The YIELD Hub Advisory Board brings together a dynamic group of global leaders, practitioners, researchers, advocates, and movement builders committed to advancing sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), youth leadership, gender justice, and systems change across the world. With expertise spanning global health, philanthropy, public policy, youth engagement, feminist leadership, and civil society strengthening, they bring deep experience from across Africa, Asia, Europe, and the United States.
As trusted thought partners, strategic advisors, and ambassadors for youth partnership in AYSRHR, they help guide YIELD Hub’s vision, strengthen our partnerships, and ensure our work remains grounded in equity, inclusion, and meaningful youth engagement. Their leadership supports our mission to build a more just, inclusive, and youth-centered future, one where young people are not only included but are leading change across systems.
Silvia Steisel
Director Europe,
Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors
Passionate about strategic philanthropy and a firm believer in system change as a force for social progress.
Silvia Steisel is Director Europe at Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, with a mission to accelerate philanthropy in Europe. Convinced of the immense potential of European philanthropy, built on centuries of proven success, Silvia serves organisations, families, and individuals willing to undertake bold and modern philanthropy.
Silvia holds a master’s degree in history and art history, earned a second degree in business management, and has completed executive education in the fields of impact investing and governance. In 2015, Silvia co-founded a start-up in the tech-for-good sector with the purpose of making philanthropy accessible and transparent. The venture went through a scale-up in 2022.
Born in Brussels, raised in Flanders, and educated in the UK, Silvia is fluent in French, Dutch, and English. She divides her time between France and Belgium.
Lana Dakan
VP, Program Investments,
Prysm Initiative
Lana Dakan is the Vice President of Program Investments at Prysm, where she oversees the collection and curation of funding opportunities that address the world’s greatest reproductive health needs.
Lana brings over 25 years of experience advancing sexual and reproductive health and rights across Asia, Africa, and the United States. Prior to joining Prysm, she spent two decades at the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, where she most recently directed the Global Reproductive Health initiative. In this role, she oversaw multi-country investment strategies, led organizational and strategic transitions, and partnered closely with donors, civil society, and multilateral organizations. While there, she played a key role in major donor collaboratives, including FP2030, Girls First Fund, Nebula, and the global safe abortion donor dialogues.
Earlier in her career, Lana worked with USAID and Pathfinder International in Indonesia, providing strategic and technical assistance to expand access to family planning services, and served as a U.S. Peace Corps volunteer in the Philippines. She currently serves on the board of AmplifyChange.
Lana holds a master’s degree in public health from the University of Michigan and a bachelor’s degree in international relations from Occidental College. She speaks Indonesian.
Benjamin SADIA
Project Lead,
ONG RESFILLE
As the Project Lead for the “Going Beyond” project at RESIFILLE, Benjamin coordinates the implementation of a strategic initiative designed to strengthen youth engagement, leadership, and agency within social and community dynamics. He is responsible for the comprehensive planning, leadership, and monitoring of all project activities, ensuring that the initiative stays on track to meet its objectives. By developing tailored engagement and mobilization strategies, his work helps young people take a more prominent role in their communities.
Central to his role is the coordination of diverse stakeholders, ranging from youth-led organizations to various technical and financial partners. The Project Lead oversees vital capacity-building and training activities, while simultaneously managing the monitoring, evaluation, and documentation of results to ensure accountability and impact. Beyond internal management, they contribute significantly to partnership development and the project’s overall visibility, ultimately driving the empowerment of youth and the strengthening of civil society organizations.
Dr Nigel James
Assistant Professor of Global Health, Health Policy & Epidemiology,
University of Richmond
Dr. Nigel James is a public health scientist and Assistant Professor at the University of Richmond, specializing in global health, policy, and epidemiology. Originally from Harare, Zimbabwe, he holds a dual-title Ph.D. in Health Policy and Administration and Demography from The Pennsylvania State University. His work focuses on strengthening health systems in low- and middle-income countries through data-driven solutions, with particular expertise in sustainable health financing, maternal and child health, and the intersection of climate change and public health.
