The AGALI Team

Denise Dunning

Director – AGALI
(ddunning@ihp.org) ddunning (at) ihp (dot) org

Denise Raquel Dunning is the Program Director of the Adolescent Girls’ Advocacy & Leadership Initiative, a program implemented by International Health Programs of the Public Health Institute that promotes global health and development by enhancing the capacity of Latin American and African leaders to improve the health, education, and livelihoods of adolescent girls and young women.

Denise previously worked in the Population Program at the David and Lucile Packard Foundation on grantmaking and research in Mexico, India, Ethiopia, and the Philippines. Denise has served as a Fulbright Scholar in Honduras, working with the United Nations Development Program to implement hurricane relief efforts following Hurricane Mitch. Denise also worked as a consultant with The Population Council in Mexico City and CARE Nepal providing technical assistance to field staff implementing women’s health research and microcredit programs.

Currently pursuing a doctoral degree in Sociology at the University of California Berkeley, Denise is conducting research on youth, gender, sexuality, and HIV prevention. She received a Masters in Public Affairs from the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton University, where she focused on international development and health after graduating Summa Cum Laude from Duke University.

Denise is a native Spanish speaker who also speaks French, Portuguese, and German.

Josie Ramos, MA

Program Coordinator
(jramos@ihp.org) jramos (at) ihp (dot) org

Josie is a program coordinator for the International Health Program (IHP)’s GOJoven project at PHI. As such, she administers GOJoven’s Summit Educational Scholarship Fund, which supports youth health leaders’ educational goals. She also oversees the professional development of GOJoven’s Summit Fellows, and participates in the coordination of AGALI.

Since starting at IHP seven years ago, Ramos has worn several hats. She joined the IHP team as a program assistant. Then she took on the role of grants manager for the Compton Emergency Contraception Grants and facilitator of GOJoven, which administers the Summit Fellowship Program and provides technical assistance and health leadership training to Mexico and Central American countries.

Throughout her career, Ramos has pursued a deep interest in Latino and women’s issues. Raised by Mexican-American parents in Pasadena, California, this bilingual Spanish speaker has worked at several nonprofits including Defensa de Mujeres, a Latina-based domestic violence agency in Santa Cruz, California.

Currently, this Stanford graduate is a member of the Board of Directors at Triangle Speakers, a nonprofit that works to eliminate homophobia. She also volunteers with her neighborhood council in Oakland, California. Santa Cruz County recently nominated Ramos for a Queer Youth Leadership award.

In addition to her work as program coordinator at GOJoven, Ramos plays a key role in implementing AGALI. She also serves on PHI’s Institutional Review Board.

Emily Teitsworth, MA

AGALI Program Coordinator
(eteitsworth@phi.org) eteitsworth (at) phi (dot) org

Emily Teitsworth is the Program Coordinator for IHP/PHI’s Adolescent Girls’ Advocacy & Leadership Initiative (AGALI). Through her work on AGALI, Emilycoordinates the program’s leadership development and advocacy efforts to improve adolescent girls’ health, human rights, and socio-economic wellbeing in Guatemala, Honduras, Malawi, Liberia, and Ethiopia. Previously, Emily worked in Guatemala and Chiapas, Mexico with Root Capital, designing and managing an impact assessment of their financial service programs for coffee cooperatives. Before moving to Central America, she oversaw supplemental education programs for migrant workers and their families as a community liaison with the Massachusetts Migrant Education Program. Emily has also worked as an independent writer, editor and translator, and started her career with TransFair USA, the Fair Trade certification agency.

Emily holds a Master’s Degree in Sustainable International Development from the Heller School for Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University. She graduated magna cum laude from Wesleyan University with a degree in Philosophy and Psychology. She speaks fluent Spanish and French, as well as basic Hindi and Portuguese.

Lorena Gomez-Barris

Program Assistant
(lgomezbarris@phi.org) lgomezbarris (at) phi (dot) org

Lorena Gomez-Barris is the Program Assistant for AGALI. Lorena has worked in various administrative and production capacities over the last 15 years. At the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) she was the lead Program Assistant for both the Public Health and Communications departments. Most recently, as the Office Manager at Petaluma Community Access, she worked alongside the Executive Director to oversee three television channels and a member-supported video facility.

Lorena has a strong passion for film and has worked to produce various film festivals and has also produced several short films of her own. She served on the board of directors of Cine Acción, the oldest Latino media arts organization in San Francisco. Over the past two years, she has worked as the Latino Program Director for the Sebastopol Documentary Film Festival. She is fluent in French and Spanish and enjoys traveling and learning about different cultures.