Meet our Femtors

Director
RTI Global Gender Center; Director of Substance Use, Gender, and Applied Research Program

Wendee Wechsberg, PhD, is the Director of the RTI Global Gender Center and the Director of Substance Use, Gender, and Applied Research. She has been an applied community-based and gender NIH researcher since 1994, and has more than 20 years of clinical experience. She has also directed outpatient drug-free, methadone, and residential substance abuse treatment programs. Dr. Wechsberg has devoted her career to applied research, using both quantitative and qualitative methods, to develop and test the efficacy of HIV prevention interventions among different populations of substance abusers, particularly heroin and other opioid users. She has served a s principal investigator/project director on studies with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institute on Drug Abuse, and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. Dr. Wechsberg also serves as a consultant and advisor for various national studies and international studies. She has been conducting international research in South Africa with at-risk substance abusing women since 2001. She has published in the areas of gender and ethnicity, outreach, HIV risk, and women substance abusers. In addition to her role as research director, she also leads the RTI Global Gender Center, which brings together experts across numerous disciplines to improve knowledge, policies, and programs worldwide to reduce gender inequities and disparities

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Research Public Health Analyst
Substance Use, Gender, & Applied Research (SUGAR)
RTI International

Felicia A. Browne is a research public health analyst in RTI’s Substance Use, Gender and Applied Research Program. Trained as a social epidemiologist, Dr. Browne has more than a decade of experience working on HIV behavioral intervention studies for key populations at risk for HIV in the United States and South Africa. She is also an Adjunct Assistant Professor in Health Behavior at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) Gillings School of Global Public Health. Dr. Browne currently serves as a Multiple Principal Investigator of a National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)-funded R01 study in health department clinics in North Carolina that is adapting and testing delivery methods of an HIV behavioral intervention for young African American women who use substances. Additionally, she serves as Principal Investigator of a UNC CFAR-funded implementation science project in collaboration with Mecklenburg County Public Health to reduce HIV disparities in the Carolinas. Dr. Browne is also the Co-Project Director of a NIDA-funded R01 trial in South Africa for female adolescents who are out of school, and a Co-Investigator on two National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded R01 trial in South Africa—including one for women living with HIV. Her research interests include developing and evaluating multi-level HIV behavioral interventions for adolescents and young adults, particularly with the use of mobile technology, and understanding and addressing socioeconomic status as it relates to HIV/STI risk. Using both quantitative and qualitative research methods, Dr. Browne’s publications have focused on the systematic adaptation and refinement of HIV behavioral risk reduction interventions, the evaluation of HIV prevention interventions for key populations, health disparities, gender, and alcohol and other drug use.

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Senior Project Management Specialist

Genomics, Ethics, and Translational (GET) Research Program

RTI International

Manisha Dass is a research public health analyst at RTI International. She has a master’s degree in Occupational Science from UNC-Chapel Hill and is pursuing a second master’s degree in Public Administration at UNC-Chapel Hill. With over 5 years of experience as an occupational therapist in a variety of settings (including acute care, skilled nursing facilities, and private practice), she brings a unique clinician’s perspective to her current work at RTI International. She has a strong background in writing, as a journalist and is fluent in four foreign languages. She recently completed a professional work experience with the RTI Global Gender Center where she assisted with communications, managing social media, and planning and executing monthly events. She is passionate about wanting to change the world, one conversation at a time, and is honored to join the RTI Global Gender Center in their dedication to ending gender disparities and inequalities.

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Courtney Peasant Bonner, PhD, is a clinical psychologist in RTI’s Substance Use, Gender, and Applied Research Program. Her research interests are in primary and secondary HIV prevention. Her professional experiences include conducting community-based participatory research to examine health disparities among vulnerable populations. Currently, her research seeks to understand the impact of the intersection of gender-based violence, substance use, and mental health on sexual risk behavior to reduce health disparities among vulnerable women and children. She also specializes in developing cross-sector collaborations to develop structural and sustainable sexual health interventions.

