Advisors

Dr. Brightman is a Clinical Instructor of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Science at The Mount Sinai School of Medicine and is a Voluntary Attending at the Mount Sinai Hospital. She is a member of the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Dr. Brightman graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of Pennsylvania in 1982 and received her Medical Degree from the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in 1986. She completed her residency training in Obstetrics and Gynecology at The Mount Sinai Hospital in New York. In addition to her clinical responsibilities, Dr. Brightman serves on the advisory board of Women’s Day Magazine and she has been quoted in other popular magazines for women. She has discussed women’s health issues on NBC-The Today Show, CBS-The Morning Show, CBS Evening News, Fox-The Morning Show and ABC-World News Tonight. Dr. Brightman has been published in peer-reviewed journals as well as in Letters to the Editor of the New York Times. She is also listed by Castle-Connolly as one of the top physicians in the New York Metro Area. Dr. Brightman is married to an Ophthalmologist and has two teenage sons. Her passions include: spending time with her family and friends, fitness, reading and fashion.

Dr. Brunton earned his medical degree at Monash University Medical School in Melbourne, Australia. He completed his residency in family practice at Long Beach Memorial Medical Center in California. He is a board-certified family physician, with a certificate of added qualifications in geriatrics.

A former president of the California Academy of Family Physicians and the Association of Family Medicine Residency Directors (AFMRD), Dr Brunton has held many positions within the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP). He served as director of the division of education in the early 1980s and was a family practice residency director in California for 13 years.

A frequent lecturer, Dr. Brunton also has published numerous articles, chapters, and monographs on family medicine and related clinical topics. He serves in editorial capacities for Internal Medicine Alert, Clinical Diabetes, Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology and Journal of Clinical Hypertension. He also serves as a reviewer for American Family Physician, the Southern Medical Journal, Expert Review of Endocrinology and Metabolism and the Journal of Family Practice.

Recent Publications by Dr. Brunton

• A look into the future: improving diabetes care by 2015.
• Improving medication adherence in chronic disease management.
• Late-onset male hypogonadism and testosterone replacement therapy in primary care.
• The role of topical 5% acyclovir and 1% hydrocortisone cream (Xeres^®) in the treatment of recurrent herpes simplex labialis.
• Special issue on diabetes. Introduction.
• Profile of adverse events with duloxetine treatment: a pooled analysis of placebo-controlled studies.

Prior to joining Planned Parenthood Federation of America, she served as vice president and medical director of EngenderHealth, where she provided oversight and direction of technical teams responsible for providing technical support for reproductive health service delivery in over 25 countries. For several years in the 1990s, Dr. Cullins worked simultaneously as an attending physician in the Ob/Gyn Department of the Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, as an assistant professor of medicine at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, and as acting director of the Bureau of Adolescent Reproductive and Women's Health for the city of Baltimore.

Dr. Cullins serves on a number of subcommittees and advisory boards, including the Obstetrics Subcommittee of the New York State Department of Health, and is chair of the International Subcommittee, American Medical Women's Association, Reproductive Health Initiative.

A graduate of Spelman College in Atlanta, GA, Dr. Cullins received her MD and MPH degrees from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in addition to an MBA from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Cullins has been extensively involved with research in contraception and reproductive health and is the author or co-author of numerous journal articles on new developments in this field. She has given presentations about her research at scientific and professional meetings and provides peer review for several medical journals.

She also has served on many influential professional and community action boards and has been an officer on the boards of directors of: Association of Reproductive Health Professionals (ARHP) - Chair , a multi-disciplinary professional organization with the mission to be the leading source for evidence based medical education and information on reproductive and sexual health for providers and patients.

• Guttmacher Institute, the premier policy, research and advocacy organization in reproductive health/family planning. She is the first nurse practitioner to be appointed to this board and served as second vice chair.
• National Association of Nurse Practitioners in Women's Health (NPWH), a professional and women's advocacy organization, past chair.
• National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Association (NFPRHA).
• Reproductive Health Technologies Project (RHTP), a reproductive health think tank; past chair.

She is also on the editorial advisory board of Contraceptive Technology Update, as well as the editorial board for the American Journal for Nurse Practitioners. Linda Dominguez was selected by the Department of Labor and the International Women's Forum to be in the pioneer class of the Leadership Foundation Fellows 1994-95 Program. This has been described as "a first-of-its-kind national demonstration designed to shatter the 'Glass Ceiling' for women in America," with a capstone project at the Kennedy School of Public Policy at Harvard University.

Other recognitions and awards include:

• New Mexico Governor's Award for Outstanding New Mexico Women.
• Hispanic Women of the Year, as recognized by the Mexican American Women Association, New Mexico Chapter.
• Outstanding National Nurse Practitioner for NPWH in 1992.
• YWCA Women on the Move Award, 1996.
• Nurse of the Year, Advanced Nurse Practitioner, Nursing Award of Excellence for the state of New Mexico, 2004.
• Distinguished Alumni of the University of New Mexico's College of Nursing; recognized at the college's 50th anniversary in 2005.
• 2007 Member of the Year, Association of Reproductive Health Professionals, Washington, D.C.

