Ilene Speizer

Dr. Ilene Speizer is a Professor in the Department of Maternal and Child Health at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Gillings School of Global Public Health. She is also a Faculty Fellow at the Carolina Population Center. Her research focuses on family planning, HIV prevention, and adolescent reproductive health in sub-Saharan Africa, Haiti, and India. Dr. Speizer leads global health initiatives, including a USAID-funded evaluation of adolescent health programs in Bangladesh and a Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation-funded project to improve youth contraceptive access in Kenya, Burkina Faso, and Niger. She has extensive experience in program evaluation, data collection, and stakeholder engagement.

Education: PhD in Demography from Johns Hopkins University (1994), MHS in Demography from Johns Hopkins (1991), BA in Math/French from Washington University (1987).

Research Interests: Global health equity, maternal and child health, family planning policy, and program sustainability. Her work emphasizes evidence-based approaches to reduce barriers to reproductive health services for marginalized populations.

Grants & Leadership: Principal Investigator for multiple high-profile grants, including a $4M Gates Foundation grant (2017–2021) and the Full Access, Full Choice project (ended 2024). Co-leads the Gillings MPH Global Health Concentration and serves on committees at the Carolina Population Center and Gillings School. Active in global initiatives like the IUSSP panels on family planning measurement and urban programs.

Awards: RTI University Scholar (2016–2017). Her work has been featured in journals like Reproductive Health, PLOS ONE, and BMC Public Health.