who we are

who we are
Healthy Teen Network and Johns Hopkins Center for Adolescent Health have partnered to create Thrivology.
Together, we make a team with extensive experience conducting and translating research, implementing and evaluating evidence-based approaches, providing capacity-building assistance, driving innovation, and working with diverse professionals, communities, and youth populations.
Collaboration is key in everything we do. That’s why we work alongside our Research Alliance to collectively brainstorm, ideate, create, and disseminate resources that you can use in the real world.
The Research Alliance is made up of adolescent health researchers, design researchers, youth-supporting professionals and practitioners, and young people. Research Alliance members bring a wealth of knowledge from their experiences and are an essential part of how Thrivology creates practical resources.
Thrivology is a research-to-practice center, funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Population Affairs (OPA), that works to expand the delivery of trauma-informed, healing-centered, and inclusive practices in adolescent sexual and reproductive health programming and care.



Healthy Teen Network and Johns Hopkins Center for Adolescent Health have joined together to create Thrivology. Together, we make a team with extensive experience conducting and translating research, implementing and evaluating evidence-based approaches, providing capacity-building assistance, driving innovation, and working with diverse professionals, communities, and youth populations.

Milagros Garrido, MS, PMP
Project Director
Director, Innovation & Research
Healthy Teen Network

Beth Marshall, MPH, DrPH
Principal Investigator
Associate Director
Johns Hopkins Center for Adolescent Health

Charlie Blue Brahm, MA
Design Researcher
Healthy Teen Network

Emily (Skywark) Connor, MPH
Design Coach
Healthy Teen Network

Arianna de la Mancha
Communications Designer
Healthy Teen Network

Bianca Devoto, MSPH
Senior Manager, Innovation & Research
Healthy Teen Network

Gina Desiderio, MA
Director, Communications
Healthy Teen Network

Kaitlyn LaBonte, LMSW
Project Coordinator
Healthy Teen Network

Patricia Natalie, MA
Design Researcher
Healthy Teen Network

Jennifer Patino-Perez, B.S
Project Coordinator
Healthy Teen Network

Mackenzie Piper, MPH, CHES
Training & Instructional Design Manager
Healthy Teen Network

Terrinieka Powell, PhD
Associate Professor
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

Annie Smith, PhD
Assistant Scientist
Johns Hopkins Center for Adolescent Health

Montrell Vass
Research Assistant
Johns Hopkins Center for Adolescent Health

Paige Wilson
Communications Specialist
Johns Hopkins Center for Adolescent Health


Collaboration is key in everything we do. The Research Alliance is made up of adolescent health researchers, design researchers, youth-supporting professionals and practitioners, and young people. Research Alliance members bring a wealth of knowledge from their experiences and are an essential part of how Thrivology creates practical resources.

Justine Ang Fonte, M.Ed, MPH
Founder of JAF Kalusugan, LLC

Nicole Bennett, MPH
Service Design Lead
Laerdal Medical

Caricia Catalani
Head of Design
Verily, Google Alphabet

Jack Duroc-Danner M.A.Ed. CSE LMT CEIM
AASECT Certified Sexuality Educator

Jennifer Farmer, PhD, CHES
Clinical Assistant Professor
University of Houston

Tracie Gilbert, PhD
Independent Sexuality Educator

Mansi Gupta
Founder
Unconform

Calvin Liang, PhD
Mancosh Postdoctoral Fellow

Lauren Lapointe, MPH
Sexual and Reproductive Health Program Manager
Latin American Youth Center

Isaiah Lawrence
Trans Health Navigator
STAR TRACK Adolescent Health Program

Kathryn Macapagal
Associate Director, THRIVE Center
Institute for Sexual and Gender Minority Health and Wellbeing

Ryan Mateo Sharnbroich
Director of Professional Learning and Sexuality Education
Cardea

Cody Ragonese, MPH
Senior Program Officer
Equimundo: Center for Masculinities and Social Justice

Elise Roy
Founder
Elisa Roy, LLC

Nefertari Sloan
Sex Educator
Sloan’s Solutions

Dana Thomas
Director, Adolescent Health Initiative
University of Michigan Health

Cody Van Felden
Youth Advocate Mentor
Advocates for Youth

Ariyanna White
Assistant Clinical Training Director
Atlanta Therapeutic Collective, LLC
The Latest from Thrivology
This project is supported by the Office of Population Affairs (OPA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of a financial assistance award (1 PHEPA000006-01) totaling $1,063,776.35 with 100 percent funded by OPA/OASH/HHS. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by OPA/OASH/HHS, or the U.S. Government. For more information, please visit opa.hhs.gov.