Staff
Sarah DeLuca is the Associate Director of the ASCENT Center for Reproductive Health. With a background in Business Administration and a Master’s in Public Health, Sarah brings over 15 years of experience at the intersection of healthcare and operational strategy. She is deeply committed to ensuring that individuals across Utah and the Intermountain West have timely, equitable access to the care they need.
Driven by a deep commitment to removing barriers to care, Sarah leads with a vision of impact rooted in operational strength, collaborative research, and transformative education. She is dedicated to advancing ASCENT’s mission by empowering teams, streamlining operations, and fostering partnerships that help every individual and organization do their best work in service of community health.
Caitlin Quade is the Technical Director for the ASCENT Center and brings 15 years of experience in domestic and international reproductive health to her work. She previously led Utah’s statewide contraceptive access initiative, Family Planning Elevated, and now provides ongoing technical support to community clinics across the state. Caitlin also advises on reproductive health research and programming, with a focus on family planning simulation, patient education resources, and over-the-counter and emergency contraception. She’s passionate about supporting people in making informed reproductive health decisions and brings that zeal to her favorite role: facilitating trainings on pregnancy options counseling, person-centered contraceptive counseling, and values exploration.
Jami is obsessed with asking good questions. While this trait makes her a bit awkward at dinner parties, it has served her well as a researcher. Her expertise lies in designing and conducting large-scale qualitative and mixed methods studies, and in mentoring others to do the same. As the process evaluator for Family Planning Elevated, she analyzed not only if the statewide contraceptive initiative was successful, but also how it was successful. Jami is also passionate about creating and facilitating high-quality trainings for health care teams. In the past three years she has co-designed many trainings including simulation-based training to improve the quality of family planning care in FPE partner clinics and trainings to prepare clinical teams to provide same-day emergency contraception.
Alexandra Gero is a Biostatistician with the ASCENT Center. She received her master’s degree in Public Health from Boston University before moving to Utah in 2017, and has over five years of experience in population health research. Alex is thrilled to be able to combine her interests and experience in research methodology and quantitative analysis with her commitment to reducing disparities in health and in healthcare, especially for women and children.
Maddy is the Communications Manager of the ASCENT Center. She earned her bachelor's degree in Public Health from the University of Rochester and executive master's degree in Public Administration from Rutgers University. As Communications Manager, Maddy oversees communications, media campaigns, marketing, and the internship program for Family Planning Division. Maddy is passionate about finding long-term sustainable solutions to helping individuals get the sexual and reproductive care they want with out cost or distance being a barrier. She is also committed to using communications to empower individuals through health literacy and transparent access to information.
Erica Torres is the Community Outreach and Training Specialist at the ASCENT Center, where she leads community engagement efforts and actively collaborates on research. With a background in Public Health focused on community health, Erica brings over 15-years of experience in sexual and reproductive health, including a decade specializing in abortion care, contraceptive counseling, pregnancy options education and community health education.
Erica is also an instructor at the University of Utah, where she teaches Reproductive Justice in the College of Humanities. Her work is grounded in advancing reproductive health, rights, and justice through the interconnected efforts of research, education, and community engagement. In this role, she is able to meaningfully integrate these areas to inform and strengthen her impact. Erica also enjoys mentoring and guiding emerging scholars who are passionate about sexual and reproductive health, supporting them as they navigate their academic and professional journeys. Her research interests include contraception, pregnancy options, comprehensive sex education, and emergency contraception.
Chelsea has worked in the women's health department at the University of Utah for over 10 years, starting off as a Medical Assistant in the women's health clinic. For the past 5 years, she has been the Family Planning Practice and Patient Care Coordinator, providing clinical scheduling and support to family planning clients. She is passionate about helping women receive the best care possible.
Amy Orr is a Senior Clinical Research Coordinator at the University of Utah. Amy earned her Bachelor’s degree in Behavior Science and Health and is dedicated to supporting women’s healthcare.
Corinne Sexsmith is a Research Manager at the University of Utah’s ASCENT Center, where she supports innovative clinical research focused on improving health outcomes. She holds a master's degree in human development and social policy from the University of Utah and a bachelor’s degree in Sociology from Westminster College. With a strong foundation in the nonprofit sector, Corinne is passionate about advancing women’s health and translating research into meaningful community impact.
Jasmin started her career as a Medical Assistant for a low-income community clinic, where she worked with a very diverse population. From there, she transferred to the University of Utah and has been working with the Family Planning group in clinical trials for over 7 years.