Public Health Analyst
Substance Use, Gender, & Applied Research (SUGAR)
RTI International

Brittni Howard, is a public health analyst in the Substance Use, Gender and Applied Research Program at RTI International and Coordinator of the RTI Global Gender Center, a cross-institute virtual center comprised of nearly 300 global staff members and external affiliates. She coordinates research and project management activities across several National Institute of Health (NIH) woman-focused HIV prevention projects aimed at empowering women by reducing the syndemics of substance use, sexual risk behaviors, and gender-based violence. Her research interests include reaching adolescent girls and young women and women via new and advancing technologies to improve their access to personal health information and promote positive health behavior change. Further, Ms. Howard has been trained in qualitative data analysis and has most recently published in BMC Public Health, AIDS Care, and Drug and Alcohol Dependence.

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Research Public Health Analyst
Quality Measurement and Healthy Policy Program
RTI International

Erin Dobbins is a research public health analyst at RTI International. She received an MA in experimental social psychology where her research focused on health and medical decision making (topics included: posthumous organ donation, body image, as well as primary decision-making research). Erin’s current interests center on the intended and unintended consequences health care policy has on decision making. She is particularly interested in policies pertaining to quality and value and the intersection of physical and behavioral health care. Because these complex questions are best answered using mixed-method approaches, Erin has cultivated skills in both qualitative and quantitative methods. In addition to her primary areas of interest, Erin has graduate and undergraduate level experience with functional neuro anatomy which informs how she conceptualizes the impact of social and structural systems on human behavior. Erin favors creatively disruptive approaches to problem solving, often seeing patterns that others miss. She strives for continuous improvement in the research process by challenging the status quo.

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Research Psychologist
Center for Behavioral Health Epidemiology, Economics, and Treatment Research (BeHEEst)
RTI International

Kathy Batts is a research psychologist in RTI’s Center for Behavioral Health Epidemiology, Economics, and Treatment Research (BeHEEst)with more than 30 years of experience in conducting behavioral health research. Dr. Batts has earned a doctorate in community psychology at North Carolina State University and a master’s in psychiatric epidemiology from the Washington University School of Medicine. She is currently serving as Project Director for a study for the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development on prenatal and childhood mechanisms of health disparities, and a study director for a clinical validation study of substance use disorders for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Her project experience includes several large national surveys on health care, substance abuse, and mental health, including the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) Mental Health Surveillance study, the National Study of Americans’ Reactions to September 11th, and the National Vietnam Veterans Readjustment Study. She is a co-author of several psychiatric assessment interviews, including the Diagnostic Interview Schedule—Version IV (DIS-IV), and the Diagnostic Interview for Children and Adolescents (DICA) interviews for adolescents (aged 13 to 17) and parents of young children (aged 3 to 7). Dr. Batts has co-authored several articles for peer-reviewed publications, including the Journal of the American Medical Association. Dr. Batts’ research interests include looking at correlates and outcomes of trauma, substance use, substance use, and substance use disorders across gender and racial/ethnic groups.

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Jackie W. Ndirangu is a research public health analyst in RTI’s Substance Use, Gender and Applied Research Program. She has a master’s degree in Global Health from Duke University and bachelor’s degree in Biological Sciences from the University of Maryland, College Park. Ms. Ndirangu is trained as a public health researcher and her interests are addressing factors that influence disease prevention and health promotion among women in developing countries. She started her field work research in Haiti where she coordinated cervical cancer screening and prevention programs for over 10,000 female patients at four public health clinics. She also helped expand the cervical cancer prevention program into HIV clinics specifically targeting women who engaged in sex work in Haiti and collaborated with the local community and government partners in supporting reproductive health issues. Ms. Ndirangu has also managed and coordinated three National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded R01 studies in South Africa: Combination Prevention for Vulnerable Women in South Africa. The study compared the effects of standard HIV test, treat and retain (TTR) practices with TTR plus an evidence-based, woman-focused enhanced strategy—the Women’s Health CoOp (WHC) intervention targeting hard-to-reach and vulnerable women who use alcohol and other drugs; Implementation Science Research for Vulnerable Women in South Africa. This project sought to implement the WHC in public health clinics and substance abuse treatment centers in Cape Town, South Africa; and currently The PrEPARE Pretoria Project: Prevention, Empowering, and Protecting Young Women in South Africa. This project aims to increase uptake of sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services and readiness and uptake of PrEP among adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) aged 16 to 24 who engage in high-risk sexual behaviors; and reduce their barriers to accessing SRH services by addressing and reducing stigma and discrimination (S&D) in clinics. Ms. Ndirangu has also helped publish several manuscripts on impact of evidence-based HIV behavioral risk reduction interventions for populations who use substances, who are at risk for or living with HIV in South Africa.