Utilizing advanced econometric and spatial analytic methods, Dr. James generates evidence to improve health system performance across sub-Saharan Africa, Southeast Asia, Europe, and the United States. His career bridge rigorous research with real-world application through collaborations with major international organizations, including UNICEF and the International Committee of the Red Cross. A Fellow of the Global Health Corps, he remains deeply committed to advancing health equity and mentoring the next generation of global health leaders.
Rabab Pettitt
Senior Strategic Communications & External Affairs Executive,
Pettitt Media Strategies
Rabab Pettitt brings nearly two decades of experience at the intersection of global health, international development, and public affairs — translating complex policy priorities into narrative strategy, institutional influence, and sustained advocacy impact.
A childhood spent moving across continents shaped her worldview and her career — spanning global health, foreign policy, and human rights, where communication shapes outcomes for millions. As a senior leader at USAID, she directed communications for a $600M+ global health portfolio spanning 40+ countries — shaping narratives at the highest levels of U.S. foreign policy, engaging multilateral institutions including UNFPA and WHO, and working across legislative offices to protect critical global health funding through three presidential transitions. Her service was recognized with the Sustained Leadership Award and the Meritorious Honor Award for Excellence in Communications.
She has partnered with Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and Save the Children to advance shared priorities in health and development, and secured coverage in the New York Times, CNN, The Wall Street Journal, Time, and 60 Minutes.
Rabab serves on the Advisory Board of YIELD Hub — a global initiative advancing meaningful youth partnership in sexual and reproductive health and rights — and holds an MA with Distinction in English Literature from Georgetown University. She is an avid bibliophile who believes a weekend is best spent lost in a bookstore.
Miranda van Reeuwijk
Manager Research & PMEL,
Rutgers
Miranda (PhD) leads Rutgers Research unit. Her expertise areas are positive adolescent sexuality development, Comprehensive Sexuality Education and Participatory Action Research. She is a champion for meaningful and inclusive youth participation in SRHR research and has evaluated many youth engagement and youth empowerment tracks.
Franklin Paul Anand
Head of Country – India,
Restless Development
Franklin is the Head of Country for Restless Development in India, where he leads the organization’s strategic vision, partnerships, and program delivery to advance youth-led development across the country.
Franklin joined the organization in 2011 and has since played a pivotal role in strengthening program quality and impact. Over the years, he has provided technical leadership and support to project and partner teams across India and Africa, particularly in designing and implementing monitoring and evaluation (M&E) systems, enabling data-driven decision-making, and strengthening results-based reporting. His work spans key thematic areas including education, sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), climate action, and youth livelihoods.
Franklin has been recognized as a Young Leader and Youth Champion for his contributions to youth leadership and SRHR by leading global organizations, including Rise Up, the Public Health Institute, Women Deliver, and Bayer.
Franklin brings to the YIELD Hub Advisory Board a strong commitment to youth-centered, evidence-driven approaches that enable young people, especially those from marginalized communities, to lead change and shape more inclusive and equitable futures.
Ana Aguilera
Director, SRHR,
EngenderHealth
Ana serves as the SRHR director for EngenderHealth, leading the integration of gender, youth and social inclusion into everything EngenderHealth does. Ana strives to ensure that EngenderHealth implements high-quality sexual and reproductive health programming that meaningfully engages with women, youth, and other under-represented groups. Ana’s lived experiences as a young SRHR advocate drive her passion to unlock the potential of all young people. Ana holds a Bachelors of Arts from Boston University and a Masters of Public Health from the Boston University School of Public Health.
Shveta Shah
Director Programme,
Global DIalogue
Shveta Shah has over 20 years’ experience in global human rights and humanitarian sectors drawing on a career covering advocacy and policy, programming and learning, collaborative action, leadership and governance roles. She is currently Director of Programmes at Global Dialogue where she works with funder networks, collaborations and partnerships, as well as a Director at the Museum of Colour. She previously held senior leadership roles at the Bertha Foundation and Start Network, and prior to that in various roles at international and national organisations. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (RSA), an accredited Partnership Broker and keen Parkrunner.
