SHANTI R. CONLY

202-712-0892 (w)

e-mail:

EDUCATION

PrincetonUniversity, Master of Public Affairs (M.P.A.), 1977

Woodrow WilsonSchool of Public and International Affairs:

Field: Development Economics/Population Studies

University of Pennsylvania, Bachelor of Arts, 1975

Field: International Relations; Honors: Summa cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), WashingtonD.C.

Senior Technical Advisor, Global Health Bureau: July 1999 to present

Provide technical leadership in youth reproductive health and HIV prevention to USAID’s Global Health Bureau and field Missions:

Designed a new global flagship project, “YouthNet,” to advance youth reproductive health.

Manage dedicated youth activities funded by the Bureau, including YouthNet, the predecessor FOCUS on Young Adults project, and USAID’s former grant to IPPF.

  • Strengthen coordination of youth activities across USAID organizational units and sectors, cooperating agencies, and other donor agencies.
  • Serve as the focal point (“Country Coordinator”) within the Bureau for Global Health for USAID’s population and health program in India.

Population Action International (PAI), Washington, D.C.

Director, Policy Research: 1990 to 1999; Senior Policy Analyst: 1987-1989

Led PAI's policy research program, communicating key population and family planning issues to policy audiences and the public through influential publications and extensive media outreach.

  • Conceptualized and managed publications program covering a wide range of topics; oversaw a staff of six; researched and wrote selected studies and supervised preparation of others.
  • Publications included analyses of family planning efforts in key countries, financing/donor assistance for these efforts, and cutting-edge reproductive health technologies; PAI’s signature wallcharts tracking global trends; and newsletter on international population assistance.
  • Oversaw design and dissemination of publications including targeted mailings to key policymakers; organized fora to advance report recommendations. Extensive media work included numerous press briefings, radio interviews, and several television appearances.

U.S. Agency for International Development, Egypt

Evaluation Officer: 1985-87

Strengthened evaluation across USAID/Egypt’s $800 million development assistance program.

  • Improved evaluation quality by emphasizing empirical data collection in the design of new projects; strengthened ongoing evaluation efforts; and initiated rapid impact studies in major ongoing USAID infrastructure projects, influencing subsequent USAID investments.
  • Organized evaluation workshops for USAID staff and their Egyptian counterparts at all levels.
  • Received meritorious award from USAID.

U.S. Agency for International Development, Dhaka, Bangladesh

Coordinator, NGO Family Planning Program: 1981-84

Managed a major expansion of USAID supported non-governmental family planning activities, laying the groundwork for one of the largest national NGO programs, serving millions of clients.

  • Program manager with responsibility for negotiating and overseeing $6 million a year in funding agreements with U.S. and Bangladeshi NGOs.
  • Oversight for over 100 subprojects providing community-based and clinical services under these agreements; improved systems for performance monitoring and for contraceptive supply.

Family Planning International Assistance, Bangladesh

Program Officer: 1979-80

Managed grants to grass-roots agencies for community-based family planning projects.

  • Developed and negotiated projects with local organizations; provided technical assistance to grantees; monitored and evaluated project performance.

The World Bank, Education Department, Washington, D.C.

Research Associate: 1978

Carried out operations analysis of Bank education projects.

  • Co-authored evaluation of the Bank's experience with support for vocational curricula.
  • Wrote guide to Bank education lending and project development for borrower governments.

CONSULTANCIES

POPTECH/BHM International, Arlington, VA: February-March 1995

Team leader for nine-person evaluation team for USAID worldwide Family Planning Services Project implemented by Pathfinder International; field work in Turkey and Indonesia.

POPTECH/ISTI, WashingtonD.C.: February 1993

Team member on evaluation of USAID worldwide Family Planning Service Expansion and Technical Services Project implemented by John Snow Inc.; field work in Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Kenya, Zimbabwe and Tanzania.

The World Bank, Africa Region Technical Department: July 1990

Team member on evaluation to assess progress in implementing recommendations of 1989 Africa Region Task Force on Population. Primary author of evaluation report.