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As a successful leader with 25 years of progressive work experience in both, International Development Projects and large multinationals, Ana brings a vast array of experience, from a variety of roles and industries, including the launch of new business initiatives, managing large Fortune-500 accounts, finance, project management, marketing strategy, auditing, global business development. She is a firm believer of the benefits of global mobility. She loves to explore the world and connect and be exposed to new ways of thinking. She has visited over 80 countries and has lived in Africa, Europe, Middle East, Asia and North America. These enriching experiences have allowed her to gain new perspectives and better understand the barriers women and girls face globally and it has made her realize that we need to be very intentional about addressing gender inequalities. Ana is a strong advocate for gender, equity and inclusion. She has led various inclusion-focused workplace initiatives and have provided technical gender advisory services for projects in several countries including Jordan, Mongolia, Dominican Republic, Peru, Chile, Iraq, Canada, and most recently in Rwanda, Kenya and the Philippines.

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Anne-Lyne Verella is an experienced Project Manager with over 20 years of experience working on studies spanning a variety of public health issues for the CDC, NIH, DoD, and commercial clients. Ms. Verella has successfully managed and coordinated cross-functional project teams in domestic and international settings. She has experience monitoring team performance against contracts, customer expectations, and project baselines. Ms. Verella has experience training and supervising staff, developing study management plans, writing operations manuals, field operations, and overseeing database maintenance. Ms. Veralla speaks French, English, and Haitian Creole. She has worked in Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Nigeria, Lesotho, Guinea, Dominican Republic, the Ivory Coast, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Haiti, and Togo. Ms. Verella is an innovative problem solver with exceptional project management and customer service skills. Anne-Lyne Verella is also a registered Dietician.

Crystal Daye is a Investigative Science Program Manager in the Center for Policing Research and Investigative Science at RTI International. Her criminal justice research interests include policing (operations and training), sexual assault response reform, forensics, emergency responder health and wellness, and the intersection of criminal justice and public health. Before joining RTI, I served as the accreditation manager for the Morrisville (NC) Police Department, where in 2009 she led the successful effort to obtain national accreditation from the Commission for Accreditation of Law Enforcement Agencies. She has experience in project management, training and technical assistance, law enforcement research (e.g., investigations, response practices, methods), criminal justice system response research, criminal justice practitioner continuing education and development, medicolegal death investigator operation and continuing education, technical writing, and survey development and analysis.

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Kineka J. Hull, PhD, MS, MSPH, is an educator and public health professional with 14 years of experience in public health research and practice and 20 years of experience in higher education. Dr. Hull is experienced in academic affairs and educational leadership, curriculum development, community-based participatory research, grant writing, budget management, staff training and supervision, program development, program implementation, program management, participant recruitment, project sustainability and succession planning, and instructional technology. She is highly skilled in community organization and building, with experience developing community advisory boards, youth boards, and taskforce comprised of diverse stakeholders designed to serve underserved, vulnerable, and rural populations. Dr. Hull’s main areas of research interest are adolescent and youth risk behaviors, including sexual risk behaviors, healthy relationships, and sexual abuse prevention, including human trafficking. She is certified as an educator and trainer on several evidence-based curricula aligned to her research interest. Dr. Hull has trained over 60 sexual health educators across North Carolina on various sexual health and sexual abuse evidence-based curricula.

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Melissa Dunn couples her passion for innovative solutions and amplifying learning and change within systems, organizations, teams, and individuals using rigorous, results-driven methods. This combination seeds transformational change, promotes learning and development, and creates resilient and sustainable solutions to complex problems. Leveraging deep experience working across multiple sectors and country contexts, Melissa co-designs and implements agile and human-centered approaches to local capacity development that foster enhanced performance and improved outcomes. Melissa leverages the power of coaching, behavioral economics, leadership at all levels, and creates learning cultures that support others in developing their own sustainable and resilient solutions.