Linda Dominguez was invited by the Clinton White House in 1993 to participate in the Health Care Reform Professional Peer Review Group. She collaborated with the Office of the Surgeon General on the development of the "Call to Action: Toward Responsible Sexual Health." She has been on the National Medical Committee for Planned Parenthood Federation of America and was on the expert panel for the American Society of Colposcopist and Cervical Pathologist review of the 2006 guidelines for practice. In 2009 she was on the expert panel convened by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization to review and develop the U.S. Medical Eligibility Criteria (MEC)for Contraceptive Use. She also has worked with the CDC effort regarding standards for practice and the research needs in the field of family planning.

She was a founding member and chair of the New Mexico Teen Pregnancy Coalition. In addition she has spearheaded new voters registration drives in clinic settings and has established food banks for the community.

She has been a featured speaker and keynote speaker both locally and nationally regarding medical and nursing topics, along with minority issues in health care. She has authored many publications, as well as videos and DVDs that help to teach professional peers and health care consumers important information about women's health topics. She is one of the authors of Sexually Transmitted Diseases: A Practical Guide for Primary Care (Humana Press). She was featured on the Sirius Satellite Radio Playboy Channel call-in show, Afternoon Advice, regarding concerns about sex health and contraception.

Ashlesha Patel is the System Director of Family Planning Services of Cook County Health & Hospitals System (CCHHS) in Chicago, IL and the Senior Medical Director of Research for Planned Parenthood Federation of America. Additionally, Dr. Patel serves as the Director of the Dysplasia Clinic at John H Stroger Jr. Cook County Hospital and an Associate Professor and Assistant Medical Student Clerkship Director of Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University.

Dr. Patel is a diplomat of the American Board of Obstetrics & Gynecology. She is a graduate of the Northwestern University Medical School. She also obtained a Masters in Public Health from University of Illinois at Chicago. She did her residency training in Obstetrics and Gynecology (OB-GYN) at University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Hospital and then completed a fellowship in Family Planning and Clinical Research at the University of Illinois-Chicago Medical Center. In 2002 Dr. Patel joined the medical staff of Stroger Hospital of Cook County where she is currently the System Director of Family Planning Services. In addition to her role at Stroger Hospital, in 2009 she joined Planned Parenthood Federation of America as the Senior Medical Director of Research.

Dr. Patel has contributed nearly 25 articles to the OB-GYN scientific literature and has lectured locally, nationally, and internationally on a wide array of OB-GYN topics including contraceptive modalities, reproductive health, sexual assault, and postpartum hemorrhage. She is a respected clinical teacher and mentor of residents and students.

Dr. Ramos is board certified in obstetrics and gynecology and a Fellow of the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology. She is on the executive committee for the California Maternal Care Quality Collaborative, member of the ACOG District IX Patient Safety Committee, Principal Investigator for the L.A. County Maternal Mortality Improvement Project and Quality Improvement Cesarean Section project in Los Angeles.

She is the Minority Affairs Consortium Delegate to the American Medical Association, Chair for the ACOG & March of Dimes Interconception Care Project, member of the National Commission to End Healthcare Disparities, on the board of California Medical Association Foundation, co-chair for the California Office of Women’s Health Advisory Board and on the CDC clinical workgroup on preconception health.

In addition, she is a spokesperson in both Spanish and English for maternal depression, healthcare disparities, reproductive & environmental health issues, cervical cancer and contraception.

Recent awards for Dr. Ramos include: 2011 Los Angeles County Innovations in Public Health Award for her work on preventing maternal mortality in Los Angeles County, 2011 UCSF REACH environmental health fellowship, 2010 National Hispanic Medical Association leadership fellowship in , 2010 CityMatCH (Maternal Child Health Directors) Excellence in Translating Results to an Audience , 2009 CityMatCH (Maternal Child Health Directors) Promising Practice Award for the Prevention of Maternal Mortality in L.A. County, American College of Obstetrics & Gynecology District IX Community Service Award 2008, 2006 the American Medical Association Young Physician Leadership Award in ; 2005 Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors Recognition for Outstanding Service—Los Angeles Public Health Commission; 2004 American Medical Association Community Service Award; and 2003 Pfizer National Award for Community Outreach.

Dr. Ramos received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Southern California; a Masters in Public Health, emphasis in management from University of California Los Angeles; Doctor of Medicine from the University of Southern California School of Medicine, and completed her internship and residency in obstetrics and gynecology at the Los Angeles County- University of Southern California Women’s and Children’s Hospital.

Dr. Zieman is a Board certified Obstetrician Gynecologist with more than 20 years of experience. She served as the Director of Family Planning for Grady Memorial Hospital and Emory University School of Medicine for 10 years, and maintains an appointment as a Clinical Associate Professor at Emory. In that capacity, she has been teaching and training medical students, residents, associate providers and colleagues. She was a handful of original Fellowship Directors in Family Planning in the United States. She was the principal investigator of numerous clinical trials and is the author of several publications as well as an active reviewer for peer-reviewed medical journals. She is the senior author of A Pocket Guide to Managing Contraception, with >800,000 books in circulation. She was also an author for A Personal Guide to Managing Contraception for Women and Men, and Tellinde’s Operative Gynecology. She is the Section Editor for Contraception and Family Planning for www.uptodate.com. She lectures widely, and has been interviewed often by the media.

Dr. Zieman is a member of several professional societies, including the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the Society of Family Planning.

Dr. Zieman received her undergraduate BSc degree from McGill University with Great Distinction, and medical degree from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York. She completed her residency in obstetrics and gynecology at the Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center in New York followed by a fellowship in Family Planning and one in epidemiology and biostatistics at the University of California San Francisco.