. She completed her initial years of education at Islamabad Convent School. She has done several courses related to her field from the United States Institute of Peace and Harvard University on ‘Conflict Analysis, Introduction to Peacebuilding, and Humanitarian Response to Conflict and Disaster, respectively. She is a Research Assistant for PolicyEast, a Columnist for The Nation, and an author of various articles for The Frontier Post and Modern Diplomacy. She is serving as Peace and Security Researcher at Platform for Peace and Humanity. Her areas of research include Theories of International Relations, Theories of Peace and Conflict Studies, Conflict Resolution, Conflict Transformation, Conflict Analysis, Huma Security, International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights in conflict scenarios, contemporary global conflicts, Peace Processes, and Peacebuilding, the Middle East, the Mediterranean, and South Asia.
Eunice Kilonzo
Crisis Communications Specialist
Eunice Kilonzo is an award-winning Health Communications and (Social) Media Specialist currently a Manager, Content Generation at Safaricom PLC. Her immediate former role was with the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) HQ in Nairobi, Kenya as a Social Media and Content Consultant. Eunice has extensive hands-on experience in organizational communications and media management across a range of sectors: health, science, environment, technology, financial services and development. Her expertise includes multimedia editorial development, storytelling training, stakeholder management, internal communications, social media and digital publishing.
She is fascinated with newer forms of storytelling and content creation, generation and sharing. She also creates monthly video series, #KalundeLearns, an online storytelling platform for creators and creatives. The monthly video series affords you a front-row seat to learn how people have turned their passion into a lifestyle and a living.
Pooja Banerjee
Research Associate
Pooja is an international development professional with over 13 years of experience in managing gender, children’s rights, and menstrual health projects around the globe. Her research interest lies in gender issues, menstrual health, girls’ education, and child protection. She is currently working with Right To Play as Manager, Institutional Partnerships, and oversees the institutional fundraising portfolio in the US. She is a graduate of the Tata Institute of Social Sciences and New York University. She is a travel and jazz music enthusiast, writer, and advocate of multi-sector partnerships to improve the health and education system
Ruth Kamu
Research Associate
Ruth Kamau is a Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRH) advocate with experience in social and behaviour change communication based in Kenya. She advocates for for access to affordable SRH services and story-telling to influence positive change in matters Gender Equality. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Population Health and is currently pursuing her Master’s Degree in Public Health with 3+ years’ experience in the NGO sector. She is passionate about working and running programs with women and girls from Low and Middle Income Countries by empowering them and passing on knowledge about their freedom and rights when it comes to their reproductive health. In her spare time, Ruth enjoys reading self-help books, moving to a good Latin dance or hiking and chasing waterfalls.
Torgyn Issa
Kazakhstan Correspondent
Torgyn Issa is a research assistant at Nazarbayev University in Kazakhstan. The topic of her current research is a molecular epidemiological study to determine the prevalence of oncogenic HPV strains for cervical cancer prevention in Kazakhstan. Her major research studies are women’s health, occupational health, public health related social issues.
Oluwatoyosi Ayodele
Research Assistant
Oluwatoyosi Ayodele ‘Toyo’ is a human rights enthusiast. She holds a bachelor of laws degree from University of Abuja, Nigeria. She is currently rounding up her masters in international human rights law from the Irish Centre For Human Rights at NUI Galway. She previously worked with leading international human rights organisation- Amnesty International, researching and campaigning for economic social and cultural rights of vulnerable groups. She has a keen interest in research and advocacy aimed at promoting gender equality and fostering policy change. In April 2021, she co-authored a report that addressed the links between menstrual health and human rights.
Erza Selmani
Research Associate
Erza Selmani, orginally from Kosovo, is completing her master’s dissertation at the University of Strathclyde in Digital Health Systems. Her experience is mainly in research and projects closely related to health and social science. Her ambition is to become a change-maker in the field of health in particular for socially disadvantaged groups.
Manal Bidar
Project Officer
Manal Bidar is a Moroccan Youth Advocate, Climate Activist and Feminist. She is currently the Communications Lead for YOUNGO, the Official Youth Constituency of the UNFCCC. She has previous experience managing a national project focused on mobilizing young people and is currently pursuing her undergraduate studies in both International Relations and Business Administration
Zuhrat Inam
Deputy Bangladesh Correspondent
Zuhrat Inam is a global health professional based in Bangladesh and currently working in the Rohingya refugee response in Cox’s Bazar at the International Rescue Committee (IRC). She completed her Bachelors in Economics and Political Science from the University of Minnesota- Twin Cities and her Masters in International Development and Humanitarian Emergencies from the London School of Economics and Political Science. She previously worked as a researcher at the BRAC James P Grant School of Public Health, also in the Rohingya refugee crisis. She is enthusiastic about health in humanitarian emergencies, sexual and reproductive health and rights, and refugee health.
Antonia Theodorakopoulou
Strategy Consultant
Antonia, originally from Greece, is an awarded multi-startup co-founder and leader of national and international initiatives. She recently finished her MSci in Computational Chemistry at KCL and she is currently undergoing an academic program in Innovation & Strategy at HBS. She is passionate about human rights and gender equality, and she hopes to create positive social refashioning through social enterprises.
Mara Ferrari
Research Assistant
Mara Ferrari is a graduate Master of Global Health student at Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal). She obtained her Nursing Degree in 2012, followed by a Tropical Nursing Diploma at Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM). She has eight years of clinical experience as a Registered Nurse in various hospital departments. She has also served as Capacity Building and a Nurse Coordinator in humanitarian missions in African refugee camps and a paediatric hospital in South-East Asia. She is an active member of SaluteGlobale.