Meet the Team

PRINCIPAL

Gayané is an health and human rights expert with twelve years in HIV program design, grant management, monitoring and evaluation. She brings a wide range of experience acquired in academic, civil society and international organizations, including the Joint UN Program for HIV/AIDS, and Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. Gayané has hands-on knowledge working with key populations living with HIV, as well as expertise in harm reduction programming and community systems strengthening. Her regional experience includes Eastern Europe and Central Asia, South East Asia, West and Central Africa. Gayané holds a PhD in Economic Sciences from Moscow State University, and a Master of Public Health from Karolinska Institute.

PRINCIPAL

Lindsay Menard-Freeman is the co-founder and CEO of the Torchlight Collective, bringing over a decade of activism, organizing, and forceful optimism to her work with youth, social justice, and sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR). Prior to transitioning into consulting, Lindsay worked as the Senior Manager of Youth Programs & Advocacy at Women Deliver and as the Program Manager with the Global Youth Coalition on HIV/AIDS. Lindsay has demonstrated political advocacy and communications experience, and has worked with clients such as Amnesty International, MTV Staying Alive Foundation, CARE International, Open Society Foundation, and others. Her blogs have appeared on Huffington Post and RH Reality Check, and she has led a range of trainings and workshops on messaging, digital media, and communications tactics. Lindsay has a Master’s from Columbia University in Human Rights, and B.A. from the University of New Hampshire.

FOUNDER & PRINCIPAL

Nina Sun is a human rights lawyer and advocate who has worked on global health law and policy for over a decade. Her experience includes human rights and gender equality work with international and non-governmental organizations, including the Joint UN Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), the World Health Organization and the Center for Reproductive Rights. Prior to founding Article XII, she was deputy director of global health and a clinical assistant professor at Drexel University’s Dornsife School of Public Health. Nina continues to mentor students and collaborate with faculty at Drexel. An avid writer and passionate scholar, Nina has published articles in the British Journal of Medicine, BMJ Global Health and the Journal of the International AIDS Society. She serves on the Strategic Council for the Ubuntu Center on Racism, Global Movements and Population Health Equity and is an Associate Editor for Sexual and Reproductive Health Matters. Nina holds a J.D. from the University of Maryland and a B.A. from New York University.