Communication specialists with nutrition expertise

Peter Gottert, M.A., is currently the Chief of Party of the Health Communication Partnership in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Prior to that, he was the Deputy Director of the project, based at the Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health. Formerly, Mr. Gottert was the BCC Advisor in Madagascar for USAID’s Smaller Healthier Families Project and has trained Haitian counterparts in message and materials design, provided the Nutrition Communication Project (NCP) with technical guidance, and managed NCP programs in Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger. Before joining AED, he consulted throughout Africa for USAID, UNICEF, and CIDA. His area of specialty is BCC programs related to infant feeding and micronutrients. Mr. Gottert also owns a graphic design firm in Benin and speaks French fluently.

Luann Martin, M.A., is the Communications Specialist for the Alive & Thrive initiative to improve infant and young child feeding (IYCF). She has worked on IYCF issues for more than 20 years, first as a consultant for UNICEF in Pakistan and then as a technical writer and program manager for Nurture/Center to Prevent Childhood Malnutrition. From 1996-2006, she managed the development of technical publications and the documentation of program experience for the LINKAGES IYCF project at AED. She also provided communications support to the A2Z micronutrient project and prepared breastfeeding case studies for UNICEF and WHO. Ms. Martin spent 12 years living and working in Africa and Asia (Ghana, Cameroon, Zaire, and Pakistan).

Margaret Parlato is Senior Vice President and Director of AED's Global Health, Population and Nutrition Group, overseeing AED’s health programs in 23 countries. Over the last three decades, Ms. Parlato has been a leader in designing and implementing social marketing and communication programs for a range of health, nutrition, and reproductive health issues. She was instrumental in launching PROFILES, an advocacy approach for raising awareness among policy makers about nutrition issues of national importance. Ms. Parlato has extensive field experience. She was Director of AED’s Nutrition Communication Project, with programs in 12 countries; served as Resident Advisor to UNDP communication programs in Ecuador and Thailand and to PAHO’s in Bolivia; and directed programs in Africa for Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Communication Programs. Her areas of interest include the use of popular media to promote health care practices and the intersection of consumer research and strategy in designing effective programming. She is a member of the U.S. Breastfeeding Committee. She has a degree in Economics from Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, NY, and is fluent in French and Spanish.

Renata Seidel, M.A., has 15 years of experience in behavior change planning and program implementation focusing on child survival and nutrition, and over 20 years' experience producing IEC materials. She has guided breastfeeding and infant and maternal nutrition programs in India, Pakistan, and Nepal, and served on the World Bank's supervisory team for the Tamil Nadu Integrated Nutrition Program and the Integrated Child Development Services program (ICDS) I and II. She led the BASICS II dissemination team and has produced AED's major methodological behavior change and communication publications. She has worked throughout Asia and Africa. Her Master's is in South Asian Studies from the University of Chicago.

Kim Winnard holds a Master's in International Development from The American University. Mr. Winnard has more than 30 years' experience with project management and behavior change interventions--counseling, mass media, policy advocacy, and training--in infant and young child feeding, maternal and child health, reproductive health, and agriculture in the United States and overseas. Formerly a team leader with LINKAGES (USAID's initiative for improving infant and young child feeding and related dietary practices) and Deputy Director, Operations, of AED's Avian Influenza Communication Project (AI.COMM), Mr. Winnard is currently Deputy Director of AED's Global Avian Influenza and Zoonotic Disease Behavior Change and Communication Support Activity (PREVENT). Mr. Winnard has lived and worked in Nigeria and the Philippines, and has provided training and technical assistance to projects in Bangladesh, Indonesia, and Kenya.

Cindy Arciaga has over 18 years of experience working in specialized information services, communication, dissemination, and outreach. For over ten years, she has worked in international health communications, promotion, outreach, and materials development. Recently she served as the Knowledge Sharing Team Leader for USAID’s Development Information Services (DIS). She managed a communications team providing specialized information support and knowledge management expertise throughout the Agency. Her skills include project management; conceptualization, management, and evaluation of web tools and services; development of communications and information plans; research, writing and editing; and desktop publishing. She has worked in the areas of maternal and child health, infant and young child nutrition, population and family planning, and infectious diseases. She has a Masters in Health Sciences in International Health and Population Policy from The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Rose Mary Romano, MEd, is a Senior Behavior Change Communication Specialist at AED and has over 25 years of experience in designing and managing advocacy, social mobilization, and behavior change communication programs. She has extensive experience in designing and conducting training programs for government officials, NGOs and CBOs, and professional audiences. She has served as the BCC advisor to the A2Z program in India. In South Africa, she designed a community-based vitamin A supplementation program, a national communication strategy for food fortification, and a provincial-level vitamin A training program for clinic nurses (which she also conducted). She has also served as a communication advisor to the World Bank's child feeding program in India. Ms. Romano has a Master's degree in Community Health Education. 

Dawn McCown, MIA, is currently a Senior Communication Advisor at AED. She has twelve years of experience developing and implementing communications and marketing strategies for global organizations in the United States, Asia, and Africa. Ms. McCown specializes in adapting private sector marketing and advertising practices to the needs of social marketing and communications for public health. Her advertising career culminated in her role as Senior Regional Media Manager for Leo Burnett in Asia, where she managed strategic communication strategies and developed the local capacity of Leo Burnett agencies across Asia. Ms. McCown has managed the development and design of social marketing programs, developed health curricula and BCC materials, conducted communication workshops, and worked closely with numerous local NGOs, multi-lateral organizations, donors, and governments on strategic communication initiatives across Africa.

[ Back to the top ]