USAID Mission, Islamabad, Pakistan: January-June 1990

Served briefly as USAID's Private Sector Officer for health and population. Managed AID-funded NGO family planning activities; designed/managed first phase of a major health financing study.

The Enterprise Program, John Snow Inc., Bangladesh: April 1988

Team member on private sector family planning assessment in Bangladesh, assessing the potential for expansion of the role of the private non-profit and commercial sectors.

USAID Mission, Niamey, Niger: Summers of 1979 and 1980

Consultant, contracted to carry out a series of research activities and economic analyses.

The Ford Foundation, Lagos, Nigeria: Summer 1976

As a graduate student intern, evaluated Foundation grants for institutional development in the fields of agricultural research, technical education, and maternal and child health.

LEADERSHIP AND PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS

  • Member, American Public Health Association
  • Reproductive Health Advisory Board, Public Radio International (1998-99)
  • UNFPA Resource Flows Advisory Group (1998-99)

PUBLICATIONS

Author/ lead co-author of the following PAI publications and monographs:

Country Studies

#1: China's Family Planning Program: Challenging the Myths. 1992.

#2: India's Family Planning Challenge: From Rhetoric to Action. 1992.

Population Policy Information Kits

No. 1: The IUD: Questions and Answers. March 1988.

No. 2: Demand for Family Planning: Fact and Fiction. November 1988.

No. 3: RU 486: A New Birth Control Option. May 1989.

No. 4: Making Family Planning Work: A Checklist for Policymakers. December 1989.

Donor Assessments

Falling Short: The World Bank’s Role in Population and Reproductive Health. 1997.

Taking the Lead: The United Nations and Population Assistance. 1996.

Global Population Assistance: A Report Card on the Major Donor Countries. 1993.

U.S.Population Assistance: Issues for the 1990s. 1991.

The World Bank and Global Population Efforts: An Agenda for Effective Action. 1989.

Miscellaneous

Global Migration: People on the Move. 1994. (Wallchart)

Family Planning and Child Survival: The Role of Reproductive Factors in Infant and Child Mortality. 1990. (Monograph)

Washington Population Update: News and Analysis of U.S. and International Population Assistance Policy. Wrote/edited over 25 issues of semi-annual newsletter, 1988 to 1998.

Magazine Articles

"Missing Billions." People and Planet, Volume 6, Number 1, 1997.

"Sub-Saharan Africa: At the Turning Point." The Humanist, July-August, 1998; reprinted in Global Studies: Africa, Dushkin-McGraw-Hill, 1999 forthcoming.

"Educating Girls: Gender Gaps and Gains." People and Planet, Volume 7, Number 3, 1998.

Advocacy Factsheets

"Why the United States Should Support Family Planning Overseas"

"How Family Planning Protects the Health of Women and Children"

"Why the United States Should Support UNFPA"

"What Birth Dearth? Why World Population is Still Growing"

"Why the Global Gag Rule Undermines U.S. Foreign Policy and Harms Women's Health"

Editor/co-author of the following PAI publications; research by other PAI staff.

Country/Regional Studies

#3: Pakistan’s Population Program: The Challenge Ahead. 1996.

#4: Africa’s Population Challenge: Accelerating Progress in Reproductive Health. 1998.

Population Policy Information Kits

No. 7: Injectable Contraceptives: Safe, Effective, but Neglected. 1992.

No. 8: Expanding Access to Safe Abortion: Key Policy Issues. 1993.

No. 9: Youth at Risk: Meeting the Sexual Health Needs of Adolescents. 1994.

No. 10: AIDS and STDs: Priorities for Family Planning Programs. 1995.

Global Wallcharts (drafted narrative, based on statistical research by other PAI staff)

Closing the Gender Gap: Educating Girls. 1994.

Financing the Future: Meeting the Demand for Family Planning. 1994.

Reproductive Risk: A Worldwide Assessment of Women’s Sexual and Maternal Health.

1995.

