Francine Coeytaux

Francine Coeytaux, MPH, "is a public health specialist with extensive experience in the development and evaluation of reproductive health programs. She is best known for her work on new reproductive technologies including emergency contraception, medical abortifacients and microbicides. Ms. Coeytaux is a founder of the Pacific Institute for Women's Health, a non-profit organization based in Los Angeles dedicated to improving women’s health and well-being locally and globally. Prior to founding the Pacific Institute, she was an Associate at the Population Council in New York responsible for the development of the Council's reproductive health activities in Sub Saharan Africa. During her eight-year tenure at the Population Council, she initiated a worldwide program to address the problem of unsafe abortion and collaborated on the public introduction of NORPLANT and RU 486. In addition to her international experience, Ms. Coeytaux has worked for many years in California and in the United States. She was one of the founding members of the Reproductive Health Technologies Project, based in Washington DC, and contributed to the creation of Planned Parenthood's first adolescent outreach programs in San Francisco in the 1970s.

"Ms Coeytaux is an experienced researcher and has published extensively. She currently sits on the Board of Directors of Engender Health, Reproductive Health Alliance, Europe and Women's Dignity Project. She has also served on the advisory boards of USC’s Population Research Laboratory, the National Advisory Board on Access to Reproductive Health Care, and the State of California’s Advisory Committee on Human Cloning. She has served as a consultant to many organizations including the World Health Organization, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, the World Bank and the Feminist Majority Foundation. Ms. Coeytaux speaks French and Spanish fluently, has lived in Tunisia, Peru, Nicaragua and Switzerland, and has worked in almost every country of sub Saharan Africa and Latin America."


 * Program Consultant, Compton Foundation
 * Former Chair, Executive Committee, Engender Health