Kari White, Ph.D., MPH, is an Associate Professor of Social Work and Sociology at The University of Texas at Austin and the Principal Investigator of the Mississippi & Louisiana Reproductive Health Access Project. She conducts health services research using qualitative and quantitative methods to assess how health service delivery models and policies affect access to and use of abortion and contraceptive services. Her research on reproductive health services in the US South has included several prospective studies on women’s access to post-abortion contraception in Mississippi and a multi-site, mixed methods study assessing minors’ access to abortion.
Whitney Arey, is a Postdoctoral Researcher with the Mississippi & Louisiana Reproductive Health Access Project at the University of Texas at Austin Population Research Center. She is a medical anthropologist with training in population health and gender studies. Her work focuses on abortion access, decision-making, and clinic protesting in the southern U.S.
Claire Gwyn is the Communications & Operations Coordinator with the Mississippi & Louisiana Reproductive Health Access Project. She is a Certified Childbirth Educator, Lactation Counselor, Abortion Doula, and artist. Her work focuses primarily on educating people on their human rights in regards to sexual and reproductive health.
Klaira Lerma, MPH, is the Research Director at the Population Research Center. At the Mississippi & Louisiana Reproductive Health Access Project, she supports various study initiatives. Klaira holds a Master of Public Health degree from the Colorado School of Public Health at the University of Colorado. Klaira’s experience specific to family planning is diverse, including qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods research and evaluation, policy advocacy, health education, and direct clinical services.
Amanda Nagle, MPH, is a doctoral student in The University of Texas Department of Sociology where she researches access to reproductive justice in the United States. She grew up in Texas and Alabama, which has influenced her interest in the social structures of the Southeast and the wellbeing of the people who live there.
Gracia Sierra, PhD, MA, is a Statistician at the Mississippi & Louisiana Reproductive Health Access Project. She received her PhD in Sociology with specializations in Demography and Population Health from The University of Texas at Austin and her master’s degree in Economics with a focus in Applied Econometrics from Duke University. Gracia’s research interests include using advanced statistical methods and causal inference methods to study the impact of different policies on reproductive health. Her work at MRHAP has focused on assessing the association between indicators of socioeconomic disadvantage and geographic accessibility of reproductive health services and abortions in MS. She has also contributed to analyses looking at access to reproductive healthcare in MS focusing on knowledge, preference, and use of different contraceptive methods.