Contraceptive Choice: Worldwide Access to Family Planning. 1997

Educating Girls: Gender Gaps and Gains. 1998

Donor Assessments

Paying Their Fair Share? Donor Countries and International Population Assistance. 1998

Advocacy Factsheets

"Why Donor Countries Must Renew Commitment to Population Assistance"

"How are Nations Responding to the Call for Increased Funding for Reproductive Health?"

TELEVISION APPEARANCES

  • “Six Billion and Beyond.” Featured in PBS documentary released September 1999.
  • CNN (USA), October 1999. Talk show with Blythe Danner and Steven Mosher.
  • CNN International, World News from Washington: Live interview on 5-year review of Cairo conference. February 9, 1999.
  • Public Broadcasting Service, "To the Contrary:" Taped interview with Bonnie Erbe on India's family planning program. Show aired November 1998.
  • Voice of America, "Talk to America:" Liveone-hour worldwide television and radio simulcast on gender gap in education, with viewer/listener call-in. November 11, 1998.
  • Interlink Television Productions: Taped interview on girls' educational status in the Arab world. October 1998.
  • CNN International,Asia news service: Live interview on female infanticide, sex-selective abortion and the status of women in Asia, November 1995.
  • CNN International: Live interview on India's family planning program.
  • CNN Morning News (USA): Live interview on Cairo conference on population and development, September 1994.
  • Cable TV, "America's Talking:" Live interview on Cairo conference on population and development, with viewer call-in, September 1994.
  • Telemundo: Taped interview on adolescent sexual health, April 1994.
  • Univision: Taped interview on adolescent sexual health, April 1994.
  • Canadian Cable TV: Taped interview on gender gap in education. 1994.

SELECTED RADIO INTERVIEWS

The following represent a few of the many radio interviews I have done, selected to reflect more substantive interviews on worldwide networks, but also including a few smaller U.S. and foreign stations to illustrate my diverse radio experience.

  • New Zealand Radio: Interview on donor assistance to population programs. February 1, 1999.
  • BBC World Service, "Everywoman:" Twenty minute interview on gender gap in education. October 29, 1998.
  • WashingtonPost.com (Cyber interview): On home-page as featured daily guest, hosted one-hour chatroom on gender gap in education. October 21, 1998.
  • BBC World Service, "Newshour:" Five minute interview, October 19, 1998.
  • CNKW Radio, Vancouver, "The World Today:" 10 minute interview on gender gap in education. October 19, 1998.
  • South Africa Broadcasting: interview on gender gap in education, October 16, 1998.
  • Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, "This Morning:" Taped 15 minute radio debate with “birth-dearth” proponent Ben Wattenberg, June 1998.
  • WPGC-FM: Interview on adolescent sexual health issues in global context. September 26, 1997.
  • Voice of America, "Talk to America:" Liveone-hour worldwide radio interview on access to family planning, with listener call-in. April 1997.
  • BBC World Service: Two separate interviews on access to family planning, including a two minute "monologue" and a 20 minute discussion. April 1997.
  • Voice of America, South Asia service: Taped interview on Pakistan's population challenge. September 1996.
  • BBC, "Sex-wise" (women's program): Interviewof reproductive health and women's status in South Asia. February 1996.
  • Voice of America, "Asia Report:" Interview on reproductive health and women's status in South Asia. March 27, 1995
  • National Public Radio: Interview on India's family planning program.
  • Australian Broadcasting Corporation: Interview on India's family planning program.
  • Voice of America, "Asia Report," Pacific Rim service, French to Africa service: Separate, taped interviews on adolescent sexual health in specific regions, including French language interview. April 1994.
  • Pacifica Radio, 15 minuteinterview on adolescent sexual health, April 1994.
  • BBC World Service, "Outlook" and "Health Matters:" Two separate, taped 15-20 minute interviews on adolescent sexual health, April 1994.
  • BBC World Service, "Development '94," "Health Matters:" Two separate, taped 15-20 minute interviews on the education gender gap, January 1994.
  • Voice of America, French to Africa Service: French language interview on access to safe abortion, September 1993.