The Innovating Education team is comprised of professionals with broad expertise. Under the leadership of Professor Jody Steinauer, we have created a hub for cutting edge curricula to teach abortion and family planning to health professionals at all levels. We conduct research on family planning teaching, training, and post-training practice as well as offer in person and digital training through eLearning, flipped classroom curricula, and digital tools for hands on training.
Jody Steinauer, MD, MAS
Dr. Steinauer is a Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), based at San Francisco General Hospital. She is the Director of Innovating Education in Reproductive Health, the Director of Research and Evaluation for the Kenneth J. Ryan Residency Training Program in Abortion and Family Planning, and the Co-director of the Fellowship in Family Planning at UCSF. She received her medical degree and also completed her residency training in Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences at UCSF. She then completed fellowship in Family Planning at UCSF. Dr. Steinauer provides clinical care and teaches at San Francisco General Hospital. She is currently a PhD candidate in Health Professions Education in the University Medical Center Utrecht-UCSF joint program.
Biftu Mengesha, MD, MAS
Dr. Mengesha is an Assistant Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) within the division of the Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital (ZSFG), where she provides clinical care. She is the Associate Director of Innovating Education in Reproductive Health, Medical Director of Obstetrics and Co-director of Equity in the department of OBGYN at ZSFG and is a John A. Watson scholar. She completed medical school and her Obstetrics and Gynecology residency training at Northwestern University. She then completed her fellowship in Family Planning at UCSF.
Felisa Preskill, MPP
Ms. Preskill has over 10 years of experience working to improve access to abortion and enhance teaching in abortion and sexual and reproductive health. Through Innovating Education in Reproductive Health, Ms. Preskill leads the team in creating digital content to address the omission of abortion from many health professions curricula and to apply the most up-to-date educational theory to teaching in this arena. She has designed, implemented, and published both quantitative and qualitative studies on abortion training, abortion practice after residency, and other SRH topics. In 2018, Ms Preskill was a fellow with the Women’s Policy Institute working to pass a bill in the California State legislature to require public university health centers to provide medication abortion. She holds a Master of Public Policy degree from the Goldman School at UC Berkeley, and a BA from Brown University.
Stefanie Boltz, MPP
Ms. Boltz oversees development and production of video curricula, digital tools, and trainings for Innovating Education in Reproductive Health at the University of California, San Francisco. Prior to Innovating Education in Reproductive Health, Ms. Boltz spent 8 years at The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, where she developed and directed national youth and college programs, managed media, video, and digital projects, and provided technical assistance to federal, state and local agencies. In her role, she also helped launch Bedsider, an online birth control support network, and created and launched the Bedsider Campus Ambassador program.
Jema Turk, PhD, MA, MPP
Dr. Turk manages the research and evaluation efforts of the national Ryan Residency Training Program. She has published multiple quantitative and qualitative studies on abortion training and most recently led a national study of chief residents regarding their training in family planning. Dr. Turk is currently co-leading a prospective cohort study on obgyns and their family planning practice post-residency. Prior to UCSF, Dr. Turk acted as a research associate at Stanford University’s Clayman Institute for Gender Research, where she oversaw research analyses for a national study on dual-academic career couples.
Amanda Sawyer, MA
Ms. Sawyer serves as the Communications and Outreach Manager for Innovating Education in Reproductive Health. She manages Innovating Education’s online presence and creates materials and strategy for outreach efforts. Prior to joining Innovating Education in Reproductive Health, Ms. Sawyer worked as the Multimedia Manager for the University of South Florida. Before her role in multimedia, Ms. Sawyer worked with Manna Project International, a community development organization in Nicaragua.
Cassandra Carver, MPA
Ms. Carver is the Program & Outreach Coordinator for Innovating Education in Reproductive Health. She supports operations and outreach for Innovating Education in Reproductive Health. Prior to joining the UCSF team, Ms. Carver served in Botswana as a Peace Corps health volunteer. During her service she cultivated a passion for sexual and reproductive health by facilitating empowerment programs for girls and interviewing queer women around Botswana to better understand the intersections of gender, sexual orientation, and HIV.
Aliza Adler
Ms. Adler is the Program and Academic Coordinator for Innovating Education in Reproductive Health. She provides administrative and academic research support for Dr. Jody Steinauer and office support for the whole team. Prior to joining Innovating Education, Ms. Adler worked in a Planned Parenthood Northern California clinic, delivering direct patient care and education. Her passion for sexual and reproductive health started during her time at Scripps College, where she studied human biology and was deeply involved with planning and implementing educational events and programs for her peers on this subject matter.