Amanda Dennis is a Project Manager at Ibis Reproductive Health. Among her current projects, Ms. Dennis is conducting in-depth interviews with abortion providers to document their experiences with obtaining funding for abortions under the Federal Hyde Amendment. She is also conducting focus group discussions with low-income women to gauge their interest in obtaining hormonal contraception over-the-counter and to assess the impact that health care reform in Massachusetts has had on contraceptive use patterns. Prior to joining Ibis, she worked as a counselor at an ambulatory surgery center specializing in second trimester abortion care and as a counselor at a domestic violence shelter. Ms. Dennis holds a Bachelor of Arts from Hampshire College and a Masters of Bioethics from the University of Pennsylvania. She is presently pursuing her Doctorate in Public Health, specializing in social and behavioral aspects of health care, at Boston University.

Kelly Blanchard holds both a Master of Science in Population and International Health and a Bachelor’s degree in social studies from Harvard. Ms. Blanchard held a Fulbright Scholarship in Ghana. Prior to joining Ibis, Ms. Blanchard worked at the Population Council as a Program Associate, where she managed a growing program on reproductive health in South Africa and the Southern Africa region. Her most recent research has focused on contraception, medical and surgical abortion, microbicides, and cervical barriers for HIV/STI prevention. Ms. Blanchard has authored or co-authored over forty articles on reproductive health topics in developed and developing countries. In 2006 Ms. Blanchard won the Outstanding Young Professional Award from the American Public Health Association’s Population, Family Planning and Reproductive Health Section. Ms. Blanchard is the recipient of the 2009 Darroch Award for Excellence in Sexual and Reproductive Health Research, sponsored by the Guttmacher Institute.