The Guttmacher Institute’s Board of Directors is pleased to announce that it has selected Ann M. Starrs to be the Institute’s next president and CEO. She will assume the position in early August. Ms. Starrs, who has worked in the field of reproductive, maternal and newborn health for 28 years, is currently president of Family Care International, a nongovernmental organization dedicated to making pregnancy and childbirth safer in the developing world. She will become the Institute’s fifth president in the 46 years since its founding. Ms. Starrs will fill the position formerly held by Dr. Sharon Camp, who left the Institute in 2013.
"After what has been a thorough and careful search, we are thrilled to name Ann Starrs to be the Institute’s next president and CEO," said Dr. Nadine Peacock, chair of Guttmacher’s Board of Directors. "We are confident that Ann will carry forth Guttmacher’s mission and build upon its strong reputation as a leading think tank in the field of sexual and reproductive health."
Ms. Starrs is president of Family Care International, which she helped co-found in 1986. She is widely recognized as a respected technical expert in reproductive and maternal health, having authored or coauthored numerous papers and commentaries on global health policy issues. She is also among the leading public spokespersons on maternal health policy and an influential advocate for the health and rights of women and adolescent girls worldwide. Ms. Starrs served as cochair of the Board of the Partnership for Maternal, Newborn & Child Health from 2005-2011 and is currently a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and of the Developed Country NGO Delegation to the Board of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. Trained in development economics and demography, she holds a master’s degree from Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs and a certificate in demography from Princeton’s Office of Population Research. She received her undergraduate degree from the University of California, Santa Cruz.
"I have long admired the Guttmacher Institute and am deeply honored to be selected to lead this stellar organization, which is known worldwide for its scientific rigor," said Ms. Starrs. "Guttmacher’s work sets the standard for research, policy analysis and public education in the field. I look forward to joining its dedicated staff and working with them to continue to increase the Institute’s impact, reach and standing."
Now in its fifth decade, the Guttmacher Institute works to advance sexual and reproductive health and rights through its program of research, policy analysis and public education. Working both domestically and internationally, the Institute produces a wide range of resources, including two peer-reviewed journals, Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health and International Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health, and the public policy journal Guttmacher Policy Review. Its work on family planning, abortion, teen and unplanned pregnancy, sexuality education, and the financing of service provision, among other topics, is widely respected and used by policymakers, health care providers, academics, researchers and advocates to inform debates and promote sound policies and programs. The Institute’s overarching goal is to ensure the highest standard of sexual and reproductive health for all people worldwide.